[lakerdonald]

The sores that developed on their hands were easily killed too.

[anomie]

According to the Malthusian Population Law that is exactly where the danger lies.

Here's what our friend google had to say about Malthusian Population Theory:

http://www.economyprofessor.com/econ...ion-theory.php

Named after English economist the Reverend THOMAS ROBERT MALTHUS (1766-1834), who believed that population would increase at a geometric rate and the food supply at an arithmetic rate.

This disharmony would lead to widespread poverty and starvation which would only be checked by natural occurrences such as disease, high infant mortality, famine, war or moral restraint.

"...which would only be checked by natural occurrences.."

The word "checked" does not mean we all get wiped out. It means the population self-adjusts based on available resources.

The same site also mentions:

Malthusian population theory was eventually dismissed for its pessimism and failure to take into account technological advances in agriculture and food production.

So draw your own conclusions. I doubt it has changed your opinion (and I know mine hasn't changed).

[TruthSeeker]

Originally Posted by lakerdonald

In all fairness, if the people had only washed their hands, soap and water would have killed the germs which caused the Black Plague.

Whoah there... Black Plague was carried by rats and transmitted to humans by fleas. Handwashing wouldn't have stopped that. Though it does greatly lessen the risk of most other diseases. The worst problem in the past has been not knowing what causes disease. Now we know all about bacteria/viruses, and in many cases this knowledge gives us a huge advantage over disease. But avian flu may pose a new kind of challenge, as there are no simple measures to prevent it. You could wear a face mask all the time and wash your hands every 10 minutes... better than dying I suppose... You could exterminate the world's birds... oh, wait, environmentalists would rather see millions of humans die than that...

Originally Posted by LondoJowo

What needs to be done is those farmers in southest asia need to kill their chickens/ducks, burn them, and then disinfect the area where the birds were housed as well as the farmer's housing.

What needs to be done is for the more affluent nations of the world to recognize that much of the world's population still lives in incredible poverty and is helpless against diseases such as this. Do whatever we can to help these countries before the flu has a chance to grow to the size gorgeous lucky luke is suggesting, and quit complaining about taxes.

Oh, and do you think we would ever have reached a fraction of our current population if Malthus's laws were applicable to humans? If we do things right, we should be able to escape an epidemic. And even if avian flu, or other dangerous forces currently in motion, plunge us into a new Dark Age, we'll come back eventually and be smarter than before. I know there are pessimists out there who would say humans (or polititians) are incapable of doing things right... well you can go back to using Windows for all I care.

[lakerdonald]

Originally Posted by TruthSeeker

Whoah there... Black Plague was carried by rats and transmitted to humans by fleas. Handwashing wouldn't have stopped that.

Actually, the sores that developed on your hands, arms, and other places ( which is where it all starts ) could be killed with soap.

[winter]

Is this one of these religious nut cases blowing gobbing off about the end of the world? personaly im going to purgatory if this happens..catholics can claim to be atheists yet they'll mearly be regarded as bad catholics. catholism is more dificult to get out of than scientology and other cults put together.

[Muser]

Originally Posted by techieMoe

That would be a resounding no. Most news shows in the US (even ones with an international slant) focus on what stories are flashy and will spread panic or boost ratings rather than actually reporting the truth.

Thanks. We've weathered through tropical storms and hurricanes before, so I imagine we'll be fine.

lol. So true.

And no. The Apocalypse is not approaching.

[gorgeous lucky luke]

anomie wrote

"...which would only be checked by natural occurrences.."

I wrote

until growth is either brought control by predation or the bunny rabbits are wipd out by disease and famine.

While I admit I was using my usual sarcastic wit, I believe I quoted the law accurately.

Also

The same site also mentions:
Quote:
Malthusian population theory was eventually dismissed for its pessimism and failure to take into account technological advances in agriculture and food production.

One of the saddest aspects of human species, is that when humans think they are onto a good thing, they will always ultimately fall back on the excuse that various fundementall natural laws have some how miraculasly been suspended. There are many examples of this. Asset bubbles like dot.com being the most recent. [Bizarre as it may seem, asset bubbles are actualy an application of Malthusian Law.]

Quote :

Is this one of these religious nut cases

Not the last time I looked in the mirror lov, It you know what the various Health authorities are saying about this, you have gotta be a little bit concerned. I was just curious as to how concerned people actuly were.

Bearing in mind that most people in this forum are probably above average in terms of education, I think Techie Mo's point was the most telling.

To paraphrse : The lights are still working. the toilet is still flushing.......

[Roxoff]

Originally Posted by anomie

If you take five words out of the context of my paragraph, a lot of different interpretations become possible. I don't remember citing carbon dioxide or mentioning that pollution would do us in. (In fact, my argument was to the contrary.)

My point was: There is not going to be a huge, sudden event that wipes us all out (short of an asteroid splitting the planet in two - maybe not even then). Pollution falls under that category.

Doomsayers just need something to "prove" that the end is near. The human race is not invincible, but it is pretty resilient. (Not to mention that there are 6+ billion of us.)

Yeah, sorry about that, I was trying to encourage more debate. I actually agreed with what you said, and in a roundabout way kinda backed you up - as a species we wont go out in a big bang, it'll be a slow gradual death, most likely caused by an environment changing so fast that we cant evolve quickly enough to cope.

[gorgeous lucky luke]

Doomsayers just need something to "prove" that the end is near. The human race is not invincible, but it is pretty resilient.

I actualy agree with you as well. (for the most part). However, there is something pretty scary about the current situation on the disease front.

1/ Pandemicist's, tell us that a new plague is inevitable I am know it is bad taste but think of hurricane Katrina or the San Andreas Fault.
2/ There are several potential plagues already in existence : Sar's and Avian Flu, being only two.
3/ There is a truly terrifying possibilty of terrorists making a geneticly modified hemoragic fever. Nuclear and Chemical Weapons require massive industrial infrastucture. Genetic Engineering can be done in a cave!

(Not to mention that there are 6+ billion of us.)

In fact, that is actualy the problem!

[zba78]

As most things, I'm sure if we in the west are threatened, or in some way it affects our trade profits, then we'll bother to take note and do something about it.

ultra-cynical view.......probably