# Very disturbing read Earth 'will expire by 2050' **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [January 26, 2014, 10:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/very-disturbing-read-earth-will-expire-by-2050/679783 "2014-01-26T22:04:51Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 9\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![Koxinga](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/4af34b/32.png) [@Koxinga](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Koxinga)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2014, 1:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/very-disturbing-read-earth-will-expire-by-2050/679783/61 "2014-01-30T01:10:19Z")
> [@Iamnotivan](#): > > Great. So whales, sharks, birds, many animals are going extinct, but humans are somehow exempt? Sure. It’s even worse than you think – do you realize that 99.99% of species that have _ever_ lived are now extinct? :eek: ---
**Author:** ![beowulff](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beowulff/32/542_2.png) [@beowulff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/beowulff)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2014, 1:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/very-disturbing-read-earth-will-expire-by-2050/679783/62 "2014-01-30T01:36:08Z")
> [@TBG](#): > > Not for me. I have the good sense to live where I’m surrounded by the stuff. If you choose to live in desert or whatever, well, that’s your problem. > > \*you not meaning bowulff personally, but a general you to whoever lives there That’s a very elitist attitude. _We_ may have the means to move to another location, but there are billions of people in the world who are pretty much stuck where they are. Basically you are saying “Because I’m rich, I can survive the coming water shortage. Glad I’m not poor like you.” ---
**Author:** ![Chimera](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/8e8cbc/32.png) [@Chimera](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chimera)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2014, 2:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/very-disturbing-read-earth-will-expire-by-2050/679783/63 "2014-01-30T02:48:07Z")
> [@beowulff](#): > > That’s a very elitist attitude. > _We_ may have the means to move to another location, but there are billions of people in the world who are pretty much stuck where they are. Basically you are saying “Because I’m rich, I can survive the coming water shortage. Glad I’m not poor like you.” Nobody is stuck where they are. 99% of the places Humans live, they migrated to at some point. The entire history of the world up until modern times is the history of the movement of entire peoples. ---
**Author:** ![RickJay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/bb73d2/32.png) [@RickJay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RickJay)\ **Post date:** [January 31, 2014, 4:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/very-disturbing-read-earth-will-expire-by-2050/679783/64 "2014-01-31T16:49:57Z")
> [@Chimera](#): > > Nobody is stuck where they are. 99% of the places Humans live, they migrated to at some point. The entire history of the world up until modern times is the history of the movement of entire peoples. The entire history of the world is also a history of war and suffering. If you attempt to move populations THAT large in a short period of time, the absolutely inevitable result is World War III. You say it’s not your problem, but it most certainly is, because all those people are going to want your land. ---
**Author:** ![sweat209](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9fc348/32.png) [@sweat209](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sweat209)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2014, 5:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/very-disturbing-read-earth-will-expire-by-2050/679783/65 "2014-02-01T05:15:41Z")
> [@Koxinga](#): > > The mainland Chinese media has touted “space mining” as a justification for their moon rover program, but I don’t think anyone with any knowledge of space issues takes it seriously at all. > > As for TV commercials touting gold, those are people trying to sell you on the idea that you should buy gold from them because the national or world economy is about to collapse. But there’s nothing backing up the “value” of gold any more than paper money. > > And as for oil becoming more difficult to extract, it’s just the opposite, really – google “shale oil” if you’re interested. > > Just out of curiosity, are you posting from China? China is indeed facing very serious shortages of power and water, but that’s a function of their horrible pollution and unbalanced economy, more than anything else. Just becuse space activists talk about space mining does not mean we should take them take them seriously.Why would private big business spend billions of dollars on space mining when re-turn proft will be much less. Gold is not sujected to hyperinflationary economy.Under a hyperinflationary economy paper money is worthless. The price of oil is determined by supply and demand. ---
**Author:** ![sweat209](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9fc348/32.png) [@sweat209](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sweat209)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2014, 5:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/very-disturbing-read-earth-will-expire-by-2050/679783/66 "2014-02-01T05:19:25Z")
> [@DigitalC](#): > > Just look at a picture of the freaking planet, it is 75% water. Anyone claiming we are running out of water should be immediately dismissed. They are talking about drinking water. > [@](#): > > Making drinkable water out of sea water isn’t particularly difficult. It very costly and what about poor countries? ---
**Author:** ![sweat209](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9fc348/32.png) [@sweat209](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sweat209)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2014, 5:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/very-disturbing-read-earth-will-expire-by-2050/679783/67 "2014-02-01T05:24:30Z")
> [@Chimera](#): > > As someone else on this board once said (and I’ve forgotten who it was); If someone is trying to sell you something and promising its value will only go up, you should be asking yourself one question: “Then why are they selling it?” If I have 10,000 of real gold and some thing happens and paper money is worthless or people start to question paper money , people who have gold can go back to gold system as that not sujected to hyperinflationary economy. A 10,000 of real gold cannot be worthless where out of control printing of money can. ---
**Author:** ![FightMyIgnorance](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/71e660/32.png) [@FightMyIgnorance](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FightMyIgnorance)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2014, 5:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/very-disturbing-read-earth-will-expire-by-2050/679783/68 "2014-02-01T05:59:13Z")
Actually, real gold can be useless. If nobody wants gold, that precious mineral suddenly becomes a paperweight. eta: What I’m trying to say is, that you must understand that the value of gold is entirely created artificially by humans, because gold has no real intrinsic value. You can’t make tools out of it, it’s too soft. Gold is worth something because: (1. It’s rare (2. People want it to be worth something ---
**Author:** ![JohnT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnt/32/15048_2.png) [@JohnT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JohnT)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2014, 6:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/very-disturbing-read-earth-will-expire-by-2050/679783/69 "2014-02-01T06:10:56Z")
The value of gold is supported by the same thing that supports the value of fiat money: the _belief_ that it stores a value. Here is an anecdote that may show the worthlessness of gold: In 1914, at the onset of WW1, the United States had to send a ship, the _Tennessee_, to London with enough gold to allow American citizens to have enough cash to purchase transportation back to the States. :rolleyes: [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/very-disturbing-read-earth-will-expire-by-2050/679783.md?page=3)