Hurricane Katrina was the first time, after 17 years of doing what I do for a living, that it occurred to me this might finally be an issue that rises closer to the top of people's personal lists of concerns.  But, human memory, especially in the US, is short, and it's already beginning to fade.  

Of course, it's happened before, and was just as catastrophic in the deep past as it will be this time around.  The difference, of course, is that this time we have a certain culpability in the situation.  It'll make for some huge changes once it ramps up, of that I'm sure.  Just listen to the voices from our past shouting out at us from all of the flood "myths" from around the world, especially the ones from mountainous, previously glaciated regions.  Pretty damned spooky, compelling, and moving, if you ask me.

An example:  

Oden, Vili, and Ve fought and slew the great ice giant Ymir, and icy water from his wounds drowned most of the Rime Giants. The giant Bergelmir escaped, with his wife and children, on a boat made from a hollowed tree trunk. From them rose the race of frost ogres. Ymir's body became the world we live on. His blood became the oceans.

Or:  

Three times (every 1200 years), the gods were distressed by the disturbance from human overpopulation. The gods dealt with the problem first by plague, then by famine. Both times, the god Enki advised men to bribe the god causing the problem. The third time, Enlil advised the gods to destroy all humans with a flood, but Enki had Atrahasis build an ark and so escape. Also on the boat were cattle, wild animals and birds, and Atrahasis' family. When the storm came, Atrahasis sealed the door with bitumen and cut the boat's rope. The storm god Adad raged, turning the day black. After the seven-day flood, the gods regretted their action. Atrahasis made an offering to them, at which the gods gathered like flies, and Enki established barren women and stillbirth to avoid the problem in the future.

Or:

Tibet was almost totally inundated, until the god Gya took compassion on the survivors, drew off the waters through Bengal, and sent teachers to civilize the people, who until then had been little better than monkeys. Those people repopulated the land.

I think we're gonna be in for a rough ride...

You guys should just sign up for Deimos's new chat room and just have at it!  
(and may the fastest typist win!)
Just give us some advance warning so I can get some popcorn ready  

jasonw1239 wrote:You guys should just sign up for Deimos's new chat room and just have at it!  
(and may the fastest typist win!)
Just give us some advance warning so I can get some popcorn ready  

And here I was thinking the non US citizens were going to be the ones not interested in discussing our politics.    

Seriously, I'd much rather have a politically debate free forum here if at all possible.  Everyone has an opinion on the subect(s), usually a very strong opinion, and strong opinions on opposite sides of the spectrum always mix like gasoline and lit matches.

Badmike wrote:
Get the miniseries/first season DVD.  You'll be hooked.

Part of the fun of the new series is that it stands a lot of cliches from the first series on it's head....for example, Starbuck being a woman, the Cylons looking like humans, Baltar still being a scumbag, but an entertaining scumbag, etc.

Mike B.

Mike

Thanks for responding.   I've been so consistently disappointed by the sci-fi channel's offerings that I just didn't think it would even be worth it (that and my aforementioned hatred for the original).  But if the similarities are only superficial, then I may have found something to indulge in over the summer.

Keith

Keith the Thief wrote:Was the miniseries a pilot film, in essence?

In essence, yes the miniseries was a long pilot movie.  It parallels the original series somewhat and explains what happened to put them where they are.

jasonw1239 wrote:There was a very short piece on CNN last night from a Swiss base in western Greenland talking about glacial melting.

Konrad Steffen, by any chance?  

Great guy.

jasonw1239 wrote:You guys should just sign up for Deimos's new chat room and just have at it!  
(and may the fastest typist win!)
Just give us some advance warning so I can get some popcorn ready  

I'm sure you're jesting, but for the record, this is a very bad idea.

I'm trying to create a friendly, welcoming atmosphere for everyone in the chat.  Arguments over "live" media would spiral out of control much more quickly than on a forum, and so its members must be kept to a higher standard of mature discourse to ensure that doesn't happen.  Likewise, any disruptions (flame wars) must be dealt with harshly.  I strongly suggest turning the other cheek if someone offends you.

Remember this, when you hear about global "Warming" :

[1]  Just remember that many of the same people who are now yelling about global "warming" . . . were the same people and organizations who were yelling about global "COOLING" in the 1970's, an "inconvenient fact" that many of those on the "pro-'warming' " side want all of us to ignore or forget.

And . . .

[2]  If it wasn't for global warming over the last several thousand years . . . many of us in the northern half or so of North America and Europe would be under several thousand feet or so of ICE.  And, there weren't any cars, smokestacks, etc. for almost all of that time.

All I ask is . . . . . . think about it.

sleepyCO wrote:All I ask is . . . . . . think about it.

I have thought about it, and it's irrelevant.

The perfect analogy is that many species went extinct long before Homo sapiens existed, but that in itself does not refute the role of humans in ongoing extinctions.