Earth: The Power of the Planet

Page may contain affiliate links. Please see terms for details.

abchandler

Senior Member
Location
Worcs, UK
For those of you that have stuck with the series so far, I hope you enjoyed the historical baby elephant that apparently crossed the evaporated Mediterranean area to Sicily all those years ago. No surprise that my first thought was 'I wonder if Arch is watching this' ;):ohmy:

And is it me, or has the emphasis of climate change been steadily growing through out the series. It started out as 'continental shift takes care of carbon dioxide imbalance' in the first programme, and is now 'the oceans will kill us all if the polar ice melts'
 

Globalti

Legendary Member
We'll be laughing at all these programmes in 30 years when the cycle reverses and earth starts getting colder again.

The hottest summer on record was in 1937.
 

Arch

Married to Night Train
Location
Salford, UK
abchandler said:
For those of you that have stuck with the series so far, I hope you enjoyed the historical baby elephant that apparently crossed the evaporated Mediterranean area to Sicily all those years ago. No surprise that my first thought was 'I wonder if Arch is watching this' ;):ohmy:

And is it me, or has the emphasis of climate change been steadily growing through out the series. It started out as 'continental shift takes care of carbon dioxide imbalance' in the first programme, and is now 'the oceans will kill us all if the polar ice melts'

I was. I knew about the pygmy elephants, (they had hippos too), but it was cool to see it 'recreated' - I hadn't actually seen the bones in scale against a full size one.. Now, one of those little ones, I could keep on the allotment.

Yes, the environmental impact angle has increased a little as the series has gone on - something I'm quite happy about - the sooner some people get it into their thick skulls that we don't have a god-given right to muck this planet up, the better. Although I suspect we're too late already. Needless to say, Rigidraider and his ilk ain't geting a place in my boat..
 

domtyler

Über Member
Arch said:
Yes, the environmental impact angle has increased a little as the series has gone on - something I'm quite happy about - the sooner some people get it into their thick skulls that we don't have a god-given right to muck this planet up, the better. Although I suspect we're too late already.

Have you got any actual proof of this Arch or did god tell you? ;)
 

Arch

Married to Night Train
Location
Salford, UK
domtyler said:
Have you got any actual proof of this Arch or did god tell you? ;)

What, about being too late? No, no proof, just a hunch, coupled with natural Eeyore-ness. Would be nice to be proved wrong, but...

JamesAC, quite right, elephants get first dibs. Training them all to row might be tricky. :ohmy:
 

JamesAC

Senior Member
Location
London
Arch said:
JamesAC, quite right, elephants get first dibs. Training them all to row might be tricky. :ohmy:

How about some sort of hydro-jet propulsion: if they used their trunks to suck at the front, and blow at the back (;) if you see what I mean!!!)

On a serious note: I would urge moderation in the abuse of this planet's resources. Even if Climate Change is not happening, it's still got to be a Good Thing if we strive for sustainability rather than exponential growth.

Given that most of the world's climate scientists (with the exception of those employed by the oil companies and a few Danish nutters) agree that climate change IS happening, and IS caused by humankind's profligate use of resources such as hydrocarbon fuels, I would rather not jet off to Bail for a conference on GW.

Cheers (or not, as may be the case)
 

Arch

Married to Night Train
Location
Salford, UK
abchandler said:
It's not so much the rowing per se, more getting it in time that you'll struggle with I think

I dunno, when you see them in cartoon circus processions, they are walking in time and swinging their trunks in time to the music...

I need to work out which animal will make the best cox. Mouse maybe, then they'd row like mad to get away...
 

Arch

Married to Night Train
Location
Salford, UK
JamesAC said:
How about some sort of hydro-jet propulsion: if they used their trunks to suck at the front, and blow at the back (;) if you see what I mean!!!)

Gotcha! Good idea...

On a serious note: I would urge moderation in the abuse of this planet's resources. Even if Climate Change is not happening, it's still got to be a Good Thing if we strive for sustainability rather than exponential growth.

My thoughts too.

Given that most of the world's climate scientists (with the exception of those employed by the oil companies and a few Danish nutters) agree that climate change IS happening, and IS caused by humankind's profligate use of resources such as hydrocarbon fuels, I would rather not jet off to Bail for a conference on GW.

Cheers (or not, as may be the case)

Yes, I heard someone on the World Service asking about that, and I think the 'excuse', if you want to call it that is that sometimes people have to meet face to face, to really drive points home, or to suss out whether they're telling the truth, or just spinning a load of lies or whatever. I agree that it seems hypocritical, but I suspect the carbon footprint is fairly tiny compared to the massive thoughtless (by which I mean casual, done without thought) use of resources everyday by the rest of the developed world. Someone on Thought for the Day, today was talking about an acquaintance who lives in Chicago, and in the hot summer leaves his airconditioning running all day while he's out at work, so that he comes home to an instantly cool flat. When asked why he did this. he said "Because I can afford to..." That's the problem, people not seeing beyond spending whatever they like....

Ah, sod this, let's get back to pygmy elephants. I'd make mine a tiny Howdah, and then it could carry shopping home for me....
 

papercorn2000

Senior Member
The "pygmy" effluent "recreated" for the programme was merely a shrunken "normal" effluent. For starters, a tiny effluent would have very different shaped legs. It wouldn't need big tree-trunky ones. It wouldn't have the same thermo-regulating problems therefore no need for such big ears.
Etc, etc.
 
OP
OP
abchandler

abchandler

Senior Member
Location
Worcs, UK
papercorn2000 said:
The "pygmy" effluent "recreated" for the programme was merely a shrunken "normal" effluent. For starters, a tiny effluent would have very different shaped legs. It wouldn't need big tree-trunky ones. It wouldn't have the same thermo-regulating problems therefore no need for such big ears.
Etc, etc.

[tongue in cheek]Really?? I thought it was footage taken in Sicily all those years ago[/tongue in cheek]
;):ohmy::biggrin:
 

Arch

Married to Night Train
Location
Salford, UK
papercorn2000 said:
The "pygmy" effluent "recreated" for the programme was merely a shrunken "normal" effluent. For starters, a tiny effluent would have very different shaped legs. It wouldn't need big tree-trunky ones. It wouldn't have the same thermo-regulating problems therefore no need for such big ears.
Etc, etc.

But you saw the leg bone - it was much the same proportion as the normal one, just little...

See the pic here:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dwarf_elephant

A Shetland pony isn't that different in shape to a Clydesdale, it's just smaller. That's what happens on isolated islands.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Insular_dwarfism

Interestingly, smaller animals, on an island with no predators often become larger, since a larger body size is more efficient. I seem to remember being told that the most efficient size for a temperate climate is that of a large domestic cat...

Obviously, the ears can't be judged from fossil remains, but on the example of the Shetland pony, I don't imagine they'd become much smaller. Yes, I could see that the recreation in the programme was just footage of a modern full size elephant, but I don't think the pygmy would have been all that different in shape.
 
did you see that amazing creatures prog on 5 recently? there were very small chameleons... and i mean tiny lil things. just like a 'real' one, but a fraction of the size, almost a scale replica.

on the subject of small things... little grebes are so sweet, i want a pet one. i could keep it in the bathtub.
 
Top Bottom