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Metaphysical Environmental Question . . .

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Metaphysical Environmental Question . . .

from Stardock Forums

I was wondering what PQ rating you'd say our own planet as it is today would be? Also say 1000 years ago and 1 million years ago . . . What of the future? Do you think our planet's health might one day be as good as the preverbial Eden . . . or better still? Humor me I'm interested to know what you people think :) . . .
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Reply #76 from Stardock Forums Top
"'discernible' human influence on climate"
"unlikely to be entirely natural in origin."
"new and stronger evidence"
"always controversial"
"no unambiguous way"
"incomplete understanding"

is not concensus, in exactly the same way a working hypothesis is not fact
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I'm going to say this one more time, then I'm quitting unless you make some new point.

When talking about science, looking at the word "controversial" or "incomplete understanding" or whatever is absolutely meaningless without context. If, to manufacture an example, scientists were uncertain whether human activity will cause two degrees of warming or six degrees of warming, that would certainly be "controversial" and we would definitely have an "incomplete understanding" of the situation. There would nonetheless be a consensus among these scientists that human activity will cause a lot of warming.

The context is absolutely necessary.
Reply #77 from Stardock Forums Top
Anyway to carry on with the original and rather more benign theme of PQs. I had a 61 PQ in my last game . . . I find it hard to imagine what a planet more beutiful than Earth at it's best would be like?
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Well, PQ isn't really about "beauty" so much as it is a measure of what your civilization can get out of a planet. So some ideas for improving PQ, not by making the planet "more beautiful" but perhaps making it "better" in game terms.

Maybe more surface area as land, and less as unusable water, so there's more space for humans, crops, cities, etc?

More total surface area, ie a bigger planet? (With the planet being less dense, so gravity didn't get too unreasonable).

Higher concentrations of scientifically important elements and materials (whatever those might be in 2178), to help industrial growth? Maybe by 2178 everything we do will require vanadium, and the amount of easily available vanadium will determine planet quality. (Today's essential material might be oil.)

Tectonically more stable (ie fewer volcanos, earthquakes, etc). More stable and predictable weather patterns.
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Ashes of the Singularity II
Reply #78 from Stardock Forums Top
I'd say earth is a class 20 planet as whatever you could say about pollution this planet is pretty much perfect for human habitation since we evolved to live on it. We have just multiplied so much on our wonderful planet that we are beginning to affect it. Earth has the following things...
More than enough food to feed everyone but no everyone can afford it.
Plenty water for everyone but it is porely distributed and tends to get wasted.
A breathable atmosphere (genrally speaking)
Not many alien planets could be better than this. But of course the aliens are probably happy on those too.
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