Sorry about the delay in getting back to you. A friend of mine lives up in the north Georgia mountains where he heats with a wood stove. We took advantage of the fine weather this weekend to saw, split, haul and stack some of the wood he will will need for next winter. Ughhhh... I'm stiff and sore this morning.

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Regardless of the causitive mechanism(s) the data indicates a die-off every 62 +/- 3 million years. The last die off was ~65 million years ago. If the data is correct that puts us due NOW. Add this to all the various other scenarios that could wipe us out or hurl us back beyond the stone age (plague-- manmade or natural, super volcanoes, abrupt global climate change, random meteorites, war, terrorism, economic meltdown, etc., and, long term, I don't like our chances of survival.

Old news, you say? We've been worrying about this since the Cold War? Yes, but here is something I seldom hear discussed. It involves a kind of cosmic responsibility on our part.

Despite the Drake equation which indicates the cosmos is teeming with life-- and with intelligent life to boot-- as far as we know *for sure* so far Homo sapiens is the Cosmos' best means of seeing, thinking, and being aware of itself. (A couple of quotes come to mind here regarding this line of thought, one by Carl Sagan and the other by Mother Teresa, but I don't have either immediately available). What I'm suggesting is-- however much we may hate ourselves or how hopeless it may all seem-- we have a duty to something greater than ourselves not to suicide or to let ourselves be extinguished.

Getting off planet as soon as possible is our best means for seeing to it our genes AND our technology continue.


t.