From: Damien Raphael (phoenix@ugcs.caltech.edu)
Date: Mon Feb 04 2002 - 21:21:57 MST
On Mon, Feb 04, 2002 at 07:31:52PM -0800, Spike Jones wrote:
> Finally, this planet is not goldilocks-just-right, it isnt perfect for
> the lifeforms that evolved here, it is somewhat colder than ideal.
Given that lifeforms evolved for different climates, how do you define
'perfect'?
Personally, hot and humid climate just sucks. Great for rainforests,
yeah. But civilization has consisted of getting the hell away from the
jungle. What's good for life in general may not be what's great for
cities...
> Much perfectly good land is covered with ice, whereas there is
> very little land on this planet that is too hot for life. The equator
> teems with life, the poles are nearly barren. spike
Some of that has to do with the geometrical facts of insolation. The
equator gets a lot more sunlight than the poles.
And if there are really big ice caps sucking up ocean water, more
continental shelf gets exposed. I saw an idea once that Eden/Flood
stories might stem from "we used to gather our food, and then the water
came in and it sucked", along with the Eden in the Bible (convergence of
four rivers) being currently several miles offshore in the Persian Gulf.
-xx- Damien X-)
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