Re: In defense of paleoart (was: Re: In (premature) defense of the USNM)

[Dinogeorge@aol.com]

In a message dated 5/5/02 8:49:24 PM EST, palaeopaint@dinosaursinart.com 
writes:

<< *** MS  Ain't that the truth. For all our claims to superiority as a 
largely
 advanced addition to the evolutionary ladder, ironically we are in many
 regards
 the most pernicious form of "fungus", the "peel" of this planet has ever had
 to cope with.  While from our perspective a future collision with an
 asteroid
 seems ominous at best, GAIA (as a personification of the earth) might have
 quite a different opinion, and may regard such an encounter as the
 equivalent to a
 good scrubbing down with a cosmic "loofah" sponge!  Perhaps we're no more
 than an "irritant" in the "eye of eternity". . . :o) >>

I'd say you're being too self-deprecating. The appearance of a self-conscious 
species on this planet has certainly changed it and will continue to change 
it, but certainly no more than the anaerobes and plants that filled the 
earth's atmosphere with oxygen. Evolution is about change, and for better or 
for worse, the advent of humanity represents one of the bigger changes in the 
nature of terrestrial life. Just wait until cyber-life appears...