mzzz
Well Known GateFan
Just in the Americas, they produce about 25 million barrels of oil per day in 2012 (http://www.eia.gov/countries/americas/). Dimensional analysis:Im using extrapolation. Lets just pick any ONE species of termite, and use that species and cut out the rest (for this example). One termite mound requires the movement of AT LEAST one ounce of earth to create. Multiply that by a very conservative 1 million mounds per year (31.25 tons), for 150 million years and that is 4,687,500,000 tons of earth by just one species. I specified "termites" as a group, including all the species there are, to illustrate how Man's impact on the environment is miniscule by comparison. If we include all termite species, the numbers increase exponentially to a degree that Man's influence is miniscule. We need to also include earthworms, ants and other digging insect species in this. My point is that Man is not special or particularly unique in his behaviors or accomplishments. Much of the technology we have is pointless, or inefficient.
You are wanting to restrict this to termites alone and only one species? Even the scientific classification of "species" is inefficient. A brown termite which is the same as a white termite which is the same as a red termite or a green termite except for the color does not make it something other than a termite, nor does it necessarily make it a separate species. Its why "africanized honey bees" exist (crossbreeding). Separate species should not be able to create fertile offspring. Like in physics, many entomologists seek distinction by identifying a "new species" they can name after themselves and claim the coveted "discoverer" status. My point is that "termites" (all varieties of them) have moved more earth than Man in his existence. Earthworms have moved even more!
I wasnt making a comparison between just Man and termites, I was making the point that insects are more evolved than Man, and that they have moved more earth than Man, and impact the environment more than Man which makes the idea of Manmade Global Warming a ridiculous concept. Im making the point that Man is not special, he isnt the Lord of the Earth, and he is neither the most evolved creature on earth or even the most intelligent. He is Man...that's it.
The second half of the second paragraph is me emphasizing the fact that Man is not special and there is nothing particularly intelligent about thinking Man is the most advanced creature ever to exist and that we can "save the planet" (or destroy it). The Global Warming pundits have been caught fudging numbers and exaggerating to support the notion.
(25,000,000 barrels/day) x (365 days/yr) x (42 gallons/barrel) x (density of crude oil: 7.094 lb/gallon) x (4.5x(10^-4) metric ton/lb) = 1,223,448,975 tons/yr
That's 1/4 of the the amount of 'earth' done by that estimation you did. That whole calculation I did was for just one year in just the Americas of just oil produced, not even consumed. Not even considering amount of wood, concrete, a whole slew of other things moved. Your calculation for all the species of termite wouldn't exponentially increase. It'd be linear. You just make a maximized calculation by taking the amount one species and applying that to all of them, so just multiply by 2000. You're overestimating termites and underestimating man.
More evolved doesn't really mean anything until you put down parameters for what you mean by more evolved.
