PETA Protests Seal Slaughter in World of Warcraft

[dstryfe]

It would set fire to the rainforests, burning them and releasing a huge amount of carbon dioxide into the air, it would release the HUGE amounts of METHANE which is in the permafrost, resulting in huge additional warming.

If there's so much methane in the permafrost, then surely we can't hope to move northward, as any given smoker may drop their half-lit smoke and blow the earth up.

I kid, but I doubt, again, that there is *that* much methane in it. Enough to be noted as a future environmental bother, sure, but nothing that will kill us if we decided, against all odds, to not be idiots and/or environmentally unsound.

Also, keep in mind that it is people in the developing world who will suffer the most.

Alright. I forgot about people that already can't stand how it is where they live. Duly noted.

 

[Anton P. Nym]

I kinda doubt that 6.4 degrees will wipe out humanity. Perhaps many other species, but not humans. (It may wind up making food more scarce, but that's not quite the same.)

It would set fire to the rainforests, burning them and releasing a huge amount of carbon dioxide into the air, it would release the HUGE amounts of METHANE which is in the permafrost, resulting in huge additional warming.

No, the evidence doesn't point that way. The evidence points to stormier rainforests and more arid grasslands; more natural fires, yes, but in rainshadowed areas like the great plains or forests like in Yellowstone.

I wouldn't worry too much about ice-bound methane; I'd worry more about the increase in water vapour, which is also a greenhouse gas. (Though increasing cloud cover will mitigate that a bit.) Besides, the real issue is increased desertification plus rising sea levels making today's coastlines uninhabitable... which means food gets tougher to grow and harder to ship, in addition to the refugee problem.

All of this has nothing to do with the seal hunt, though, save that reduced sea ice could make this a moot point in a couple of decades.

-- Steve

 

[Lonan]

I agree with PETA on the fact that the Seal hunt is sick (mostly because these Seals are days old), but I find this completely retarded.

There's bigger fish to fry. What's really sick is the retreat of the Arctic ice. It is now going into summer as the thinnest it's ever been. Global warming will kill far more seals than people ever will. You will never hear the words "sustainable population" from these Sea Shepard and PETA people and all that. It's just "seal slaughter." What matters is the long term sustainability of the species. With global warming at current rates, the entire Arctic ecosystem could be utterly destroyed, killing all the seals. In fact, if current CO2 emissions INCREASES (2-3% a year) are maintained, the world will heat up by 6.4 degrees celcius by the end of the century, which will kill not only all the seals, most of all other life as well in a great, global apocalypse. Humanity will be reduced to a few bands of people struggling for existence at the poles, but those people with clubs, barely reducing the seal populations by anything at all, are murderers. WOW.

Nathan, would you object less if we only killed adult seals? Why is killing older seals any less-bad than killing the ones that are a few days old? That's the best time to get them - before they start eating fish.
No, seriously. I'm not trying to be offensive or shocking. It really is.

We won't be at the Poles, Lonan. Give it a few more years and the north pole will melt completely in the summer. There will be nowhere to stand. Did you hear about the ice bridge in the Antarctic melting? [http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5i8UbXlhH4rH43meX0BPAuF3r39AQ] The latest one, I mean. Once the ice starts sliding off of Greenland, we're screwed.

As for DHETA vs. PETA, I'd put my money on the side that can change into giant bears.

 

[Lonan]

I kinda doubt that 6.4 degrees will wipe out humanity. Perhaps many other species, but not humans. (It may wind up making food more scarce, but that's not quite the same.)

It would set fire to the rainforests, burning them and releasing a huge amount of carbon dioxide into the air, it would release the HUGE amounts of METHANE which is in the permafrost, resulting in huge additional warming.

No, the evidence doesn't point that way. The evidence points to stormier rainforests and more arid grasslands; more natural fires, yes, but in rainshadowed areas like the great plains or forests like in Yellowstone.

I wouldn't worry too much about ice-bound methane; I'd worry more about the increase in water vapour, which is also a greenhouse gas. (Though increasing cloud cover will mitigate that a bit.) Besides, the real issue is increased desertification plus rising sea levels making today's coastlines uninhabitable... which means food gets tougher to grow and harder to ship, in addition to the refugee problem.

All of this has nothing to do with the seal hunt, though, save that reduced sea ice could make this a moot point in a couple of decades.

-- Steve

Exactly, reduced sea ice could make this a moot point in a few decades. If they really want to save the seals, they should be comparing people who drive a lot and use lots of electricity and natural gas to murderers. Also what you described is a certain level of global warming, at current rates, with CO2 rising at 2-3% a year, the level of damage you described will not last for long. Did you read the article I posted previously? I'll post it again here:
http://www.int.iol.co.za/index.php?set_id=1&click_id=31&art_id=vn20070204092500226C199716

 

[Mrsoupcup]

that's twice in like a week ive heard of peta protesting something that isn't even real; this seal clubbing thing and being able to kill attack dogs in some war game. i cant believe they would spend any time and effort to protest something fictional.

EDIT: wait, i just re-read it; are peta protesting killing in-game seals, or are they protesting killing real seals just using the game?

Killing baby seals using a game box? Thats messesed up...

 

[antipunt]

WAT

 

[Jamash]

I know how to sort this controversy out.

If we rename seals, call them 'land-fish', and instead of clubbing baby seals we call it 'euthanasing undeveloped land-fish', then it doesn't seem so bad and everybody can enjoy it.

PETA aren't the only ones who can rename things to suit their agenda.

 

[Yegargeburble]

Wow...I...they...

My brain hurts now.

I am officially saddened that this isn't an April Fool's joke (I am still hoping it is).

 

[garfoldsomeoneelse]

"Anyone who slaughters baby seals for their fur must be in service to the evil Lich King."

I don't believe you could have a looser understanding of WoW lore if you tried.

 

[Banaticus]

I think it's actually pretty cool that they wrote it up as though they were writing to an actual WoW character, they really roleplayed the whole thing. Now, I think that protesting killing seals in WoW is pretty stupid when "everyone" in the game kills squirrels, wolves, bears, deer, people, etc., but I think it's cool tha they're trying to make an actual in game event out of it.

Now if they'd just move to a different server or someplace that isn't so high level... or come over to the MMORPG that I play so that I can join in the fun...

 

[dstryfe]

Guess I forgot a bit.

It would set fire to the rainforests, burning them and releasing a huge amount of carbon dioxide into the air

Wouldn't it increase the rainfall in tropical locales? I thought that the reason tropical rain forests had so much rain was the temperature.

METHANE (24 times as potent as CO2, I think)

Pretty sure that it's 6 times, not 24, unless it's exponential decay, in which case we're already doomed.

More to the point...I think we ought not to worry about the seal hunt until their numbers are lower. As it is right now, there's actually a rather large population of seals, which, as has already been noted, I'm sure, will cause problems on it's own. I think the seal hunt is a good thing (though all good things require moderation, no?).

 

[Skeleon]

LOL, I thought for a moment there (after reading the title only) they were actually pissed about WoW because you could kill seals. But this is just an event, just some fun, kinda self-ironic and mainly publicity in their fight against REAL-LIFE seal slaughter.
Even if they are behind the seal-clubbers themselves, it's still a funny event I suppose, I can dig it. I'm mostly opposed to PETA but this is kinda funny.

 

[curlycrouton]

In the words of "Brandon Robbins" (check the Facebook page):

"Protesting the slaughter of seals in reality: thumbs up.
Protesting the slaughter of seals in a video game: *face palm*"

This is ridiculous. Is every organisation were to follow the same logic, then Amnesty International would be campaigning to ban all games where you kill or wound humans, ever.

And surely there's better games to go after? Crysis, for example, lets one pick up turtles and birds and throw them obscene distances. Oblivion allows the player to hunt anything from deer to goats.

The only good thing PETA can hope to be anymore are a hilarious self-parody for people to mock.

 

[ElArabDeMagnifico]

Sheesh, I'm against the whole "killing baby seals because they are fuzzy" thing but PETA just keeps doing one stupid thing after another.

Did they stop hunting seals in canada and then PETA thought "crap, we succeeded, what now?" - I mean, come on. WoW?

 

[Lonan]

Guess I forgot a bit.

It would set fire to the rainforests, burning them and releasing a huge amount of carbon dioxide into the air

Wouldn't it increase the rainfall in tropical locales? I thought that the reason tropical rain forests had so much rain was the temperature.

METHANE (24 times as potent as CO2, I think)

Pretty sure that it's 6 times, not 24, unless it's exponential decay, in which case we're already doomed.

More to the point...I think we ought not to worry about the seal hunt until their numbers are lower. As it is right now, there's actually a rather large population of seals, which, as has already been noted, I'm sure, will cause problems on it's own. I think the seal hunt is a good thing (though all good things require moderation, no?).

For increasing rainfall in the rainforest, yes it would do that, but it would be distributed VERY erratically. Some parts of the rainforest could simply go without water for a very long time, while others are drenched. It's so unpredictable, that's what so scary about climate change as a result of global warming. As for methane, I'm not sure of the numbers, but I do know that methane is more potent than CO2. As for seal hunting and moderation, we in the western world are the last people in the world to suggest moderation. The fact is that the people of Newfoundland and Labrador make a living off of fish, and that seals hunt fish. There's 4.4 million seals and the government quota is 300,000 or 385,000. That's won't have much of an impact on the fish population, or indeed their 15% unemployment or whatever. Also, seal furs are good for money too. I say kill more seals. All their doing is sitting around eating valuable fish anyway, as long as the population is sustainable, go wild. Of course you could reduce the population to 100,000 and call it sustainable, but I do think that the quota should be increased.

 

[Doug]

For those of you randomly discussing CO2 levels:
http://www.scientificblogging.com/news_releases/carbon_dioxide_scrubber_takes_greenhouse_gases_right_out_of_the_air

Saw this on the TV about 2 days ago.

 

[Sixties Spidey]

Someone needs to create a game based on going on a PETA Genocide now.

"PETA-STAL (Postal? PETA? Get it?)!"

or even better.

PETA May Cry! (or Hippy May Cry)

I could go on and on!

 

[scotth266]

Why, God, why are they so smug when they didn't even bother to read the OP?

They are protesting against THE REAL seal clubbing USING World of Warcraft, not protesting against virtual seal clubbing in world of warcraft.

Um, what? I understood what was going on the whole time... it's still stupid, no matter what way you look at it.

 

[letsnoobtehpwns]

Fuck PETA. They can go suck themselves.