• Welcome! The TrekBBS is the number one place to chat about Star Trek with like-minded fans.
    If you are not already a member then please register an account and join in the discussion!

The beginning of the end of the world?

Candlelight

Admiral
Admiral
http://www.stuff.co.nz/environment/4516769/Fears-of-a-reckoning-spread

Blackbirds falling from the sky in Arkansas, hundreds of dead birds found in Louisiana and Sweden, millions of dead fish in Maryland, Brazil and New Zealand - coincidence or the end of the world?
While scientists maintain there is no link between the events, the unexplained mass deaths of fish and birds across the globe has sparked widespread fear about an impending apocalypse, with chat forums and religious sites bombarded with questions about the "end of days".
Yesterday, there were reports of dead birds near Tyler, Texas in the United States, 40,000 devil crabs washed up dead on the Kent coast in England and thousands of dead fish were found in a freshwater creek in Florida.
New Zealand has been drawn into the web of speculation after the deaths of hundreds of snapper - washed up on Coromandel beaches this week - were matched by similar occurrences in both Brazil and Maryland, in the US.
The Baltimore Sun reported that an estimated 2 million fish were found dead in Maryland's Chesapeake Bay on Tuesday, with both adult and juvenile fish surfacing.
Either that, polar shift or we're about to have a flashforward.
 
^I just chalk it up to increased reporting. This kind of thing always has been happening.
 
There was at least one site that suggested this sort of thing goes on every year, but that the internet has become a global reporter that draws together scattered stories and attempts to make more out of them than is really there.

The additional qualifier offered was that these events most often occur in wild or sparsely populated areas and thus may go unnoticed/unreported.

I am no doomsayer, but I plan to follow the story, with interest. In any case, it's sad even if it proves to be all part of the natural process of things.
 
My two cents (and, in this case, I freely admit it really isn't worth much more than that :D):

I haven't had a chance to look into this, but it reminds me of instances in the past where some seemingly remarkable and mysterious event gets reported, only to find out later that such events are actually fairly common. It's just that it normally doesn't hit the national news unless it happens to occur on a particularly slow news day. I don't know if this is the same type of thing, but that would be my first guess.

I guess I've grown so old and jaded now that it takes a lot more than an "Oh, my God, look at this! Isn't this strange?" to get me worried. ;)

EDIT: Essentially beaten to the punch by both Finngle Bells and TrickyDickie. Nice to know I'm in good company, though! :D
 
It's most probable that the events are just coincidental. Because if there were a common cause, I'd expect it to have affected more than what it has. If any similar out-of-the-ordinary stories surface over the next few days, that could make things very interesting.

If there is a common cause, it looks like the birds and fish lost their sense of orientation. Some lifeforms are supposed to sense the earth's magnetic field, which they rely on for navigation. We wouldn't necessarily need to place blame with the earth's field, as there may be another source of electromagnetism to blame, or it may be another reason entirely.
 
I go by what the Bible says and the world will never end.

Yeah but the Rapture will cock things up for a lot of us heathens.

I know you're kidding, but I feel the need to point out that the Rapture isn't in the Bible. ;)

Anyway, you'd think that if these were signs of the End Times or whatever, the numbers would be a lot higher. I'd be a whole lot more worried if a million crabs were to wash ashore, for example.
 
I'm firmly in the camp that's this bird thing is man made, seems strange that its always one type of specific bird each time that's dropping dead, sounds like birds are being poisoned in captivity and the released....why, i have no idea, but thats just my opinion on it.
 
Last edited:
I need to ask - which end of the world are we talking about: the top end or the bottom end?
 
Yeah but the Rapture will cock things up for a lot of us heathens.

Ha, maybe for you. I bought tickets in advance.
*looks at tickets*
L.A. Clippers?! That scalper lied to me!

Ah, that's nothing. I sent applications to both Heaven and Hell, and was denied by both.

Was your application decision based on your credit score, too?

Yeah but the Rapture will cock things up for a lot of us heathens.

Ha, maybe for you. I bought tickets in advance.
*looks at tickets*
L.A. Clippers?! That scalper lied to me!

If you got Clippers tickets, you might look forward to armageddon :lol:

I'm fairly certain Eric Bledsoe is one of the four horsemen.
 
End of the world? It sounds like nature is providing us with a bounty of free meat that we don't have to hunt or trap. This time of year should be declared a global Thanksgiving holiday.
 
I look at it as interesting, but nothing to worry about.

We have some potential harsh weather forecast for the next couple of days, it's like I tell my students...stay warm and be careful, but your finals start Tuesday.

I'll keep an ear and eye out for anything else, but I have to go about as is. Gotta eat. ;)
 
If you are not already a member then please register an account and join in the discussion!

Sign up / Register


Back
Top