Fossil treasure turns into dust for new homes and roads
31 replies, posted
[quote]RAJMAHAL (JHARKHAND)/KOLKATA: Just about every rock you pick up in the 2,600-sq km Rajmahal hills is a treasure — preserved by the earth for millions of years but now turning into dust. In a couple of years, this awe-inspiring wealth of Jurassic-era fossils will vanish forever, thanks to unbridled quarrying.
Hundreds of trucks, cranes and bulldozers kick up dust in an area where once dinosaurs ruled. The rocks that preserve imprints of prehistoric trees and plants are being smashed up into chips to build roads in the neighbourhood. At places, the hills have been sheared almost vertically 10 storeys high, destroying countless of the finest fossils ever found anywhere on the planet. [/quote]
Source : [url]http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/kolkata-/Fossil-treasure-turns-into-dust/articleshow/5684268.cms[/url]
Not much fun.
The Lizard Xing is angry.
Not coool...
So we should stop development just to preserve the fossils of something long dead?
[QUOTE=RayvenQ;20936668]So we should stop development just to preserve the fossils of something long dead?[/QUOTE]
yes... duh
Dinosaurs are awesome
[QUOTE=Mr_Sun;20936696]yes... duh
Dinosaurs are awesome[/QUOTE]
Not awesome enough then since they couldn't avoid extinction.
[QUOTE=The golden;20936691]I'm caught in the middle.
On one hand, it would be nice to have the fossils and gain understand from them.
[/QUOTE]
Except you'd be just learning about long dead animals, not really much use in that is there?
[QUOTE=RayvenQ;20936717]Except you'd be just learning about long dead animals, not really much use in that is there?[/QUOTE]
I guess that comes down to opinion.
ffs :bang:
Beyond being something every little boy loves to learn/talk about, I don't see how this will harm anything.
I wonder how it would be like if dinosaurs still existed...
[QUOTE=RayvenQ;20936717]Not awesome enough then since they couldn't avoid extinction.
Except you'd be just learning about long dead animals, not really much use in that is there?[/QUOTE]
If practicality were the driving force behind every human action we would be nothing better than dumb animals living from day to day.
It's our curiosity and wonder that make us great.
Ferngully/Avatar with fossils.
oh no a rock is dying :O
Yeah, what the fuck could we ever learn from fossils?
[img]http://migration.files.wordpress.com/2008/08/charlesdarwin.jpg[/img]
How dare they build roads!
I am appalled
[QUOTE=RayvenQ;20936717]Not awesome enough then since they couldn't avoid extinction.
Except you'd be just learning about long dead animals, not really much use in that is there?[/QUOTE]
Whoah. I thought you were Perfumly with all those dumb posts
[QUOTE=RayvenQ;20936717]Except you'd be just learning about long dead animals, not really much use in that is there?[/QUOTE]
You could say the same thing with anything, you can spend years developing your artistry, and you can't do shit with it. It's like building a castle and you can't live in it.
[QUOTE=Wonky;20939796]Yeah, what the fuck could we ever learn from fossils?
[/QUOTE]
Nothing of real practical use, at least at this point.
What can we learn from fossils that will revolutionize industry/change people's lives? At this point in time that is.
hmm, protect a company and possibly hundreds of jobs, or some imprints of dead plants.
sorry, but i know what i'd go for.
You can't tell people in another country what to do with their unique never-to-be-seen-again treasures. If they want to destroy them for some short term profit, that's up to them.
That's too bad though, I figured they'd be smart enough to profit off the fossils. Keep the area preserved and charge money for researchers or tourists to go there.
[QUOTE=RayvenQ;20936717]Not awesome enough then since they couldn't avoid extinction.[/QUOTE]
HMMMM YES A MILE WIDE METEOR COMING TO EARTH PAST THE SPEED OF SOUND. LETS SEE IF THE DINOSAURS BUILD A NUKE IN TIME TO BLOW IT UP. /caps
[QUOTE=RayvenQ;20936717]Not awesome enough then since they couldn't avoid extinction.
Except you'd be just learning about long dead animals, not really much use in that is there?[/QUOTE]
The human Species can't avoid its eventual extinction, does that mean we are less "awesome"?
[QUOTE=RayvenQ;20936717]Except you'd be just learning about long dead animals, not really much use in that is there?[/QUOTE]
Yeah, Because understanding the past and how certain things died couldn't possibly help the human race in anyway. Except perhaps help us avoid the same fate, And help us learn about how we will progress as a species.
Other than that, It's pretty pointless :buddy:
[i]The prehistoric remains are so well preserved that even a layman can spot the fossils from stones. The annual rings of a tree or exquisite patterns of leaves are easily identified. Fossils from here find pride of place in museums and labs across the world. But this unique treasure trove is under assault from the ones who should be protecting it.
All across the Rajmahal hills area, the government of Jharkhand has given away mining leases indiscriminately to private companies, who are blowing up the hills and digging tunnels. In this free-for-all, it is very difficult to identify who has a mining lease and who doesn’t.[/i]
This made me die a little inside. :(
I'd prefer fossils to new homes and a road in a place I'll never visit.
Sorry, you need to Log In to post a reply to this thread.