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https://edition.cnn.com/2026/07/25/climate/silurian-hypothesis-another-civilization-before-humans>
"When astrobiologist Adam Frank walked into the office of NASA scientist Gavin
Schmidt, he had what he believed was the weirdest question: do aliens
experience climate change? It took just moments for Schmidt to out-weird him.
Frank, a University of Rochester professor who looks for signs of life in the
universe, was digging into whether advanced civilizations would inevitably
trigger climate shifts, just as humans are doing now. He was looking at other
planets, he told Schmidt that day back in 2017, “because, of course, we know
that there have been no other civilizations on Earth.”
Schmidt immediately cut him off. “How do you know that?” he asked.
It was a record scratch moment, Frank said, and it started the two scientists
off on an investigation. If an advanced civilization had lived on Earth
millions of years ago, powered themselves with energy and wiped themselves out,
would we know? Would they have left traces of their presence etched into the
record of our planet?
They called the idea the “Silurian hypothesis” — after a fictional advanced
race of reptiles in the TV show “Doctor Who” — and published a paper on it in
2018.
It is a mind-bending idea that not only looks deep into the Earth’s past but
also far into its future, as humans change the climate swiftly and dramatically
by burning fossil fuels. “It is a thought experiment, but one that exposes our
potential vulnerability globally,” said Katharine Hayhoe, an atmospheric
scientist at Texas Tech University, who was not involved in the research.
The Silurean hypothesis opens big questions about the trajectory of advanced
civilizations and whether all those that harness energy on a global scale are
destined to burn out, or whether there’s a chance to live sustainably and
survive for millions of years.
“These questions are all relevant to exactly the moment that we’re in,” said
Frank. “We are pushing the planet into a new climate regime … we know this is
true, right? And yet we’re not doing anything about it.”"
Via Kenny Chaffin.
Cheers,
*** Xanni ***
--
mailto:xanni@xanadu.net Andrew Pam
http://xanadu.com.au/ Chief Scientist, Xanadu
https://glasswings.com.au/ Partner, Glass Wings
https://sericyb.com.au/ Manager, Serious Cybernetics
