mass extinctions and DDT

["Mark Harvey" <extinctionevent@hotmail.com>]

Hi all,

An old question I would like to reintroduce:

"If human beings were to become extinct in the next 500 years due to global 
warming, pestilence or other catastrophy, what if anything would remain of 
our civilization to reveal us to the next superspecies, 65 million years 
from now?"
.
I sent a standard email to 100's of paleontologists and archaeologists 
(PHd's in the USA and worldwide), asking  this question  to try and get some 
concensus.  I received approximately 60 replies. The results are as follows. 
 About 20 thought there would be direct evidence to reveal us.  About 30 
were uncertain.  About 10 thought there would be no evidence to reveal us.

There seems to be no concensus in paleontology and archaeology.  I have some 
 replies published online if anyone would like to read through them.  What 
does seem certain, is the mass extinction we are currently causing will 
remain part of the fossil record.  Would future paleontologists interpret 
such an extinction event as evidence of intelligence?

If there is no concensus, then why don't we analyse KT boundary (and perhaps 
other) sediments for industrial contaminants?

Regards,
Mark Harvey
New Zealand

50% of the worlds flora and fauna could be on the path to extinction within 
the next 100 years - National Geographic

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