ErikViking
VIP Member
I will stick my nose out and tell you the truth.
Slight warning: This will be a moderate post.
First of all. Look at my Avatar. That is a Mandelbrot fractal with a Julia attractor. My daughters name is Julia. It is also representation of chaos - beautiful like the ocean, forrest or flowers. Chaos is woven deeply into us and our world and the temprature changes are no exception.
The concept of chaos rhymes perfectly with our brains but it connects badly with our abstract and linnear science. Almost anything related to chaos can be proven with linnear thinking if you change your field of view.
So what have scientists done?
OUR NARROW MINDS - I
They have for a brief moment taken a look at temperature changes. They all know that fluctuations can't hardly be predicted. They also know that historical data can't be statistically compared. Most scientists agree that the planet is going through climate changes. The extent and reasons is up for suggestions. Our small narrow science is not yet capable of any real conclusions. Has man contributed to this? And if so, - how much? It could be the case that the first human who set a piece of wood on fire started a chain reaction that was both disasterous and irreverible. Or maybe our doings contribute to nothing.
I AM GOD?
There is a lot of talk about what to do and what not to do in order to set things straight. This is pure nonsense. If you belive in a god you can pray for his intervensions, otherwise - hold your breath. Humans have done a very poor job in controlling nature. In fact we do it so poorly that almost any effort creates some unforseen effect on a totally unrelated matter. Those effects take some time to understand - retroperspectivley. Scientists are often very blind to those effects and pretend to be surprised. They aren't. Well, they couldn't know what to expect - but they knew that something would happen. Their arrogance and almost god like behaviour could be dangerous. If a cure for cancer was developed it would be "tested" and deployed. If the human race then ceased to exist in 150 years it wouldn't surprise me. I know chaos.
JUST STOP IT?
So what am I saying? Should progress stop, just to ensure we don't do things we will regret later on? No, of course not. This is the price we pay for being thinking beings. Chaos got no morale. Not curing cancer might also lead to disaster in yet another unforseen way. But we do need to be more careful. We need to be more humble about our position. This planet is redundant. We could probably do anything we like here, life would still get back on track. Possibly without any humans around - but to think we can wipe out all life is as arrogant as anything else.
OUR NARROW MINDS - II
Yet all this uncertainty leads people to belive that we know less than we do. The uncertainty discussed by scientists is not for use in political or economical debates. There is a strong possibilty that our current lifestyle is actually going to effect the climate. This possibility - or risc - is instantly drawn into a contemporary political and economical debate. Voices cry out against or for scientific work for reasons not even remotely linked to climate. This sub-debate make us unworthy of "owning" this planet. The only logical step now is NOT to do nothing until we know. Instead we should try to reduce our impact - just to play it safe - on this planet. People tend to think that "doing something" is to stop driving big cars. It isn't. Relative to earth and climate "doing something" is to drive big cars. By doing stuff we increase the risc of messing things up even worse.
BOTTOM LINE
Accept the possibility of ourselfs messing the system up.
Don't see money as wasted if spent on reducing the risc of this possibility. But do this wisely. Economy is also a resource - if we waste it we have no more room for actions. Let economical experts deal with how to integrate climate into economy.
Stop using climate as an economical or political tool. Can you imagine the verdict placed upon us if we fail now? Calling devoted and concerned people nuts is terrible. And making single persons look like climate-busters is equally bad. What we need to realize is that this issue can't be solved without adding environment to the charts of assets. Gold, silver, environment, industry or tourism.
For our everyday lives:
You do NOT have to support the rescue of the endangered Speckled Owl. The effort might as well fail or render the Striped Mouse extinct.
You DO have to support the thought of climate as valuable as gold. The rest will in time sort it self out. Encourage attempts in economical-climate connections. Like the Kyoto protocol. But don't forget you must make a good deal out of it, otherwise you misuse economical resources and thus reduce the possibility to act.
Slight warning: This will be a moderate post.
First of all. Look at my Avatar. That is a Mandelbrot fractal with a Julia attractor. My daughters name is Julia. It is also representation of chaos - beautiful like the ocean, forrest or flowers. Chaos is woven deeply into us and our world and the temprature changes are no exception.
The concept of chaos rhymes perfectly with our brains but it connects badly with our abstract and linnear science. Almost anything related to chaos can be proven with linnear thinking if you change your field of view.
So what have scientists done?
OUR NARROW MINDS - I
They have for a brief moment taken a look at temperature changes. They all know that fluctuations can't hardly be predicted. They also know that historical data can't be statistically compared. Most scientists agree that the planet is going through climate changes. The extent and reasons is up for suggestions. Our small narrow science is not yet capable of any real conclusions. Has man contributed to this? And if so, - how much? It could be the case that the first human who set a piece of wood on fire started a chain reaction that was both disasterous and irreverible. Or maybe our doings contribute to nothing.
I AM GOD?
There is a lot of talk about what to do and what not to do in order to set things straight. This is pure nonsense. If you belive in a god you can pray for his intervensions, otherwise - hold your breath. Humans have done a very poor job in controlling nature. In fact we do it so poorly that almost any effort creates some unforseen effect on a totally unrelated matter. Those effects take some time to understand - retroperspectivley. Scientists are often very blind to those effects and pretend to be surprised. They aren't. Well, they couldn't know what to expect - but they knew that something would happen. Their arrogance and almost god like behaviour could be dangerous. If a cure for cancer was developed it would be "tested" and deployed. If the human race then ceased to exist in 150 years it wouldn't surprise me. I know chaos.
JUST STOP IT?
So what am I saying? Should progress stop, just to ensure we don't do things we will regret later on? No, of course not. This is the price we pay for being thinking beings. Chaos got no morale. Not curing cancer might also lead to disaster in yet another unforseen way. But we do need to be more careful. We need to be more humble about our position. This planet is redundant. We could probably do anything we like here, life would still get back on track. Possibly without any humans around - but to think we can wipe out all life is as arrogant as anything else.
OUR NARROW MINDS - II
Yet all this uncertainty leads people to belive that we know less than we do. The uncertainty discussed by scientists is not for use in political or economical debates. There is a strong possibilty that our current lifestyle is actually going to effect the climate. This possibility - or risc - is instantly drawn into a contemporary political and economical debate. Voices cry out against or for scientific work for reasons not even remotely linked to climate. This sub-debate make us unworthy of "owning" this planet. The only logical step now is NOT to do nothing until we know. Instead we should try to reduce our impact - just to play it safe - on this planet. People tend to think that "doing something" is to stop driving big cars. It isn't. Relative to earth and climate "doing something" is to drive big cars. By doing stuff we increase the risc of messing things up even worse.
BOTTOM LINE
Accept the possibility of ourselfs messing the system up.
Don't see money as wasted if spent on reducing the risc of this possibility. But do this wisely. Economy is also a resource - if we waste it we have no more room for actions. Let economical experts deal with how to integrate climate into economy.
Stop using climate as an economical or political tool. Can you imagine the verdict placed upon us if we fail now? Calling devoted and concerned people nuts is terrible. And making single persons look like climate-busters is equally bad. What we need to realize is that this issue can't be solved without adding environment to the charts of assets. Gold, silver, environment, industry or tourism.
For our everyday lives:
You do NOT have to support the rescue of the endangered Speckled Owl. The effort might as well fail or render the Striped Mouse extinct.
You DO have to support the thought of climate as valuable as gold. The rest will in time sort it self out. Encourage attempts in economical-climate connections. Like the Kyoto protocol. But don't forget you must make a good deal out of it, otherwise you misuse economical resources and thus reduce the possibility to act.