In a message dated 3/16/2009 8:32:39 AM Eastern Daylight Time,
Spinozalens@aol.com writes:
In a message dated 3/14/2009 3:25:47 PM Eastern Daylight Time,
rrhake@earthlink.net writes:
Some physics educators might be interested in a recent post "Re: Is
Global Warming really a one-sided point of view or a scientific fact?
#2" [Hake (2009)]. The abstract reads:
ABSTRACT: Bob Fuller in his PHYSOC post of 11 March 2009 asked: "Is
Global Warming really a one-sided point of view or a scientific
fact?" I doubt that any scientifically literate person would call
global warming a scientific "fact," but the scientific research
consensus is that anthropogenic global warming: (a) does indeed
exist [IPCC (2007a)] and (b) poses a threat to life on planet Earth
[IPCC (2007b)]. Rick Tarara responded that " 'Global Warming' has
become a semi-religious doctrine with all kinds of 'facts' of which
only some are scientific." Can Tarara pinpoint any "non-scientific
facts" in the IPCC reports? In any case, the generally ignored
gorilla in the living room is GLOBAL OVERPOPULATION as pointed out by
e.g., Al Bartlett (2008), Elmer Eisner (1999, 2009), and Chris Hedges
(2009).
There is a regular cottage industry of global warming denial, funded by far
right organizations and the energy corporations. It's similar in many ways to
the Intelligent design program and has its genesis in the Tobacco companies
effort to create a "smoke screen" to hide the cancer issue associated with
tobacco use. The strategy isn't to win the argument, but rather to create the
illusion of controversy to provide cover for politicians to do nothing.
We are well past the point of doubt that global warming is a manmade
problem. And what has been obvious to many is that the IPCC report was in fact
watered down to appease powerful interests. The situation is even graver, there
are now identified positive feedback processes that will shorten the time
needed to see the more serious effects of global warming.
We are running into a perfect storm of woe of environmental stress,
overpopulation and resource depletion. It may well be that the emergence of
intelligence in evolution creates a species which , due to its greater ability to
effect the environment and extract resources , generally results in mass
extinction's including the intelligent specious itself. Based on the Drake equation,
this sadly might be the answer to Fermi's question, where are they, in
reference to others forms of intelligent life in the Universe.