14 October 2010
Global Warming Conundrum
The human condition involves living with the unforeseen consequences of our actions, including splitting the atom and burning organic fuels. Scientists did not necessarily anticipate the geopolitical impact of nuclear weapons and Neanderthals certainly did not worry about fire’s effects on the world’s climate.
Global Warming is not a catastrophe—yet. It is merely a consideration that has to be taken seriously as we plan for the future. It has never been realistic to think that we can attain life in the Garden of Eden. It is only reasonable to arm our descendents with the intellectual tools that will allow them to deal with the next challenges they surely will face.
Somebody will probably make money by innovating a solution to a problem like Global Warming. Good for him, her or them! Harold Lewis, Emeritus Professor of Physics, University of California, Santa Barbara, shouldn’t complain as he did in resigning from the American Physical Society, that money is being spent to convince the public and scientists that Global Warming is a problem. Solving problems is not a zero-sum game. There will always be plenty of problems to solve. The important thing is to foster and maintain the wits to deal with them as they arise.
The human condition involves living with the unforeseen consequences of our actions, including splitting the atom and burning organic fuels. Scientists did not necessarily anticipate the geopolitical impact of nuclear weapons and Neanderthals certainly did not worry about fire’s effects on the world’s climate.
Global Warming is not a catastrophe—yet. It is merely a consideration that has to be taken seriously as we plan for the future. It has never been realistic to think that we can attain life in the Garden of Eden. It is only reasonable to arm our descendents with the intellectual tools that will allow them to deal with the next challenges they surely will face.
Somebody will probably make money by innovating a solution to a problem like Global Warming. Good for him, her or them! Harold Lewis, Emeritus Professor of Physics, University of California, Santa Barbara, shouldn’t complain as he did in resigning from the American Physical Society, that money is being spent to convince the public and scientists that Global Warming is a problem. Solving problems is not a zero-sum game. There will always be plenty of problems to solve. The important thing is to foster and maintain the wits to deal with them as they arise.
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