For Al Gore to receive the Peace Prise is great, and he may be our only chance ever for a 'science president', but he still speaks about (or completely fails to actually) the critical difference between quantitative and qualitative change where it really matters. The 'equation' for responding to climate change he has helped make the dominant world view is 'politically expedient' but thoroughly incompetent, It balances quantitative change in economic impacts on the earth against qualitative change in the technology and policies for how to do it. What it ignores entirely is that the former increase by larger and larger steps and the counter effect of the latter can only increase by smaller and smaller steps.
If building one house consumes 10 units of resources and you improve the efficiency by 20% then build two more houses, you've done 'good' on both counts, but the equation doesn't balance. The next step following the equation is still worse because the improvements in efficiency become smaller but the doubling of quantities remains the same (until you take that into account or the economies fail). The whole project to save the earth is riddled with that ill conceived thinking for how to 'do good'. The save the earth 'image' is right but the method is to do it on the cheap, not asking people to discuss the underlying problem. It is failing to limit the growth in the quantity of impacts now, and will continue to fail, for real obviuous natural causes. It'll be hugely better for the next president, whoever it is, if this comes out before rather than after they are elected. -- Phil Henshaw ¸¸¸¸.·´ ¯ `·.¸¸¸¸ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 680 Ft. Washington Ave NY NY 10040 tel: 212-795-4844 explorations: www.synapse9.com
============================================================ FRIAM Applied Complexity Group listserv Meets Fridays 9a-11:30 at cafe at St. John's College lectures, archives, unsubscribe, maps at http://www.friam.org
