Dear all, The most telling sentence in the summary of Clive Hamilton's Oxford talk is this:
"*The grip of technological thinking explains why it has been so difficult for us to heed the warnings of climate science and why the idea of using technology to take control of the earth’s atmosphere is immediately appealing*." 1. I know very few people who propose geoengineering without also advocating renewed efforts to reduce greenhouse gases. 2. The idea of using technology (geoengineering) is not appealing to anybody - it is only considered as emergency action - hence demanded by people (like myself) who believe we are in an emergency right now (see especially 5 below). 3. It is the science that demands that we take geoengineering seriously, because emissions reductions by themselves cannot have required effects (halting global warming and ocean acidification) in necessary timescales. 4. The idea that the Earth System will heal itself, if only we stop meddling with it and reducing our emissions, is very attractive to environmentalists but extremely foolish. The huge pulse of CO2 which we've put in the atmosphere will stay for generations, and continue heating the planet for generations, unless we DO something to reduce the CO2 level. This is an ethical imperative. 5. Scientific research in the Arctic suggests that there is a methane time-bomb, which needs to be defused as quickly as possible, if we are to avoid risk of methane-induced runaway global warming. 6. We can only bring down the temperature in the Arctic if we DO something to cool the Arctic by reducing the radiative forcing there using some kind of SRM geoengineering (albeit less than global scale). Again this is an ethical imperative. So it is the lack of grip of scientific thinking which is the problem - and taking a grip on technological thinking which is the solution, however unappealing this is to all of us! The geoengineering medicine has a nasty flavour, but it could be life-saving for us all. Cheers, John --- On Tue, Jun 21, 2011 at 1:02 AM, Tom Wigley <[email protected]> wrote: > Dear all, > > There are some excellent works on climate ethics. Here are two that > I enjoyed ... > > The Ethics of Climate Change, James Garvey, Continuum International > Publishing Group, London, 2008. > > One World, The Ethics of Globalization, Peter Singer, Yale University > Press, New Haven, 2004 (2nd edition). > > Peter Singer's book has some eye-opening stuff in it. > > Tom. > > ++++++++++++++++++++++++ > > > On 6/20/2011 11:36 AM, Gregory Benford wrote: > >> This seems to add nothing to Martin HEIDIGGER's work, as wiki puts it: >> >> The essence of modern technology is the conversion of the whole universe >> of beings into an undifferentiated "standing reserve" (/Bestand/) of >> energy available for any use to which humans choose to put it. Heidegger >> described the essence of modern technology as /Gestell >> <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/**Gestell<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gestell>>/, >> or "enframing." Heidegger does >> >> not unequivocally condemn technology: while he acknowledges that modern >> technology contains grave dangers, Heidegger nevertheless also argues >> that it may constitute a chance for human beings to enter a new epoch in >> their relation to being. >> >> Gregory Benford >> >> On Sun, Jun 19, 2011 at 11:19 AM, Andrew Lockley >> <[email protected] >> <mailto:andrew.lockley@gmail.**com<[email protected]>>> >> wrote: >> >> http://www.practicalethics.ox.**ac.uk/events/events/main/talk_** >> by_clive_hamilton<http://www.practicalethics.ox.ac.uk/events/events/main/talk_by_clive_hamilton> >> >> Event: Talk on Geoengineering by Clive Hamilton >> Date & Time: 27th Jun 2011 4:00pm-5:30pm >> >> Description: >> Clive Hamilton (an Academic Visitor based at the Oxford Uehiro Centre) >> is to give a talk for the Oxford Geoengineering Programme as follows: >> Venue: Oxford Martin School, Old Indian Institute (corner of Holywell >> and Catte Streets), 34 Broad Street. >> >> http://www.oxfordmartin.ox.ac.**uk/contact/<http://www.oxfordmartin.ox.ac.uk/contact/> >> Title: Rethinking Geoengineering and the Meaning of the Climate Crisis >> Abstract: This paper develops a critique of the consequentialist >> approach to the ethics of geoengineering, the approach that deploys >> assessment of costs and benefits in a risk framework to justify >> climatic intervention. >> He argues that there is a strong case for preferring the natural, and >> that the unique and highly threatening character of global warming >> renders the standard approach to the ethics of climate change >> unsustainable. Moreover, the unstated metaphysical assumption of >> conventional ethical, economic and policy thinking—modernity’s idea of >> the autonomous human subject analyzing and acting on an inert external >> world—is the basis for the kind of “technological thinking” that lies >> at the heart of the climate crisis. >> Technological thinking both projects a systems framework onto the >> natural world and frames it as a catalogue of resources for the >> benefit of humans. Recent discoveries by Earth system science >> itself—the arrival of the Anthropocene, the prevalence of >> non-linearities, and the deep complexity of the earth’s processes—hint >> at the inborn flaws in this kind of thinking. The grip of >> technological thinking explains why it has been so difficult for us to >> heed the warnings of climate science and why the idea of using >> technology to take control of the earth’s atmosphere is immediately >> appealing. >> Brief Bio: Clive Hamilton is Professor of Public Ethics at the Centre >> for Applied Philosophy and Public Ethics (CAPPE) and holds the newly >> created Vice-Chancellor's Chair at Charles Sturt University, >> Australia. He was the Founder and for 14 years the Executive Director >> of The Australia Institute, a public interest think tank. He is well >> known in Australia as a public intellectual and for his contributions >> to public policy debate. His extensive publications include writings >> on climate change policy, overconsumption, welfare policy and the >> effects of commercialisation. Recent publications include The Freedom >> Paradox: Towards a post-secular ethics and Requiem for a Species: Why >> we resist the truth about climate change >> All welcome, no booking required. >> >> -- >> You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google >> Groups "geoengineering" group. >> To post to this group, send email to >> geoengineering@googlegroups.**com<[email protected]> >> <mailto:geoengineering@**googlegroups.com<[email protected]> >> >. >> >> To unsubscribe from this group, send email to >> >> geoengineering+unsubscribe@**googlegroups.com<geoengineering%[email protected]> >> >> <mailto:geoengineering%**[email protected]<geoengineering%[email protected]> >> **>. >> >> For more options, visit this group at >> >> http://groups.google.com/**group/geoengineering?hl=en<http://groups.google.com/group/geoengineering?hl=en> >> . >> >> >> -- >> You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google >> Groups "geoengineering" group. >> To post to this group, send email to >> geoengineering@googlegroups.**com<[email protected]> >> . >> To unsubscribe from this group, send email to >> geoengineering+unsubscribe@**googlegroups.com<geoengineering%[email protected]> >> . >> For more options, visit this group at >> http://groups.google.com/**group/geoengineering?hl=en<http://groups.google.com/group/geoengineering?hl=en> >> . >> > > > -- > You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups > "geoengineering" group. > To post to this group, send email to > geoengineering@googlegroups.**com<[email protected]> > . > To unsubscribe from this group, send email to geoengineering+unsubscribe@* > *googlegroups.com <geoengineering%[email protected]>. > For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/** > group/geoengineering?hl=en<http://groups.google.com/group/geoengineering?hl=en> > . > > -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "geoengineering" group. 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