----- Original Message ----- From: "James Annan" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
[snip] > Indeed, it is a shame that the extremists at both ends of the debate > feature so prominently in the media coverage. You won't find much of > Lovelock's apocalyptic vision (or anything else by any of those people) > in the next IPCC report, for example. No, and I expect the next IPCC report will have the same impact as the previous ones - none! Here is a press report by another science journalist: Bill Blakemore of ABC News. He writes: A number of scientists tell me that [a methane clathrate release] would take the Earth up into temperatures humankind has never experienced - and probably could not survive. They believe it's happened for natural reasons before - before, for example, the Jurassic age, when dinosaurs, but no humans, roamed the earth. That's why they insist we must stop the unnatural burning of fossil fuels - oil, coal and gas - which risks giving such a methane mega-burp an artificial kick that could - hard as this is to take in - end civilization. Small doses are the best way to take in such news. Psychologists tell us that a little denial when facing truly frightening news can, at first, be a good thing. It helps us hold ourselves together in face of the threat, helps keep our "meaning systems" intact. As long as we keep working back towards reality. No child wants to think it can harm the basic wellbeing of a protective parent who provides its only world. They can't even believe they could do such a thing. Climate scientists are telling us we are doing just that to our own Mother Earth, and we should believe it. http://abcnews.go.com/Technology/story?id=2274439&page=3 James, when are you going to stop following the IPCC herd, and grow out of your denialism? Accept that James Lovelock is older and wiser than you. He has an FRS to prove it! Cheers, Alastair. --~--~---------~--~----~------------~-------~--~----~ You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups Global Change ("globalchange") newsgroup. Global Change is a public, moderated venue for discussion of science, technology, economics and policy dimensions of global environmental change. Posts will be admitted to the list if and only if any moderator finds the submission to be constructive and/or interesting, on topic, and not gratuitously rude. To post to this group, send email to [email protected] To unsubscribe from this group, send email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/globalchange -~----------~----~----~----~------~----~------~--~---
