The Eocene ran from 56 million to 34 million years ago, much longer than humans have existed unless science is just a Bishop Usher memeory. Geological evidence from the early and middle part of this period offers troubling news: the average temperature in the tropics at this time could have been as high as 40°C while the poles were at temperatures of 15 or 20°C. None of our climate models accounts for how this "Eocene hothouse" might have arisen (New Scientist, 21 June 2008, p 34). This is bad news for life on Earth. For a start, any tweaks we make to our climate models to account for it will produce scarier predictions of warming. Secondly, it suggests that there is no feedback mechanism that will stabilise a warming world against runaway climate change. And third, there is geological evidence for plant extinctions in the Eocene. If the modern Earth goes the same way and plants in the tropics start dying, that will provide yet another way for atmospheric carbon dioxide levels to rise faster. The Eocene hothouse anomaly suggests that our worst-case scenario is probably optimistic to say the least. Human contributions have been puny in comparison. The only place safe to sun-bathe may well be Santa's back garden and the elves have already staked out the sun beds as surely as early-rising Germans in Majorca. This makes me wonder whether the secret primaries are politicians go through involve such matters as pissing in the wind contests.
I'm agnostic in the sense I can't disprove the existence of some kind of god (to be honest I think 'something' we don't construe well is likely and is likely to have nothing to do with our fables around the world). Information such as the above and a lot of basic science we are all part of is at bottom what I believe in. The elves, of course, only appear when Chris and I share his magic brew whilst teasing Flying Harringtons on the days we devote to world domination in our off-shore bunker created by skimming Craig's massive profits as owner of this group (some believe Craig is only a fictitious Patsy we have set up in case the IRS rumble us). In light of the above, there are real questions about Dawkins telling us god probably doesn't exist and we should just get on with life. What signs do we show of a form of lie that takes the real information above seriously? --~--~---------~--~----~------------~-------~--~----~ You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups ""Minds Eye"" group. 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/minds-eye?hl=en -~----------~----~----~----~------~----~------~--~---
