Interesting. How is it inadequate now? How do you think it should be reformed?
Lawrence -----Original Message----- From: Harry Veeder [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] Sent: Monday, January 28, 2008 9:31 PM To: vortex-l@eskimo.com Subject: Re: [Vo]:Climate change 'significantly worse' than feared: Al Gore The UN security council needs to be reformed for starters. Harry On 28/1/2008 6:06 PM, Lawrence de Bivort wrote: > Agreed, Jed. > > We are, as a species, entering an age of globalized systems, and I think > tackling them will require a new set of linguistic skills. The language we > use in politics and policy today is still based on national models of human > organization -- one might almost say, tribal. My guess is that our language > has led us into the present pickle, and that only linguistic improvements -- > and radial ones at that -- will enable us to resolve the problems we have > created for ourselves. > > Cheers, > Lawrence > > -----Original Message----- > From: Jed Rothwell [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] > Sent: Monday, January 28, 2008 5:53 PM > To: vortex-L@eskimo.com > Subject: Re: [Vo]:Climate change 'significantly worse' than feared: Al Gore > > R.C.Macaulay wrote: > >> At some point in time it becomes necessary to recognize some >> problems have no solution tasks and simply turn your head in a >> stance of inevitiability. Al Gore has profited by profiling global >> warming and Bono the same with Africa but neither have a solution. >> >> Africa is imploding in on itself, with any attempt to help being >> frustrated. Climate changes occur but any attempt to modify climate >> is futile. All the feeding of guilt will not solve insoluable problems. > > As I expect everyone here knows, telling me things like that are like > waving red meat at a hungry lion. Frankly, such attitudes are > anathema to the spirit of science, technology, and America -- three > things I hold dear. Of course I acknowledge that people are capable > of screwing things up. Of course I know that we might destroy > ourselves and the ecology. Heck, we may destroy the world in an hour > with thermonuclear bombs. And it goes without saying that there are > some potential natural disasters we cannot cope with no matter what, > such as the Sun going nova, and there may be irredeemable man-made > disasters such as CO2 released from permafrost -- but there isn't > yet, as far as I know. > > As things now stand, global warming and especially the situation in > Africa are entirely our fault, and our problem, and I am certain -- > beyond any doubt -- that we have the power to fix these problems. As > John F. Kennedy said: > > "Our problems are manmade - therefore, they can be solved by man. And > man can be as big as he wants. No problem of human destiny is beyond > human beings. Man's reason and spirit have often solved the seemingly > unsolvable - and we believe they can do it again." > > Anyone who doubts that is betting against the tide of history. You > are betting against human resilience which has survived incredible > trials for millions of years as we came through "the evolutionary > furnace" as Florman called it. And you are forgetting that we have > transformed the whole face of the earth and we can do it again, and > again; we have untold energy at our fingertips; the bounty of the > whole solar system just outside our reach; and we are surrounded with > everyday technology that people even 150 years ago would have found > "indistinguishable from magic." How can anyone doubt that we have the > power to forestall global warming, or bring properity to the millions > of people in Africa?!? Strictly in terms of material resources and > physical energy, we could easily create as much wealth for all 6 > billion people as only a first-world millionaire enjoys today. The > only thing stopping us from doing this is widespread ignorance and > the will to act. > > Are there food shortages? We could grow enough food for everyone on > earth in an area the size of Atlanta. Is there not enough meat? In > the last few years, my friends at NewHarvest.com have brought the > cost of cultivated meat (meat grown in vitro) down from $100,000 to a > few thousand dollars per kilogram. It is just a matter of time before > meat will be as cheap as tofu, and as clean and easy to make. Do > people in Africa lack capital? Look at what the Grameen Bank has > accomplished. > > No technically educated person should claim these problems cannot be > solved! There are only two difficulties: 1. Deciding which of the > many solutions is most likely to work, at the lowest cost. 2. Pushing > aside the ignorant naysayers and greedy fools who say we can't solve > the problems and we should just give up. > > Here is what we must believe and act upon, right up until the last > member of our species goes extinct. In October 1941, after 10 months > of war, Winston Churchill said: > > ". . . surely from this period of ten months this is the lesson: > never give in, never give in, never, never, never, never -- in > nothing, great or small, large or petty -- never give in except to > convictions of honour and good sense. Never yield to force; never > yield to the apparently overwhelming might of the enemy." > > Regarding our special predicament: I don't care if Albert Gore and > 100 million scientists world-wide refuse to look at cold fusion, or > ridicule it, or promote crazy ideas such as ethanol instead. I don't > care about the "apparently overwhelming might" of Nature or the DoE. > If we try hard enough, and we are lucky, we WILL push this vast crowd > of idiots aside. It isn't a sure thing. But I am not finished yet, > and frankly I wouldn't recommend you bet against me. > > - Jed >
