[ExI] "Up against the warming zealots"...hmmm

Emlyn emlynoregan at gmail.com
Tue Jul 24 05:23:07 UTC 2007


On 24/07/07, spike <spike66 at comcast.net> wrote:
> > bounces at lists.extropy.org] On Behalf Of Emlyn
> ...
> >
> > However, there seems to be somewhat of a memeplex out there that
> > includes not only modern green-consciousness, but also anti
> > "progress", anti science and anti rational positions. Admitedly this
> > is just conjecture on my part, but I feel like there's an
> > anti-humanism that goes with the green movement, an assumption that
> > things we do to improve the lot of humans through scientific
> > investigation are immediately suspect, a kind of evil... Emlyn
>
> Astute observations all.
>
> Emlyn, the discussion on this topic seems to center around two questions:
>
> 1. Is global warming real?
> 2. Is it human made?
>
> But this discussion ignores a third question, or rather assumes an answer:
>
> 3. Is global warming good?
>
> Previously I have argued that in many ways it is good, but now I realize
> this is very much an understatement.  If human population grows the way I
> expect it will, global warming might be our salvation, it might save our
> species.  We are after all a warm climate species, Africans that have
> managed to spread everywhere.

In fact, I think Jarred Diamond talked about this idea in Collapse. It
seems like a lot of civilisations expanded in the warm times, then
crashed when it cooled, and iirc, he postulated a fluctuating warming
and cooling. eg: Viking Greenland was settled in a warm period, then
crashed (slowly, to their credit!) in the little ice age.

So if we are having a warming, maybe it is a good thing. It'll have
some problems of course, but I'm willing to buy the idea that this is
more complex than warm=bad.

Emlyn



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