[Terrapreta] Ponder the Maunder

[lou gold]

Jim,

Please excuse my directness but I want to ask a personal question. Do you
think that we can make the world a better place through endless doubt? Do
you believe that this is how a great scientist (or a great statesman, or a
great artist, or a great whatever) works?

Personally, I believe that the environmental movement in general and the AGW
movement in particular have not maintained a good balance in their
messaging. They have given entirely too much emphasis to fear and nowhere
near enough to hope. I further believe that this has contributed to a
reaction of skepticism. So my remedy is to turn down the fear volume and
raise the sound of hope. If we have an opportunity to correct the balance
between hope and fear. We should do this with care to not throw the baby out
with the bath water.

Study after study shows that people really don't break bad habits. Problems
are solved by forming good habits. Personally, I see many incentives to
create good habits coming out of the earth and climate changes we are
experiencing (no matter who or what is the cause). Here is a small example:

The Telegraph<http://blogs.telegraph.co.uk/politics/threelinewhip/april08/afghanistanswapsheroinforwheat.htm>
:

Afghan farmers are this year sowing wheat instead of poppy - not because
they have suddenly been converted to the argument that producing heroin is
not in the national interest.

Market forces have been the deciding factor - with wheat prices doubling in
the past year, and the street price of heroin falling, it is now more cost
effective to grow wheat.


Jim -- I want to go to a carbon economy because I see endless good habits
embedded in it. Terra Preta is a BIG one. General waste management is
another. Moving our awareness closer to the earth is a third. For me these
are indeed lovely possibilities and I can't understand why anyone might want
to place obstacles in the way out of mere skepticism?


hugs and blessings,

lou





On Tue, Apr 15, 2008 at 11:17 AM, Jim Joyner <jimstoy at dtccom.net> wrote:

> I heard an interesting piece on NPR this morning. Seems as though a 16
> year Kristen Byrnes decided to take on Al Gore
> (http://home.earthlink.net/~ponderthemaunderg/index.html<http://home.earthlink.net/%7Eponderthemaunderg/index.html>)
> and all those
> who steadfastly believe the GW is anthropogenic. She's even gone after
> Jim Hansen.
>
> They stated in the article that, "In one poll last year, only about 50
> percent of people agreed humans were contributing to global warming. The
> other half either disagreed, weren't sure or didn't believe the Earth
> was warming in the first place."
>
> Most of us who have opinions don't go to the work of actually
> researching the subject. We don't have the time, expertise or even the
> interest. Most pick a side much like they would vote for President (who
> knows?). But Byrnes has done her homework and found anthropogenic GW
> wanting. http://home.earthlink.net/~ponderthemaunder/index.html<http://home.earthlink.net/%7Eponderthemaunder/index.html>
> .
>
> She even managed to get into the national news. ". . .  she has a
> quality scientists try to cultivate: she is skeptical. Has someone made
> a claim? She wants to see the data."
>
> Me, I don't know. I too am skeptical but only because of view of human
> nature, not because I've examined the data. It's all I can do to find a
> way to make a living and not destroy my surroundings. But I think it's
> great that there is someone who stays skeptical of what is seemingly
> established.
>
> Jim
>
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>



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