Comments on: John Holdren’s First Interview – Supports Geoengineering, Including Air Capture http://cstpr.colorado.edu/prometheus/?p=5116 Wed, 29 Jul 2009 22:36:51 -0600 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.9.1 hourly 1 By: BRIANMFLYNN http://cstpr.colorado.edu/prometheus/?p=5116&cpage=1#comment-13315 BRIANMFLYNN Thu, 09 Apr 2009 15:12:24 +0000 http://sciencepolicy.colorado.edu/prometheus/?p=5116#comment-13315 Holdren has apparently been "reined in". See Revkin's latest today. Holdren has apparently been “reined in”. See Revkin’s latest today.

]]> By: stan http://cstpr.colorado.edu/prometheus/?p=5116&cpage=1#comment-13298 stan Wed, 08 Apr 2009 19:59:44 +0000 http://sciencepolicy.colorado.edu/prometheus/?p=5116#comment-13298 One would think that a wise man might consider running the federal government in a time of economic crisis with two foreign wars to be a sufficiently full plate. Especially after also deciding to run the auto industry, Wall Street, AIG and the major banks. And most especially while planning the complete restructuring of health care (1/7 of the economy). Apparently not. His unsuccessful stint as a community organizer has convinced him he also has the ability to successfully regulate the earth's climate as well. Hubris doesn't even begin to adequately describe this insanity. One would think that a wise man might consider running the federal government in a time of economic crisis with two foreign wars to be a sufficiently full plate. Especially after also deciding to run the auto industry, Wall Street, AIG and the major banks. And most especially while planning the complete restructuring of health care (1/7 of the economy).

Apparently not. His unsuccessful stint as a community organizer has convinced him he also has the ability to successfully regulate the earth’s climate as well.

Hubris doesn’t even begin to adequately describe this insanity.

]]> By: Sean_Wise http://cstpr.colorado.edu/prometheus/?p=5116&cpage=1#comment-13294 Sean_Wise Wed, 08 Apr 2009 18:54:04 +0000 http://sciencepolicy.colorado.edu/prometheus/?p=5116#comment-13294 Interesting anology John Holdren makes of a car on a mountain road in the fog without brakes. I've thought about climate change solutions in a similar way but rather than a car without breaks, I think of it more like a single lane road in the fog on a mountain with a cliff off to the right. You know you'll avoid the worst kind of disaster if you bear to the left side of the road. However, because of the fog you don't realize that you've passed through a saddle and now the cliff is on the left rather than the right. So now if you follow your safe path by bearing to the left, you actually expose yourself to much more danger. The understanding of climate science at this time is very much like being in the mountains in a fog and your visibility is limited. People like Holdren, Gore and Hansen are certain the cliff is to the right based on climate models and want to move to the left side of the road (stop burning fossile fuels, use more biofuels and renewable energy). The skeptical folks who believe ocean cycles and solar forcings drive the climate, suspect that we've gone through a saddle and the danger now lies to the left from a cooling world. They would argue that actions that would deliberately mitigate global temperature increases such as aerosol injections at high altitudes would compound the danger just as converting food crops to fuel when the arable land and growing season is diminishing due to cooling. These same skeptical folks should also argue vigorously that efficiency will become more critical in a world that will demand more heat to overcome the cold. (In other words, the warmers and the skeptics would demand efficiency but for the opposite reasons.) Its time more people realize that there are consequences and dangers in both the mitigation strategies just as their are in wasteful exploitation of a limited resource. Bearing too hard to the left or the right on the foggy road without a clear understanding of where we are the mountain caries tremendous risks. Interesting anology John Holdren makes of a car on a mountain road in the fog without brakes. I’ve thought about climate change solutions in a similar way but rather than a car without breaks, I think of it more like a single lane road in the fog on a mountain with a cliff off to the right. You know you’ll avoid the worst kind of disaster if you bear to the left side of the road. However, because of the fog you don’t realize that you’ve passed through a saddle and now the cliff is on the left rather than the right. So now if you follow your safe path by bearing to the left, you actually expose yourself to much more danger.
The understanding of climate science at this time is very much like being in the mountains in a fog and your visibility is limited. People like Holdren, Gore and Hansen are certain the cliff is to the right based on climate models and want to move to the left side of the road (stop burning fossile fuels, use more biofuels and renewable energy). The skeptical folks who believe ocean cycles and solar forcings drive the climate, suspect that we’ve gone through a saddle and the danger now lies to the left from a cooling world. They would argue that actions that would deliberately mitigate global temperature increases such as aerosol injections at high altitudes would compound the danger just as converting food crops to fuel when the arable land and growing season is diminishing due to cooling. These same skeptical folks should also argue vigorously that efficiency will become more critical in a world that will demand more heat to overcome the cold. (In other words, the warmers and the skeptics would demand efficiency but for the opposite reasons.)
Its time more people realize that there are consequences and dangers in both the mitigation strategies just as their are in wasteful exploitation of a limited resource. Bearing too hard to the left or the right on the foggy road without a clear understanding of where we are the mountain caries tremendous risks.

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