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Lovelock: 'We can't save the planet'

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posted on Mar, 31 2010 @ 06:15 PM
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Lovelock: 'We can't save the planet'


news.bbc.co.uk

The man who achieved global fame for his theory that the whole earth is a single organism now believes that we can only hope that the earth will take care of itself in the face of completely unpredictable climate change.

Interviewed by Today presenter John Humphrys, videos of which you can see below, he said that while the earth's future was utterly uncertain, mankind was not aware it had "pulled the trigger" on global warming as it built its civilizations.
(visit the link for the full news article)


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posted on Mar, 31 2010 @ 06:15 PM
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watch all 4 videos only 50secs ish long.

The planet cannot be fixed, even if we wanted to we could not , he says we are not the cause but the trigger in a natural cycle..

the last video caught my eye/ear ...

"We think we can do these thing but we are not clever enough to do it ... And i don't think we will be in time ..IN THIS PARTICULAR EVENT, .. so the sensible thing to do is to live life whilst you can'

Particular event?

live life while we can?

../GULP

Its like he's trying to tell us something.

I have always thought that the planets conditions / weather / atmosphere would probably go in spikes .. its just been calm for a little while.....

But stil Mr Lovelock .... What particular event?

news.bbc.co.uk
(visit the link for the full news article)



posted on Apr, 1 2010 @ 12:40 AM
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reply to post by Quantum_Squirrel
 


IN THIS PARTICULAR EVENT, .. so the sensible thing to do is to live life whilst you can'

Particular event?

'In this event' is a donnish way of saying 'in this case'. He means the case that climate change is irreversible (as he believes) and the consquences will be disastrous for humanity.


live life while we can?

Prof. Lovelock is on record as believing that the human population of Earth in 2100 is likely to be one-tenth of what it is now. He doesn't believe that human beings can do anything about this; catastrophic climate change is inevitable. So his prescription is to 'live life while we can'.


...GULP

Yes, indeed.

*


About James Lovelock
The grandfather of all climate scientists, James Lovelock achieved fame in the 1960s for his 'Gaia hypothesis', which proposes that Earth can be regarded, and studied, as a single organism, of which all life on the planet are subunits, like cells in a body or bacteria in a colony. You can read about the hypothesis in Lovelock's own very simple words here.

The Gaia hypothesis won Lovelock a big following among hippies and tree-huggers, but he himself is not of their number. He lives for his work and is a highly respected scientist - in a sense, the very inventor of what we now know as climate science. And he certainly doesn't believe in hugging trees.

I have been convinced of the truth of the Gaia hypothesis ever since I read Lovelock's first book on the subject many years ago. I also believe he is telling the truth about climate change - a truth politicians and lesser scientists dare not tell us, for fear of the possible public reaction. Being ninety years old has its benefits; one of them is the ability to speak your mind and damn the consequences.

And I do believe, as he does, that we shouldn't be trying to reverse climate change but to devise strategies to help the human race survive it - always realizing that only a very few, no more perhaps than a few million of us in the end, will survive.

Stars and flag for you, Squirrel.



posted on Apr, 1 2010 @ 01:18 AM
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This man said we should "suspend Democracy" in order to save the world....

www.guardian.co.uk...




"One of the main obstructions to meaningful action is "modern democracy", he added. "Even the best democracies agree that when a major war approaches, democracy must be put on hold for the time being. I have a feeling that climate change may be an issue as severe as a war. It may be necessary to put democracy on hold for a while."


Basically this guy is off his rocker.

[edit on 1-4-2010 by yellowcard]



posted on Apr, 1 2010 @ 01:28 AM
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reply to post by yellowcard
 


Well he's probably thinking of China where they institute environmental "regime changes" --

www.springerlink.com...



However, China’s policy-making in the area of climate change is highly coordinated. What variables can explain the coordination of environmental, and particularly climate change, policy in China? The author attempts to provide an interest-based explanation for the question by linking regime theory with the behavior of Chinese bureaucracy and focusing on the role of the Global Environment Facility (GEF)1 in shaping climate policy coordination in China. The research is based on fieldwork in China.


[edit on 1-4-2010 by drew hempel]



posted on Apr, 1 2010 @ 01:35 AM
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I am sorry but,I agree with this man 99%,although i am not a scientist when it comes to global warming,i don't have to be, our our fate is inextricably tied to our planets.

[edit on 1-4-2010 by all2human]

[edit on 1-4-2010 by all2human]



posted on Apr, 1 2010 @ 01:37 AM
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I hear a horn playing taps.



posted on Apr, 1 2010 @ 01:37 AM
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Lovelock has become concerned about the threat of global warming from the greenhouse effect. In 2004 he caused a media sensation when he broke with many fellow environmentalists by pronouncing that "only nuclear power can now halt global warming". In his view, nuclear energy is the only realistic alternative to fossil fuels that has the capacity to both fulfill the large scale energy needs of humankind while also reducing greenhouse emissions. He is an open member of Environmentalists for Nuclear Energy.

In 2005, against the backdrop of renewed UK government interest in nuclear power, Lovelock again publicly announced his support for nuclear energy, stating, "I am a Green, and I entreat my friends in the movement to drop their wrongheaded objection to nuclear energy".[18] Although these interventions in the public debate on nuclear power are recent, his views on it are longstanding.

en.wikipedia.org...




I agree with Lovelock to a certain extent - that we are in a massive amount of trouble from burning of fossil fuels and overpopulation. The only things that will save us from the consequences is pushing promising future technologies are hard as we can.

[edit on 1/4/2010 by C0bzz]



posted on Apr, 1 2010 @ 01:38 AM
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Originally posted by all2human
I am sorry but,I agree with this man 100%,


Uhm, so you think we should suspend Democracy and Capitalism?

[edit on 1-4-2010 by yellowcard]



posted on Apr, 1 2010 @ 01:40 AM
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If life is still here after brutal solar flares and several high energy asteroid impacts, I think it'll be ok. A couple of centuries of burning a product of nature isn't going to destroy a small sphere in the milky way galaxy mostly composed of water's thermodynamic susceptibility for life.



posted on Apr, 1 2010 @ 01:55 AM
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reply to post by yellowcard
 


If a catastrophe was apon us or occurred and we still had TIME,andThe only way we could affect change would be to stop the cycle $,and it was proven that democracy needed to be suspended(which imo, already has ) in order to save the planet,then i'm all in




[edit on 1-4-2010 by all2human]



posted on Apr, 1 2010 @ 02:50 AM
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reply to post by Eitimzevinten
 


If life is still here after brutal solar flares and several high energy asteroid impacts, I think it'll be ok. A couple of centuries of burning a product of nature isn't going to destroy a small sphere in the milky way galaxy mostly composed of water's thermodynamic susceptibility for life.

You're right, but that isn't the point. Lovelock isn't saying Earth is going to be destroyed, or even that all life on it is; he's saying climate change is likely to make it uninhabitable by humans, or nearly so.

*


reply to post by all2human
 

It would seem the catastrophe is already upon us.

Suspending democracy and capitalism will not avert it, but may improve the chances of human survival.

It won't happen, though. Instead, we will cling to democracy and capitalism until they are no longer practicable because environmental conditions have reduced all life to a merciless, morality-free struggle for survival.

Democracy and capitalism are luxuries, you see. And the time when humanity could afford such luxuries is rapidly drawing to a close. Climate-change deniers, incidentally, are merely speeding the day.



posted on Apr, 1 2010 @ 11:37 AM
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If Lovelock had been half his age, I doubt if he would make such proclaimations of fatalism. As much as I respect him, I do not agree with his fatalistic view, for it smacks right of science arrogance, if not delusions.

Everyday, we are witnessing the evolution and progress in the scientific and technological fields, as we build upon and expand current knowledge to great heights of understanding.

While we are not ‘masters of the universe’ today, it does not mean we will not reach such zenith. Very much of our science is still in its infancy yet, and as we progress, it would only be natural we will reach apogee one day.

As to how soon and how much in time we can save humanity, it will be a question mark.

But as long as we don’t stop trying and attempting, or give in to fatalism, there is still hope, based on science.

And let us not forget, there is still the spiritual side and answer, of which even science had not caught up to yet, but had been around for centuries and responsible for ‘unexplainable coincidences’ in human history throughout.

So there is hope, as well as determination to offset the climate change which had been around for centuries through better human planning of resources and habitation.

But for Lovelock, I guess his time is running out, which accounts for his lost of hope and subscription to fatalism.




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