For Ed, Who Can’t Search

http://books.google.com/books

http://books.google.com/books

About Tony Heller

Just having fun
This entry was posted in Uncategorized. Bookmark the permalink.

14 Responses to For Ed, Who Can’t Search

  1. Cold. Ruthless. Not suffering foolishness easily. I like it.

    d(^_^)b
    http://libertyatstake.blogspot.com/
    “Because the Only Good Progressive is a Failed Progressive”

  2. suyts says:

    lol, well, we know alarmists regard books as tombs of truth, so perhaps that will satisfy Ed.

    I gave him this….

    http://www.wired.com/wired/archive/5.02/ffsimon_pr.html

    • Ed Darrell says:

      Great find. A huge heap of historical and scientific ignorance.

      First, Malthus didn’t predict the end of humanity. He made a carefully reasoned pitch that carrying capacity, then known to apply to wildlife in managed forests in Britain, also applies to humans. He was right.

      It was a stunning application of obvious facts. It’s still true. If population growth trajectories push beyond carrying capacity, there will be a population collapse caused by starvation. If other factors intervene, there will be slower growth, or no growth, and continued prosperity (reaching prosperity with no-growth human population is difficult in most capitalist models — we haven’t perfected it yet — but hypothetically attainable when most costs are accurately calculated; the alternative is to give up, and that’s not appealing to anyone).

      Malthus’s mathematics were solid. What Julian Simon generally failed to account for was sentient beings paying attention to the clues, and acting to avert catastrophe. Or, history intervening with war.

      That failure to account for science, policy and history, and the capability of humans to learn and act well, if not always wisely, mars Julian Simon’s otherwise entertaining work. For example, he assumes that dirty air disasters were averted because scientists were wrong, without realizing that clean air in Los Angeles is the result of scientists having been right, and convincing policy makers to act to stop the disaster.

      Ehrlich wasn’t playing fortune teller in the 1960s and 1970s, or now. He was raising the alarm about dangers, trying to get action.

      He succeeded. Plus, new technologies, new policies, and a greater general awareness of humanity’s location and role in natural affairs, allowed widespread aversion of great catastrophe.

      Oh, except for Bengla Desh, Darfur, Biafra, the Sahel, the Aral Sea, the fisheries off of North America, the disappearance of pollinating bees in huge parts of China, the genocides in Rwanda, Cambodia, China, Bosnia, and several other disasters aided and abetted by stupid human policies.

      Now we face another great environmental crisis, the poisoning of our atmosphere with greenhouse gases. There are a few who take the Alfred E. Neuman position, “What? Me Worry?” History shows that position to be worse than being accused of forecasting disaster and being wrong.

    • Ed Darrell says:

      I note that the word “starvation” does not appear in that piece, nor especially anything like ‘we inaccurately predicted 65 million starving Americans.’

      Yes, Paul Ehrlich exists. That doesn’t mean he said what Steve claimed about 65 million starving, nor does it mean the snark about Ehrlich’s accuracy in predictions is verified.

      Maurizio knows less about Ehrlich than . . . well, we know you never bothered to read the writings you now critique. Have you ever read anything by Ehrlich, Maurizio?

  3. Al Gored says:

    “A massive campaign must be launched to de-develop the United States. De-development means bringing our economic system into line with the realities of ecology and the world resource situation.”

    – Paul Ehrlich, Professor of Population Studies

    And yet he still wants to be paid from the current economic system.

    “A cancer is an uncontrolled multiplication of cells, the population explosion is an uncontrolled multiplication of people. We must shift our efforts from the treatment of the symptoms to the cutting out of the cancer. The operation will demand many apparently brutal and heartless decisions.”

    – Prof. Paul Ehrlich, The Population Bomb

    And yet he hasn’t killed himself yet. He’s so greedy that he wants to live to old age.

    The cause of Globull Warming:

    “Effective execution of Agenda 21 will require a profound reorientation of all human society, unlike anything the world has ever experienced – a major shift in the priorities of both governments and individuals and an unprecedented redeployment of human and financial resources. This shift will demand that a concern for the environmental consequences of every human action be integrated into individual and collective decision-making at every level.“

    – UN Agenda 21

    • Ed Darrell says:

      If he had said “redevelop” you’d not complain, I’ll wager.

      You should read Ehrlich’s definition and descriptions of “de-development.” You might do well to study what you pretend to criticize, to understand what it is he is saying, before you misspeak.

  4. Rattus Norvegicus says:

    This illustrates a big problem with listening to scientists talking outside their area of expertise. For are more recent example (and more spectacular, IMHO) see here:

    http://scienceblogs.com/pharyngula/2011/04/aaargh_physicists.php

    Hansen discussing energy policy is a somewhat lesser example, although a lot of economists believe that a carbon tax is a better approach than cap-n-trade because it is less prone to funny business.

    This xkcd classic shows the phenomena for physicists at least:

    http://www.xkcd.com/793/

    • omnologos says:

      Rattus – only problem is, Ehrlich is not a scientist talking outside his area of expertise. He’s a recognized leader in his field, and has received plenty of awards in that respect.

      • Rattus Norvegicus says:

        Well in the first quote he was talking about nuclear technology. The second touched on a lot of issues (AFAIK, the article didn’t give much context) only one of which, ecosystem degradation, touched of his area of study.

    • Ed Darrell says:

      Yeah. Ehrlich is a population biologist. We shoudln’t listen to Goddard’s complaints about the experts. It’s outside Goddard’s realm of expertise.

  5. Tom Harley says:

    Conference on Climate in Perth, Western Australia by CSIRO and others, presentations listed in PDF and more:
    Greenhouse 2011…and it’s not about horticulture
    http://pindanpost.com/2011/04/30/greenhouse2011…t-horticulture/ ?
    Wiser heads may know some of these presenters, but I only know a couple. It looks like some funny business, including from Ove whats-is-name.

  6. NikFromNYC says:

    [snip Over the top]

    I feel like we have already won the battle, us Global Warming Skeptics, so why am I still shooting fish in a barrel? I am lead to your site several times a day since you are listed in my various newsfeeds.

    I recently looked at a Obama birth certificate or two. Those people are whack-job idiots!!! Smart enough as people, but utterly no street smarts, common sense or scientific (critical) training.

    Yet these Global Warmists loop *me* into that fray? Ugh. Whatever. Those people were never loved as kids. Likely that’s genetic. Abuse runs in families. It’s carved in DNA.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *