Gaia has a fever

By: greybeard (Registered ) on 18-10-2007 05:43

Normally I say my piece and then stay out of subsequent discussion (if any). I am not sure why I decided to respond to the last comment, but anyway, here it is. 
 
My conversion to the cause of mitigating global heating came about over a period of years and through much reading. I don't have the time or inclination to chase up references, but there is a lot of material about for anyone who truly wishes to understand why " . . . so many people believe that humans are having such a tremendous impact on the environment.". Off the top of my head I can suggest authors such as Tim Flannery, George Monbiot and James Lovelock. Perhaps Al Gore, although I have not read his books. Clive Hamilton's "Scorcher: The Dirty Politics Of Climate Change" is an interesting read, as well.  
 
James Lovelock coined the name Gaia for the concept that "planet earth is a living organism" that dickshafer quoted. His most recent book is called "The Revenge Of Gaia". 
 
For a thoroughly tamed and neutral(?) view on climate change, its causes and consequences, there is "The Fourth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel On Climate Change", which can be found at www.ipcc.ch. 
 
Amongst many other things, they conclude that there is a better than 90% probability that human activity has caused the climate change observed during the last few decades. So puzzle no longer on that aspect. Finding a succint summary of the impacts is more difficult, but read enough and you will get the idea. The IPCC do state unequivocally that we cannot avoid the consequences of that which has happened, so some adaptation will be necessary. However, "Adaptation alone is not expected to cope with all the projected effects of climate change.". 
 
A summary of the IPCC findings can be found at the web site of the Union Of Concerned Scientists (www.ucsusa.org), in particular http://www.ucsusa.org/ global_warming/science/ipcc- highlights3.html. 
 
However I wish to emphasize my impression, from multiple sources, that we have less time to make signficant changes, than most people think.

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