[peeker01]

My point is, you are wrong........

[scas]

There are a few posters here who obviously thinks global warming is some sort of unverified "theory" or hoax.

It is this type of person that would probably not read this book, nor any other book about climate change. The cognitive dissonance would be too severe so it is better to just avoid such topics altogether and instead seek only information that confirms their bias.

Me - i've read all the climate denier books and viewed their arguments. That people can believe such gish-gallop, straw-men and fallacies only tells me that they must have a different world-view in which climate science is all bunk or too difficult to comprehend. It is almost a psychological need for each of us to believe that the climate is inherently stable, and that even though paleo-climatology shows immense discontinuities, abrupt shifts, and extinctions, we cling desperately to the belief that we cannot possibly alter climate. It must be the sun. It must be chaos theory. It must be natural cycles. It cannot possibly be us.

Of course, this book is not just about people who deny the truth about climate change. It is for those of us who desperately believe we can bring about change, and we can still avoid destabilizing climate change - it certainly helped me let go of some anger. We are just human after all - the third chimpanzee - subject to evolutionary blindspots, handicaps and whims.

Once the reality becomes undeniable in the coming decades - that is - flooded cities, famines affecting billions, heat waves that kill thousands, and a disappeared cryosphere - only then will we seek out books and try to learn where we all went wrong. Until then, we will not. Changing world views is simply too uncomfortable. How many of us went through a period of discomfort when we first found out that cheap oil would bring about great disruptions?

There is no point arguing here - by now, if someone cannot see that the globe is warming because of our influence - it is for reasons other than reasoning and fact.

I am still surprised that people can believe that peak oil is real - but that the combustion product from all that cannot possibly have an effect on the oceans (acidification) or climate (warming & destabilization). How can we believe in fossil fuel depletion without believing that all that vaporized fuel won't have some effect?

To each his own. Requiem for a Species is exactly as it states. Mass for the Dead.

[Sixstrings]

Scas..

If Canada won't stop the tar sands, there's no hope for the world. I'm a bit of an AGW doubter but even I realize the tar sands are *the* tipping point of no return.

Not that the tar sands can be stopped, we need the oil after all. But my point is that it's a waste to wax philosophic about a "requiem for our species." If you care about climate change there are concrete specific issues you can fight -- tars sands is the biggest of them.

Instead of writing books and passing carbon tax schemes, Australians should pass sanctions on Canada. And we Americans, if we can't stop the pipeline, then we still must oppose the tar sands -- a labeling law would be helpful, I for one would refuse to buy tar sands gas if given the option.

[peeker01]

Just got off the phone with my buddy in Canada. They have no intention of stopping tar sands. It's how they pay their bills.

[scas]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('Sixstrings', 'S')cas..

If Canada won't stop the tar sands, there's no hope for the world. I'm an AGW doubter but even I realize the tar sands are *the* tipping point of no return.

[Ibon]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('scas', '
')
Once the reality becomes undeniable in the coming decades - that is - flooded cities, famines affecting billions, heat waves that kill thousands, and a disappeared cryosphere - only then will we seek out books and try to learn where we all went wrong. Until then, we will not. Changing world views is simply too uncomfortable. How many of us went through a period of discomfort when we first found out that cheap oil would bring about great disruptions?

[Ibon]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('Sixstrings', 'S')cas..

If Canada won't stop the tar sands, there's no hope for the world.