Discuss: Snap into Action for the Climate

Wow! Very powerful piece - I have to go back and read this more than once. Thanks for the insight!

(And kudos on your name as well :-)
Michael

Thank you, Mr. Tidwell.  I feel hopeful and it’s been a long time.

Carolyn

I wish I could be as upbeat as the previous comments, but frankly, I’m appalled.  This sort of “RAH! RAH!” approach to using yet more of the “tinkering” (what a benign word, what a truly screwed up outcome!)that indeed, got us here in the first place is, I believe, truly off-base.  While I agree we need to mobilize the population faster than yesterday, and that any obstruction to addressing climate change is absolutely a crime against humanity, why in the world would we encourage more coal-fired plants in order to reap their sulfur dioxide, so we could then seed it into our atmosphere?!?

Are you nuts?  A “little more” acid rain???

Since we’ve hardly even begun to determine what kind of lethal fallout there is from the fiasco of GMOs(oh gee, thanks, Monsanto, you’re right, it really is better living through chemistry!)why in the world would we expect better from something like this?

I am horrified that Orion would publish this.

I agree with Julianne on the acid rain concern.  I am apalled that the author completely ignores the potential CO2 output of China and India and the looming explosion of automobile use - NY Times Sunday April 20, 2008 - 2 billion automobiles on the planet in 10 to 20 years up from a billion today. Maybe, $300 per barrel oil will be enough to stop global warming.

I agree with Julianne’s opening statements, but I’m very glad Orion has published this. It’s a very dynamic, forceful example of motivational writing. Altho I don’t agree with Tidwell’s ideas or methods of persuasion, I’m glad Orion has made such strong writing available for thoughtful readers’ study and debate.

I agree that the rate of change is sufficiently alarming to warrant a big response, but sulphuring up the atmosphere sounds like another cure that’s as bad as the disease.
  There are a few important things Mr. Tidwell’s article doesn’t address: 1. Unlike Australia, the US doesn’t have a candidate who grasps the importance of the warming issue. 2. Population: If the planet has not already exceeded its carrying capacity for human life, it soon will, at this rate.
3. In the scramble for solutions, we must not forget to focus on adaptation too.

Very good article, should be read by all concerned with future of our planet. Time is running out, time may already have run out. Tim, I wonder if you have heard about my idea of polar cities for survivors of global warming in year 2525 if none of the fixes work. I fear the worst. We need to also discuss adaptation strategies if all else fails. Which it looks like all else will fail.

See here:

http://pcillu101.blogspot.com

Surely you jest . . . bio-engineer the atmosphere? . . . more acid rain?  No-one is to blame?  Spirtiual transformation?  Oh blither, oh blather.  The entire article makes me cringe.  The planet will survive quite nicely, I do believe.  Humans may have to start over from the beginning, however. Sheesh . . .