*sigh* Man's an ecologist. Explains a lot, really- it's a field that tends to be very fertile ground for misanthropy. (Having your study area razed for a Wal-Mart parking lot tends to do that to a person that lives for data.)
This is what I liked about my own alma mater's degree program; evolution and ecology were considered too inextricably linked to let students focus overmuch on one or the other before graduate school. Learning that there is no such thing as "the" ecosystem, only the one you've got right now and for a limited time only until something changes, does a lot for perspective.
The irony is that this man wouldn't last a week if civilization did collapse.
Tenured professors in esoteric, made up subjects will have limited utility, come the apocalypse.
The bit about sustainable Tucson made me chuckle, though. Anyone want to bet that the majority of the members of that group are ex-Californians or ex-Northeasterners. They should put their money where their mouth is and bugger off back to the more watered areas they came from.
Ecology in that it is the study of the management and use of natural resources is not made up, what
this man does is.
"my efforts at synthesis focus on articulation of the links between (1) environmental protection, social justice, and the human economy and (2) science and its application."
When will the time be that the normal folks take these Luddites out back, behind the shed and, ya know, give them a whack or ten with the 2x4?
(That's what Rachel Lucas coined as a "clue-by-four" or "clue-bat". - Kevin)
I'm completely willing to start the "end times" of the species, and I'm nominating these doomsdayers to do the honorable thing and perform the Seppuku, and if not, I'll just help them along.
Please tell me you saw the OTHER "Guest Commentary" that he wrote in April of last year? If not, scroll to the bottom of the Tucson Weekly page and his other article is the last link. The money paragraphs are 2, 3 and 10.
This guy needs to be dragged out into the desert and left to fend for himself, just to see how in touch he really is with his local eco-system.
If the oil was drying up wouldn't the oil companies be the first to know? And with this knowledge, why would they waste R&D money looking for what they know isn't there?
This story was new today:
Exxon Sees Spending of $20 Billion a Year through 2011.
http://abcnews.go.com/Business/wireStory?id=2933575
Peak Oil theory doesn't have any facts to back up the wild predictions...
Just based on the words, what the man does is potentially the most important focus of ecology- there is no such thing as sustainability or environmental protection when the people who live there can't be convinced to care because what you're proposing will harm them or keep them in squalor.
Unfortunately, doing it right requires a hard-headed realistic attitude and a belief in humanism as strong as your belief in environmentalism. This guy? Does not have that.
Kind of reminds me of memoirs I read from a guy who did bush medicine in Peru thirty years ago... he had a really hard time getting high-quality supplies because purists in the anthropological community he worked through wanted to keep the "authentic" native practices alive and have them continue to rely on the rainforest for all beneficial medicine. The natives didn't care about that- they wanted their children to die less often.
"Please tell me you saw the OTHER "Guest Commentary" that he wrote in April of last year? If not, scroll to the bottom of the Tucson Weekly page and his other article is the last link. The money paragraphs are 2, 3 and 10."
I see he's moved up his timetable.
And I notice that he's still living in Tucson.
I guess tenure is more important to him than surviving "The Greatest Depression."
Actually, the one point to consider is that the New York Times is saying Peak Oil is wrong and there is nothing to worry about.
To me, that is what should make people very afraid! Their record on checking facts and getting things right
is bad enough it is safe to assume the opposite of what they say is true.
(I unfortunately mis-posted before, so this is another attempt):
Prices are signals to do or stop doing something. People will probably end up living closer together where it is easier to be serviced by trains. Mass transportation will be popular. Golf cars (or electric vehicles) can be used for quick local travel (similar to retirement communities in Florida). Trains and buses will handle intermediate distance travel.
Of course, this will all happen due to market forces, no government mandates needed. There will be costs, of course, but there's no reason to believe it will be any greater than what this professor proposes.
(And why does this guy mention horses, wouldn't bicycles be more likely?)
(Also, aqueducts don't suddenly stop working. There should still be water.)
Now that we're in the midst of the Great Depression 2.0, and I've abandoned my job in Tucson for rural living, I'm wondering if all you brilliant folks are still in denial?
Well, I deny that the planet is trying to kill us . . .
Note:
All avatars and any images or other media embedded in comments were hosted on the JS-Kit website and have been lost;
references to haloscan comments have been partially automatically remapped, but accuracy is not guaranteed and corrections are solicited.
If you notice any problems with this page or wish to have your home page link updated, please contact John Hardin <jhardin@impsec.org>
JS-Kit/Echo comments for article at http://smallestminority.blogspot.com/2007/03/you-can-almost-taste-his-eager.html (20 comments)
Tentative mapping of comments to original article, corrections solicited.
*sigh* Man's an ecologist. Explains a lot, really- it's a field that tends to be very fertile ground for misanthropy. (Having your study area razed for a Wal-Mart parking lot tends to do that to a person that lives for data.)
This is what I liked about my own alma mater's degree program; evolution and ecology were considered too inextricably linked to let students focus overmuch on one or the other before graduate school. Learning that there is no such thing as "the" ecosystem, only the one you've got right now and for a limited time only until something changes, does a lot for perspective.
Yes, the overwhelming impression I got was eager anticipation. This poor man so wants his Luddite fantasy to come true.
I understand his anticipation.
I would look totally bad-ass in leather and a leg brace.
Heh. I wonder how many of our tax dollars end up in this asshat's paycheck.
BTW, if this guy has Luddite fantasies, did Jim Zumbo have Fuddite fantasies?
The irony is that this man wouldn't last a week if civilization did collapse.
Tenured professors in esoteric, made up subjects will have limited utility, come the apocalypse.
The bit about sustainable Tucson made me chuckle, though. Anyone want to bet that the majority of the members of that group are ex-Californians or ex-Northeasterners. They should put their money where their mouth is and bugger off back to the more watered areas they came from.
Ecology is "made up"?
Maybe 2008 isn't within his forseeable lifetime...
No doubt he'll find some speck of gloom next year to jump up and down about saying it proves his point...they always do.
He must live in a different Tucson...mine is running pretty well right now!
Ecology in that it is the study of the management and use of natural resources is not made up, what
this man does is.
"my efforts at synthesis focus on articulation of the links between (1) environmental protection, social justice, and the human economy and (2) science and its application."
Pure intellectual masturbation.
When will the time be that the normal folks take these Luddites out back, behind the shed and, ya know, give them a whack or ten with the 2x4?
(That's what Rachel Lucas coined as a "clue-by-four" or "clue-bat". - Kevin)
I'm completely willing to start the "end times" of the species, and I'm nominating these doomsdayers to do the honorable thing and perform the Seppuku, and if not, I'll just help them along.
Edited By Siteowner
"Oil supply follows a bell-shaped curve..."
He says that like he's watched it happen -- he's seen it all before, baby!
But the supply of oil hasn't ever run out yet. He's just making this shit up.
That's aside from the sudden catastrophic cliff in the "bell-shaped curve". The poor clown can't even keep his fantasies straight.
Please tell me you saw the OTHER "Guest Commentary" that he wrote in April of last year? If not, scroll to the bottom of the Tucson Weekly page and his other article is the last link. The money paragraphs are 2, 3 and 10.
This guy needs to be dragged out into the desert and left to fend for himself, just to see how in touch he really is with his local eco-system.
If the oil was drying up wouldn't the oil companies be the first to know? And with this knowledge, why would they waste R&D money looking for what they know isn't there?
This story was new today:
Exxon Sees Spending of $20 Billion a Year through 2011.
http://abcnews.go.com/Business/wireStory?id=2933575
Peak Oil theory doesn't have any facts to back up the wild predictions...
Just based on the words, what the man does is potentially the most important focus of ecology- there is no such thing as sustainability or environmental protection when the people who live there can't be convinced to care because what you're proposing will harm them or keep them in squalor.
Unfortunately, doing it right requires a hard-headed realistic attitude and a belief in humanism as strong as your belief in environmentalism. This guy? Does not have that.
Kind of reminds me of memoirs I read from a guy who did bush medicine in Peru thirty years ago... he had a really hard time getting high-quality supplies because purists in the anthropological community he worked through wanted to keep the "authentic" native practices alive and have them continue to rely on the rainforest for all beneficial medicine. The natives didn't care about that- they wanted their children to die less often.
*sigh*
"Please tell me you saw the OTHER "Guest Commentary" that he wrote in April of last year? If not, scroll to the bottom of the Tucson Weekly page and his other article is the last link. The money paragraphs are 2, 3 and 10."
I see he's moved up his timetable.
And I notice that he's still living in Tucson.
I guess tenure is more important to him than surviving "The Greatest Depression."
Or he really doesn't believe his own bullshit.
Actually, the one point to consider is that the New York Times is saying Peak Oil is wrong and there is nothing to worry about.
To me, that is what should make people very afraid! Their record on checking facts and getting things right
is bad enough it is safe to assume the opposite of what they say is true.
APG
Good point.
Run for the hills!!!
(I unfortunately mis-posted before, so this is another attempt):
Prices are signals to do or stop doing something. People will probably end up living closer together where it is easier to be serviced by trains. Mass transportation will be popular. Golf cars (or electric vehicles) can be used for quick local travel (similar to retirement communities in Florida). Trains and buses will handle intermediate distance travel.
Of course, this will all happen due to market forces, no government mandates needed. There will be costs, of course, but there's no reason to believe it will be any greater than what this professor proposes.
(And why does this guy mention horses, wouldn't bicycles be more likely?)
(Also, aqueducts don't suddenly stop working. There should still be water.)
Alcibiades:
Tucson gets the majority of its water by pumping it from about 400' underground. Without the power to do that, no water.
However, we have coal-fired power plants and coal in abundance...
Now that we're in the midst of the Great Depression 2.0, and I've abandoned my job in Tucson for rural living, I'm wondering if all you brilliant folks are still in denial?
Just checking.
Well, I deny that the planet is trying to kill us . . .
Note: All avatars and any images or other media embedded in comments were hosted on the JS-Kit website and have been lost; references to haloscan comments have been partially automatically remapped, but accuracy is not guaranteed and corrections are solicited.
If you notice any problems with this page or wish to have your home page link updated, please contact John Hardin <jhardin@impsec.org>