Comments JackS has made

  • Not affiliated with Discovery Institute.

    No sense trying to figure my "angle" because I have none except as a critical observer.

    As for your question re: scientists, I think they come to incorrect conclusions all the time for a variety of reasons.

    That's not to say they are wrong in this instance.  Cutting back on the fossil fuel burning certainly won't hurt in the "war on warming," and I'm in favor of it regardless.  I'm just not so sure it will help.On Here's how posted 3 years, 1 month ago 28 Responses

  • Thanks for the responses.

    As for the Goddard link, maybe I'm reading the graph wrong, but it looks to me like it kind of proves the second point in my original post.  There was a lot of global warming in the first half of last century, it plateaued for awhile, and then it resumed at approximately the same rate.  If anything, I think that graph is at least a weak indication that global warming is occurring independent of fossil fuel burning.

    Not that I'm in favor of a "burn baby burn" mentality.  Just trying to get the facts.On Here's how posted 3 years, 1 month ago 28 Responses

  • Don't worry. You're not bending any rules.

    No trolling here.  As I indicated, I believe in Peak Oil, and I also believe that in virtually ignoring it, our society is headed for big trouble.  I've read Deffeyes, Kunstler, et al.  But I also read the other side and don't just automatically dismiss it.  Critical thinking requires gathering all the relevant points and determining what's wheat and what's chaff.

    I think you're missing the point a bit re: Texas.  It's not a suggestion that putting the entire world's population there would make for a pleasant or even livable place.  Rather, it's an illustration that you could do it and have a density no greater than NYC.  That surprised me.  I figured you'd need a lot more land than just Texas to achieve that.  It makes me wonder if the overpopulation "crisis" isn't a bit exaggerated.

    As for global warming, I couldn't get your link to work.  Do you know where to find any kind of graphs or statistics that show the acceleration of global warming in the last two decades?On Here's how posted 3 years, 2 months ago 28 Responses

  • It's not a setup.

    I only left the name of the book out because I felt there would be a built-in bias against the information if I named it.

    If you can debunk the points, I'm here to listen and learn.  But I have no interest in bias on either side of an issue.On Here's how posted 3 years, 2 months ago 28 Responses

  • Questions

    I'm a member of the MSM and saw Jan speak last fall in NYC (I'm also a subscriber to his newsletter).

    Before you pigeonhole me as another media critic, let me say that I am a full believer in Peak Oil.  Haven't owned a car for over 11 years, in fact.  Public transportation, bicycle and my own two feet all the way.

    But after reading a "mainstream" book recently, a couple of points jumped out at me that are often connected to the Peak Oil movement, and I have related questions.

    First, I've always (blindly) accepted the notion that the planet is becoming overpopulated, but this book claimed that if you took the world's entire population and plopped it down in Texas, you'd have a state with the same population density as New York City.  When you put it that way, it hardly seems the planet is overpopulated.  Any comments on this?

    Secondly, the book claimed that although global warming is undeniable over the past century, half of the warming occurred during the first half of that century, when we were burning far less fossil fuel.  In other words, global warming may not be the "man made" crisis some make it out to be, but rather a typical planetary cycle that we can do nothing to stop.  Any comments?

    Thanks for your time.On Here's how posted 3 years, 2 months ago 28 Responses