George Will - Newsweek

The dark side of George Will. The guy can be too smart for his own good sometimes, like here, when he grabs onto a bit of info in a faulty manner. His last paragraph contains some nonsense:

Six million years ago the Mediterranean dried up. Ninety million years ago there were alligators in the Arctic. Three hundred million years ago Northern Europe was a desert and coal formed in Antarctica. "One thing we know for sure," Laughlin says about these convulsions, "is that people weren't involved."

Coal formed in Antarctica, alligators were in the arctic, etc. when that bit of the earths crust was at a dramatically different point on the continental drift scale. I mean, none of this is known with absolute certainty, maybe tropical temps existed at the poles at some point, then again, good chance they didn't, at least during the period of the earth's history during which living critters roamed the earth. Just because a fossil is found at some location, doesn't mean that spot was anywhere near its current latitude when the fossil was a living thing.

The remarks about CO2 dissolving into the oceans so what's the worry was more nonsense. The oceans are nearing saturation point and the higher levels of carbolic acid that CO2 causes are melting the shells of shellfish and making it harder for new shellfish to form sufficient shells for protection. Who cares? The earth doesn't care what we do to it! Wait, what percentage of the earth's population sustains itself on seafood? And how does the chain of life work there? Silly me, it will all be OK . . . in geologic time.

Will is a tad over-confident, as in this bit:

Today extinctions result mostly from human population pressures-habitat destruction, pesticides, etc.-but "slowing man-made extinctions in a meaningful way would require drastically reducing the world's human population." Which will not happen.

Which will not happen? Not voluntarily, I'd agree with that. The aquifers that we are rapidly depleting will recharge . . . in geologic time. Most of the groundwater we use found its way there during the melting of this or that ice age. The soil that we are salinating (not a word, salting up at any rate) from foolish farming methods and covering with asphalt and concrete will once again thrive . . . in geologic time.

Yes, the earth will heal itself in geologic time. But uh, we don't live in geologic time. The rabbits on an island with no predators don't live in geologic time - the fact that that island will once again produce sufficient food to feed rabbits and that rabbits will once again live there has little effect on the 98% + of the rabbit population that dies from starvation. And that cycle will happen in a relatively short time span, not in the sort of span referred to by "geologic time."

Will's conclusions here are shockingly irresponsible. What need to husband our resources? The earth will still be here. No one will know or care in 100,000 years.

I could just see myself showing up at Will's house and pelting it with huge globs of axle grease. Will runs out, protesting, and cmac shouts: "We're all going to die! The sky is falling! Don't worry Mr. Will, the earth doesn't care what we do to it, this will all be healed over . . . in geologic time."

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1986 300SDL, 362K
1984 300D, 138K

He's right that the earth doesn't care what we do to it. In fact we have a lot of nerve assuming that we can "hurt" the earth. We can definitely make it uninhabitable for every current species of multicellular organism...but hurt it? I rather think not.

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On some nights I still believe that a car with the fuel gauge on empty can run about fifty more miles if you have the right music very loud on the radio. - HST

1983 300SD - 305000
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This planet is on the way to four or five animal species -man, cats, dogs, cows and chickens. Maybe a few horses.

I don't argue with that part. But he uses this to imply there is no reason to be concerned about human inflicted damage. So why don't I just burn his house down, forget the grease part. The earth doesn't care.

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1986 300SDL, 362K
1984 300D, 138K

Pigs, don't forget pigs.

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1986 300SDL, 362K
1984 300D, 138K

That depends on who wins.

Man-bear-pigs!

Does anyone know what George's position on human colonization of other planets in the future might be?

Sounds like some here are losing sleep thinking about George Will's views on the earth. The magic bullet here is Unisom folks.

George Carlin's take on it. Maybe Will just watched this? http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=948Nm34arfA

Or as Stephen Wright once noted . . . "Smoking cures weight problems . . . eventually . . ."

Get real, oh man of sneering. It's called discussion. Am I to make the some lame accustation towards you next time you bring up some point?

Good Lord.

I respect Will's views semi-regularly but he goes around the bend on vahrnmental issues. He misquoted the U of Illinois Arctic Research dept. (not the exact name, I forget exactly) a year or so ago, saying they had said there'd been no change in Arctic ice since the late 70s - they came out and said "WRONG - never published that" - Will did not retract or apologize AFAIK.

If you can find that he did, please post.

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1986 300SDL, 362K
1984 300D, 138K

I'm wondering why this man's views on if the earth "cares" is important to anyone. Seriously. I'm sorry I did not think this was so important that my bit of fun on what I thought is a lightweight topic would strike a cord. Sorry Cmac. Carry on, I'll bow out.

I think this point should be discussed, but perhaps in a different way:

1. The earth does not care good or bad about anything that any creature on it does. That's like mothers telling children, 'Oh don't throw the stone, you'll hurt the window, it will break and cry!" That type of claptrap is silly.

2. We should realize that it's a bad idea to $h!t where you sleep. Consciously avoiding pollution, deforestation etc is probably a good idea.

3. Respect for others' property is a good idea. In my case at least, if you don't respect it, or try to change it (from mine to yours) without my permission, you won't like what will happen.

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Strelnik
Invest in America: Buy a Congressman!

1950 170SD
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1983 240D daily driver
1983 380SL
1990 350SDL daily driver alt
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I'm not sure I'd call the climate change debate a lightweight topic. That's what Will is on about - doesn't matter if we conserve or not, the result will be the same; AGW, carbon emissions, it's all inconsequential.

Well, yeah, we'll all be dead at some point. Since that's the case, I guess Will wouldn't mind donating all his money to a charity of my choosing and wander the earth as a beggar until that time comes.

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1986 300SDL, 362K
1984 300D, 138K