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| (Image via badosblog) Einstein discovers that time is actually money. |
Related source » Time Reborn: From the Crisis in Physics to the Future of the Universe - Kindle edition by Lee Smolin: 'via Blog this'
[This related source is recommended in its entirety.]
“... it is we who are now destabilizing the climate, but it is also true that the climate has fluctuated suddenly in the past between very different states. If this happens again — whether triggered by our doings or not — it will have dire consequences for us. Because we're able to prevent or moderate major changes in the climate, we must do so — for the same reason that we must look out for and destroy asteroids that might collide with Earth.” [emphasis added]
— Lee Smolin, Time Reborn, p. 255.
Lee Smolin is a brilliant theoretical physicist. When applied to many theoretical physicists, "brilliant" might be deemed redundant. But in the case of Smolin (and a handful of others) "brilliant" is an intensifier — Smolin is brilliant squared. He is also a person of abundant integrity. He has the mental ability to not only probe the mysteries in the extrema of scales (from the Plank to the cosmic) but also to analyse complexities within socioeconomic theories.
In the case of the so-called "climate change" controversy, however, I think his analysis overlooked the key issue that bedevils the opposing contenders. The proponents, who favor a massive financial effort to moderate climate change, believe in the perfectibility of human nature. The opponents of such massive expenditures of wealth do not.
Smolin conjoins conceptually the effort to intercept asteroids that may pose a threat of annihilation to life on Earth, with the effort to moderate a sudden change in climate. But these two threats, both of which deserve our attention and our ambition to preclude them, are different beasts. The asteroid effort would be the purview of science and technology supported by funding from wealthy nations, without much (relatively speaking) controversy over how the funding was allocated. It would be analogous to the ongoing effort for the International Space Station mission.
The climate change effort is a beast of different color. From the get-go, the slimy charlatan profiteers saw the huge opportunity to cash in. If the world's political leaders comprised a plurality, which was within shouting distance of Lee Smolin's integrity, and had a smidgen of his intellect, something akin to the effort being made at CERN might have been possible.
But let's face it, the cost of addressing critical and worthy causes confronting our world far exceeds the available funding. So what are we to do? We can only do cost/benefit analyses to prioritize them. The climate-change advocates have poisoned the well of good will. The huge sums that have already been "spent" have largely been wasted via corruption and propaganda. I don't see any possibility of turning around this ugly state of affairs. Not in my own lifetime; and perhaps not even in the lifetime of my grandchildren. Whatever funding is available is much better spent on efforts that are not already infested with bloodsuckers.
