"As is normally the case, the geoengineering "result" is seen as a response to "failure". Instead, let us see the result as a cause for celebration, as the outcome which life has been seeking to attain for a very long time!"
Yesterday an article was published in The New Yorker concerning the question of whether there is a plausible technological fix to global warming. This article reinforces the point I was making; it also contains some material which concerns me:
http://www.newyorker.com/reporting/2012/05/14/120514fa_fact_specter?currentPage=all
The growing realisation of what we have done, what we need to do in the immediate future to rectify this (regulate the temperature of the atmosphere), and that this is a good thing for life on Earth, is the core of the position that I have been outlining in my books since Is the Human Species Special?: Why human-induced global warming could be in the interests of life was published in 2010.
This excerpt from the New Yorker indicates that we have now entered the state of "growing realisation". This stage will be followed by the second stage: "growing acceptance of the need for the active regulation of the temperature of the atmosphere". The third stage: "the widespread realisation that this is a good thing for life on Earth", seems to be still a long way off. Indeed, in the article, Professor Hugh Hunt (Trinity College, Cambridge) who is working on geoengineering solutions for regulating the temperature of the atmosphere states:
I understand why people have this view - they are "behind the curve". This view pervades contemporary thought. But this view is wrong. It is unhelpful. It is dangerous. If we don't replace it with a New View of Humans in the Cosmos the consequences for life on Earth, and for the human species, could be tragic.
It is our destiny, our purpose, the very reason we came into existence, to deploy/implement the technologies which Professor Hunt is working on. The deployment of such technologies would mean that everything on this planet has gone seriously right. The time of implementation would be a time of great ecstasy and excitement for life on Earth! Yet those developing the solutions which life so badly needs do so with a sense that what they are doing is a 'last resort', something done out of desperation, something done with a sense of regret! How nice it would be if these people, and the wider public, could appreciate that these people are the saviours of life on Earth. They should be treasured. They should be proud of what they are doing.
Those that are 'way behind the curve' are a danger to the survival of life on Earth. As the New Yorker article reveals:
These "50 organisations" believe they are doing the right thing; they clearly believe that they are acting on behalf of all of the wonderful life forms that have arisen on the Earth. How wrong they are! How deluded! How 'behind the curve'! In the future they will see the error of their ways. I am fairy sure that their actions will not have tragic consequences for the future of life on Earth. But if they could come to embrace the New View of Humans in the Cosmos, then we could move forwards more quickly, and speed is of the essence. The sooner that we can learn how to effectively fulfil our purpose the better.
As, Professor Hunt realises: these organisations, and their views, are "scary".
Let us embrace the New View of Humans in the Cosmos:
Is the Human Species Special?: Why human-induced global warming could be in the interests of life
An Evolutionary Perspective on the Relationship between Humans and their Surroundings: Geoengineering, the purpose of life & the nature of the universe
Saviours or Destroyers: The relationship between the human species and the rest of life on Earth
What Does it Mean to be 'Green'?: Sustainability, Respect & Spirituality