Realclimate has an interesting article about James Lovelock's predicions of doom. They take the narrow road, and treat the old man with the respect he deserves. I left this comment:
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"It's interesting to see that reading Lovelock for the first time had a similar effect on the author to what it had on me. I thought "Wow, this is really exciting!", and was a bit disappointed to find that he was regarded as something of an "enfant terrible" by respected scientists.
Today, I suppose climate scientists are pretty much the "planetary doctors" he wrote that he wanted, trying to figure out how we can keep our planet healthy in an experience-based way.
It's reassuring that his words of impending disaster find little support by the "doctors". However, there are other worrying things in the Worldwatch reports, to put it like that. Although climate modeling integrates an impressive variety of disciplines, we don't know very much about how the economy will cope, how people will behave, or even such practical questions as how much oil we've got left. There's plenty of room for disaster still, unfortunately, so the bad gut feeling of someone like Lovelock shouldn't just be dismissed.
And you didn't. Thank you for taking my old hero seriously."
Posted by vintermann at February 13, 2006 09:41 AM