The Return of Greta Thunberg

[Rogar]

The good news is that they could hardly do worse than the respectable credentialed experts have over the past 60-80 years.

I wonder who they will find to replace the people doing cancer research, or if they will just go away like the people doing climate research. There is an inquisition on scientists in general.

Ivermectin around.

[LDAHL]

I wonder who they will find to replace the people doing cancer research, or if they will just go away like the people doing climate research. There is an inquisition on scientists in general.

Ivermectin around.

Don’t know about cancer, but decade after decade of confident predictions of doom from overpopulation, holes in the ozone layer, acid rain, superbugs and sundry other causes have strained my credulity to the breaking point. I think at least some of the “war on science” hysteria comes from rent-seeking bureaucrats worried about their funding.

[Rogar]

Your hypothesis would be interesting to run past ChatGPT for accuracy, now that everyone has access to it.

[LDAHL]

Your hypothesis would be interesting to run past ChatGPT for accuracy, now that everyone has access to it.

ChatGPT has had enough accuracy issues that I’m not sure I’d accept it as a definitive authority.

[catherine]

Don’t know about cancer, but decade after decade of confident predictions of doom from overpopulation, holes in the ozone layer, acid rain, superbugs and sundry other causes have strained my credulity to the breaking point. I think at least some of the “war on science” hysteria comes from rent-seeking bureaucrats worried about their funding.

Those things didn't just--poof--go away. All of those issues--overpopulation, ozone layer, acid rain and superbugs were/are true threats that people have had enough concern about to research them, recommend solutions, and address with policy. That's how the ozone layer went away--thanks to the Montreal Protocol and the banning of CFCs.

Overpopulation has been mitigated with the science that has given women access to contraceptives. Also playing a role was economic prosperity, and women's rights. But the population is obviously still growing, and many believe that scientific advancement is the only way civilization will be saved. Maybe only the science the Musk and Bezos provide is to be trusted.

Fossil fuels and power plant effects of acid rain still occurs, but thanks to air pollution regulations, it occurs far less frequently. If those regulations are rolled back, we will return to smog-filled cities, and increases in respiratory disease.

Superbigs.. well, we know what happened with COVID.

I'm not as cynical as you are. Maybe scientists don't know everything, but I respect their positions enough to trust that most of them are very smart and have appropriate credentials for their jobs, unlike the current Cabinet. I believe they do the best they can to pursue and assess objective, evidence-based truths about our world The idea that they are this administration's "bad guys" and are divested of their roles, protecting the citizens from things that can kill us, is simply crazy to me. Just as crazy as Hegseth being Secretary of Defense, Lee Zeldin as EPA head, and Casey Means as potential Surgeon General.

Also, I have nothing against Greta Thunberg. I think she's a person of principle who walks her walk, and we need more of those.

IMHO.

[Rogar]

It's probably up for discussion, but it was the green revolution that may have saved us from over population. Improved seed strains, new pesticides, and techniques to synthesize fertilizers allow the population to grow by billlions that may have otherwise be limited by food production. All of which came about by the same principles of scientific research that allowed new vaccines and medical treatments that limited or eliminated pandemics. And the same framework of investigation that defines climate change. Science may never be perfect, but observations testing and measurements are what have defined our civilization, as it is. And it's what's being cut in research centers doing all sorts of valuable work.

It sort oif comes down to, who do youn trust.