State of Fear Thoughts

I picked this book because I thought it would spawn some constructive thinking regarding global warming. As an aside, while I was flattered by so much prelude to an average novel which has already faded into relative obscurity, (is that because of the heretics, or because the religion of global warming has caught on? more on this in a sec.), I resisted the temptation to make serious comments back because (1) I thought you'd enjoy the novel more if I didn't talk it up or put it down (I think this would be a good rule), (2) I didn't want to express an opinion if I were to be burned at the carbon emissions stake, and (3) I wanted some more time to think about it. Obviously, there are some strong opinions (and facts!) involved in our group, and I don't mean to offend. Here goes:

About the Novel:
I didn't think the plot was very good, the characters were either too flat or too convincible, and I was almost bored at the “exciting conclusion”. That being said, I had read the book before I picked it, and I still picked it, because I like Chrichton's research—he looks into something, then takes a wild leap. For example, while cloning may be a reality, dinosaurs are still extinct—the same thought could apply to this book. The bibliography at the end was unparalleled for fiction and though the appendix had some weak sauce charts, I liked it as well.

About Global Warming:

I believe in global warming, the same way I believe in gravity or relativity. I don't think anyone would argue with these beliefs. I even believe, presumptive as it is, that humans can have an impact on the global temperature to some degree. I believe there may be other factors. These are all relatively scientific statements that somehow we've become comfortable with as “beliefs,” when they're really just facts. I enjoyed the article about environmentalism as religion to which Alvin pointed us, and I would refer you to it if you haven't read it.

I haven't done any personal research, and I've only read a little about it, but I can accept the fact that if you put CO2 in the air, energy will get trapped, and the global temperature on the whole has risen recently. I also enjoyed the website Karl pointed out, and would refer you to it as well. I don't feel particularly educated in this area, but having scratched the surface, I don't feel that I have the time I believe I would need to research to get to that point.

However, I think that there are present and practical reasons to “Go Green”--speculation has driven the cost of oil higher and higher. I like clean air and water, too. Personally, I ride my bike to work, live in a state with one of the higher percentages of renewable resources, and am studying to become a USGreenBuildingCouncil LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) Accredited Professional.

The consumption of may change in 30 years, but the US is to coal as Saudia Arabia is to oil, and I don't foresee us getting rid of coal for a while. In my opinion we need now to establish Nuclear power, with electric and/or hydrogen fuel cell vehicles. We need to do this now, because the infrastructure will take time.

Off my soap box—some questions:

Did you hate it how Evans is slowly convinced about the “falsities of global warming”? I think Chrichton does this a lot in his books, and it bugged a little in this book.

Is environmentalism a religion? Do most people understand global warming? Can we? Can we change the climate? Can we reverse our warming trend? Should we?

I consider myself a conservationalist, in that I think we should keep what we've got, clean up after ourselves and not destroy the beauty of the earth. What should I be doing to save the earth?

Is there anything good about buying carbon credits, or is it pure bunk?