Campanastan

Capitol Police: TSA Lookin' Good. So Is Dulles

I never thought I’d ever encounter any group that would make TSA airport security folks look and act like a well-oiled machine. But I did find them at the House and Senate office buildings’ security checkpoints: the US Capitol Police.

 

Let me first say that aside from the security checkpoints, I've always found the Capitol Police to be polite and efficient. But they haven't yet seemed to figure out the security checkpoint business. Granted, at some of the entry points there are not many modifications that can be done. But from my vantage point, they don't appear to have tried very hard to accommodate the visitors.

This time of year is quite busy. Since budget decisions are being made, lobbyists (official or unofficial, like me) and other visitors descend like lemmings upon Congress to agitate for their favorite bill (hey - First Amendment!). Seemingly oblivious to the lines queued up (outdoors, in many cases) waiting to enter, the Capitol Police took their time in their never-ending quest to protect our elected representatives.

One particularly annoying habit occurred when someone triggered the metal detector. Instead of moving the offender a few feet to the side for the obligatory electronic wanding, the officer would have them stand right there at the egress of the metal detector, thereby preventing anyone else from proceeding until the wanding was finished.  Of course, the rationale for this was simple: the officer monitoring the detector was the same one who had to wand the offender - all the while with his/her compatriots standing around picking their noses.

It's no wonder former Rep. Cynthia McKinney went ballistic at a checkpoint a few years ago.

And, farther west, Dulles International Airport, moving ‘all ahead full’ into the 1980s, is progressing just swimmingly on its AeroTrain project to move people from its main terminal out to the satellites. Amazing technology! What next? ATMs?

"Love is grand; divorce is a hundred grand." -- Woody Paige

PDX to IAD: 9/11 Redux?

Yesterday I flew from Portland, OR (PDX), to Washington-Dulles (IAD) on a United Airlines nonstop. During boarding at the PDX gate I experienced something I had not since the early post-9/11 days: the TSA folks were out en masse (well, five) checking IDs and boarding passes as we boarded.

I’m curious as to why this was done. Perhaps it had something to do with the fact that it was a Sunday morning nonstop flight to DC during a time Congress was in session and making money decisions. There were undoubtedly a lot of heavy hitters on board; I noticed at least one Congressman.

Or perhaps it just gave the “Thousands Standing Around” something to do. 

 

Whatever the reason, I felt a lot safer.

 

“Passengers must avoid transporting items without their knowledge” -- TSA announcement

The New Yorker Injects Some Humor Into A-Roid's Plight

A-Roid gets The New Yorker treatment. Great cartoon ("Off Base") by Barry Blitt.

 

"And to be quite honest, I don’t know exactly what substance I was guilty of using." -- Alex Rodríguez , interview with Peter Gammons

Campanastan and WaterWired Go Google!

I have finally added a Google Search feature to Campanastan that will enable you to search either the blog (aquadoc.typepad. com) or the WWW.

I have also added the same feature to my water blog WaterWired.

You can also follow my WaterWired Twitter updates (tweets) on Campanastan - just below the Google search box.

Google on!

“I’ve had amnesia for as long as I can remember.” – Woody Paige

A Lesson from US Airways Flight 1549: "Every Day is a Great Day Now"

Gerry McNamara was a passenger on US Airways Flight 1549, the one that made an emergency landing in the Hudson River. Below is his account of that fateful flight (sent to me by Ken Reid).

I will first list four lessons he wishes to share:

 1. Cherish your families as never before and go to great lengths to
 keep your promises.

 2. Be thankful and grateful for everything you have and don't worry
 about the things you don't have.

 3. Keep in shape. You never know when you'll be called upon to save
 your own life, or help someone else save theirs.

 4. When you fly, wear practical clothing. You never know when
 you'll end up in an emergency or on an icy wing in flip flops and
 pajamas and of absolutely no use to yourself or anyone else.

And more...

There is a great deal to be learned including: Why has this happened to
 me? Why have I survived and what am I supposed to do with this gift? For
 me, the answers to these questions and more will come over time, but
 already I find myself being more patient and forgiving, less critical
 and judgmental. 

*****************************
 
Thursday was a difficult day for all of us at the firm and I left the
Park Avenue office early afternoon to catch a cab bound for LaGuardia
Airport. 
 
I was scheduled for a 5 PM departure, but able to secure a seat on the
earlier flight scheduled to leave at 3 PM. As many of us who fly
frequently often do, I recall wondering if I'd just placed myself on a
flight I shouldn't be on!
 
 Just prior to boarding I finished up a conference call with my
 associate, Jenn Sparks (New York), and our placement, the CIO of United
Airlines. When I told him that I was about to board a US Airways flight,
we all had a little fun with it. 
 
I remember walking on the plane and seeing a fellow with grey hair in
the cockpit and thinking "that's a good thing... I like to see grey hair
in the cockpit!"
 
I was seated in 8F, on the starboard side window and next to a young
businessman. The New York to Charlotte flight is one I've taken what
seems like hundreds of times over the years. We take off north over the
Bronx and as we climb, turn west over the Hudson River to New Jersey
and tack south. I love to fly, always have, and this flight plan gives a
great view of several NY landmarks including Yankee Stadium and the
George Washington Bridge.
 
I had started to point out items of interest to the gentleman next to me
when we heard a terrible crash - a sound no one ever wants to hear while
flying - and then the engines wound down to a screeching halt. 10
seconds later, there was a strong smell of jet fuel. I knew we would be
landing and thought the pilot would take us down no doubt to Newark Airport.

As we began to turn south I noticed the pilot lining up on the
river still - I thought - en route for Newark.

Next thing we heard was "Brace for impact!" - a phrase I had heard many
years before as an active duty Marine Officer but never before on a
commercial air flight.
 
Everyone looked at each other in shock. It all happened so fast we were
astonished! 
 
We began to descend rapidly and it started to sink in. This is the last
flight. I'm going to die today. This is it. I recited my favorite bible
verse, the Lord's Prayer, and asked God to take care of my wife,
children, family and friends. 
 
When I raised my head I noticed people texting their friends and
family....getting off a last message. My BlackBerry was turned off and
in my trouser pocket...no time to get at it. Our descent continued and I
prayed for courage to control my fear and help if able. 
 
I quickly realized that one of two things was going to happen, neither
of them good. We could hit by the nose, flip and break up, leaving few
if any survivors, bodies, cold water, fuel. Or we could hit one of the
wings and roll and flip with the same result. I tightened my seat belt
as tight as I could possibly get it so I would remain intact.
 
As we came in for the landing, I looked out the windows and remember
seeing the buildings in New Jersey, the cliffs in Weehawken, and then
the piers. The water was dark green and sure to be freezing cold. The
stewardesses were yelling in unison "Brace! Brace! Brace!"
 
It was a violent hit - the water flew up over my window - but we bobbed
up and were all amazed that we remained intact.
 
There was some panic - people jumping over seats and running towards
the doors, but we soon got everyone straightened out and calmed down.
There were a lot of people that took leadership roles in little ways.
Those sitting at the doors over the wing did a fantastic job...they were
opened in a New York second! Everyone worked together - teamed up and
in groups to figure out how to help each other.
 
I exited on the starboard side of the plane, 3 or 4 rows behind my seat
through a door over the wing and was, I believe, the 10th or 12th person
out. I took my seat cushion as a flotation device and once outside saw I
was the only one who did....none of us remembered to take the yellow
inflatable life vests from under the seat. 
 
We were standing in 6-8 inches of water and it was freezing. There were
two women on the wing, one of whom slipped off into the water. Another
passenger and I pulled her back on and had her kneel down to keep from
falling off again. By that point we were totally soaked and absolutely
frozen from the icy wind. 
 
The ferries were the first to arrive, and although they're not made for
rescue, they did an incredible job. I know this river, having swum in it
as a boy. The Hudson is an estuary - part salt and part fresh water -
and moves with the tide. I could tell the tide was moving out because we
were tacking slowly south towards Ellis Island, The Statue of Liberty,
 and The Battery. 
 
The first ferry boat pulled its bow up to the tip of the wing, and the
first mate lowered the Jacobs ladder down to us. We got a couple people
up the ladder to safety, but the current was strong pushing the stern of
the boat into the inflatable slide and we were afraid it would puncture
it...there must have been 25 passengers in it by now. Only two or three
were able to board the first ferry before it moved away.
 
Another ferry came up, and we were able to get the woman that had fallen
into the water on the ladder, but she just couldn't move her legs and
fell off. Back onto the ladder she went; however, the ferry had to back
away because of the swift current. A helicopter arrived on station
(nearly blowing us all off the wing) and followed the ferry with the
woman on the ladder. We lost view of the situation but I believe the
helicopter lowered its basket to rescue her. 
 
As more ferries arrived, we were able to get people up on the boats a
few at a time. The fellow in front of me fell off the ladder and into
the water. When we got him back on the ladder he could not move his legs
to climb. I couldn't help him from my position so I climbed up the
ladder to the ferry deck where the first mate and I hoisted the Jacobs
ladder with him on it...when he got close enough we grabbed his trouser
belt and hauled him on deck. We were all safely off the wing. 
 
We could not stop shaking. Uncontrollable shaking. The only thing I had
with me was my BlackBerry, which had gotten wet and was not working.
(It started working again a few hours later). 
 
The ferry took us to the Weehawken Terminal in NJ where I borrowed a
phone and called my wife to let her know I was okay. The second call I
made was to Jenn. I knew she would be worried about me and could
communicate to the rest of the firm that I was fine. At the terminal,
first responders assessed everyone's condition and sent people to the
hospital as needed. As we pulled out of Weehawken my history kicked in
 and I recall it was the site of the famous duel between Alexander
 Hamilton and Aaron Burr in 1804. Thankfully I left town in better
 condition than Mr. Hamilton who died of a mortal wound the next day! I
 stayed with my sister on Long Island that evening, then flew home the
 next day.
 
 I am struck by what was truly a miracle. Had this happened a few hours
 later, it would have been pitch dark and much harder to land. Ferries
 would no longer have been running after rush hour and it would not have
 been the same uplifting story. Surely there would have been fatalities,
 hypothermia, an absolute disaster!
 
 I witnessed the best of humanity that day. I and everyone on that plane
 survived and have been given a second chance. It struck me that in our
 work we continuously seek excellence to solve our client's leadership
 problems. We talk to clients all the time about the importance of
 experience and the ability to execute. Experience showed up big time on
 Flight 1549 as our pilot was a dedicated, trained, experienced
 professional who executed flawlessly when he had to.
 
 I have received scores of emails from across the firm and I am so
 grateful for the outpouring of interest and concern. We all fly a great
 deal or work with someone who does and so I wanted to share this story -
 the story of a miracle. I am thankful to be here to tell the tale. 
    
 Thanks to all who have reached out ...I look forward to seeing you soon!

"Every day is a great day now." -- Gerry McNamara, US Airways Flight 1549 passenger

Redefining Hydrophilanthropy: ESPN, Fly Fishing and Healing the Wounded

Sometimes ESPN gets it right. Amid the roiling sea of self-deprecating or snarky anchors, narcissistic athletes, bloviating analysts, interminable slam dunks, and sports shills masquerading as journalists, there sometimes appears an island of thoughtfulness and compassion.

One such island was spotted on SportsCenter Sunday morning. There was piece on a philanthropic organization, Project Healing Waters, that takes injured vets and teaches them the joys of fly fishing. Its mission:

Project Healing Waters Fly Fishing, Inc. is dedicated to the physical and emotional rehabilitation of disabled active duty military personnel and veterans through fly fishing and fly tying education and outings.

The story's reporter spoke with a number of disabled vets, who had found a lifeline through the organization and its fly fishing approach. I could not find the story on ESPN's WWW site - probably have to join and log in.

There is also a similar program, Rivers of Recovery. I suspect there are others, too.

Here is a video clip about ROR from MSNBC. From ROR's WWW site:

Rivers of Recovery (ROR) represents a pro-active intervention. Our goal is to achieve lasting, positive changes in the lives of disabled veterans. This is done by helping our participants:

• Forge a re-connection with a life’s purpose.
• Re-connect with themselves, their families, fellow veterans and nature.
• Re-build a sense of empowerment; self-esteem and self-confidence.
• Demonstrate competence and capability.
• Achieve success through learning and accomplishment.

Both these organizations deserve your support.

 

And thanks to ESPN, I had to rethink my definition of hydrophilanthropy. What those fly fishing folks were doing was HP, pure and simple. So to my definition of hydrophilanthropy I added number 2 below.

 

Ooops...gotta go...almost time for Hannah Storm on SportsCenter!

 

Hydrophilanthropy: 1) Altruistic concern for the water, sanitation, and related needs of humankind, as manifested by donations of work, money, or resources. 2) Use of water to express kindness or benevolence, such as the healing of psychological, spiritual, and other wounds.

Happy Birthday, Oregon!

Today is my adopted home state of Oregon's 150th birthday, otherwise know to cognoscenti as its sesquicentennial.

Oregon is the only state whose flag has a different picture on each side. Here are the front and back pictures (that's a beaver on the back):

 

One other state I once called home - Arizona - also entered the Union on Valentine's Day, but in 1912.

But the best statehood day of all my former home states is Nevada's: Halloween. Someone had a sense of humor.

I'll never forget driving to Las Vegas on I-15 in 1990. As I crossed into Nevada from Arizona, there was a huge billboard, a relict of Nevada's 125th anniversary in 1989. It had the state seal, with the words:

Nevada - 125 Years of Vision

After struggling to keep my Toyota pickup from going off the road, I thought to myself, "Yeah, that's right: gambling, prostitution, and nuclear testing."

In short, tunnel vision.

But I miss the ol' Silver State.

"Eugene is located in western Oregon, approximately 278 billion miles from anything." -- Dave Barry

Happy Triskadecaphobia Day!

  Have a great day!

"Luck has a peculiar habit of favoring those who don't depend on it" -- Unknown

Darwin and Lincoln: Co-Evolution?

Today we celebrate the 200th birthday of two giants - Abraham Lincoln and Charles Darwin, two gentlemen who made their marks in disparate fields. Both were born on this day in 1809.

I won't go into the usual details of their lives, except to say that both are still around, having enjoyed a renaissance of sorts.

Lincoln's popularity stems from a number of recent books about him - most notably, Doris Kearns Goodwin's Team of Rivals and President Obama's fondness for and emulation of him. He's also arguably the greatest American president.

Darwin's resurgent "notoriety" stems from his theory of evolution, which is under assault from a number of the "usual suspects" who tout creationism, or its stalking-horse, intelligent design. 

His opponents are gaining ground in several places.

As an aside, I find no contradiction between a Supreme Being and evolution. In fact, I think it would be through evolution that a Supreme Being would demonstrate its infinite creativity. What an ingenious way to populate and speciate the Earth, and keep its poor humans guessing as to how it was done. Brilliant!

I recently read a review of a new book about both men, Angels and Ages: A Short Book about Darwin, Lincoln, and Modern Life. by Adam Gopnik.

Here is a bit of Josh Burek's review in the Christian Science Monitor:

Had they not shared the same birth date, Abraham Lincoln and Charles Darwin would still merit comparative study as twin giants of modern thought. Both thrust upon mankind a new understanding of itself. That, at least, is the contention of Adam Gopnik in Angels and Ages: A Short Book about Darwin, Lincoln, and Modern Life.

Gopnik casts fresh and honest light on two figures distorted by years of excessive comment, quotation, and ideological appropriation. We miss the significance of their summits, Gopnik writes, if we focus on only emancipation and evolution. Each man’s larger legacy, in fact, is the distinctly modern means in which he delivered his argument.

And the last few paragraphs:

As thinkers, were Lincoln and Darwin really so alike? Gopnik sees both men as practitioners of induction, which rejects reasoning from first principles for the truth-coaxing power of close scrutiny of things as they are.

Induction is a powerful method, but Gopnik offers no critique. Has not reasoning from effect to cause, as Darwin did, sometimes missed the mark? For instance, Confederate leaders claimed advanced science proved “the Negro” to be inferior. (Darwin vigorously disputed this.) As a deductive thinker, Lincoln’s rebuke – indeed, his politics – radiated from the central sun of a single proposition: All men are created equal...

The apostle Paul says we see through a glass, darkly. By showing us the nature of law, Lincoln gave us a vision more spiritual. Darwin, instead, looked to the law of nature and offered a view more material. The flaw in Gopnik’s elegant book is that he doesn’t denote the difference.

I've heard that Darwin really sought to disprove the inferiority of "Negroes" through his theory.

These men had more in common than I imagined. Let's celebrate these two magnificent men!

“We thus learn that man is descended from a hairy quadruped, furnished with a tail and pointed ears….” -- Charles Darwin, The Descent of Man

"Fourscore and seven years ago our fathers brought forth on this continent a new nation, conceived in liberty and dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal." -- Abraham Lincoln, 19 November 1863, Gettysburg, PA

The REAL Problem with Baseball's Steroids Snafu

So what's the real problem with baseball's steroids snafu?

It's making José Canseco look good. Real good.

See my post on the link between A-Roid and aquifers!

"I believe in rules. Sure I do. If there weren't any rules, how could you break them?" -- Leo Durocher 

Dirty Diplomacy: Not Your Usual Ambassador

The subtitle of  Craig Murray's book Dirty Diplomacy is pretty descriptive and extremly accurate: The Rough-and -Tumble Adventures of a Scotch-Drinking, Skirt-Chasing, Dictator-Busting and Thoroughly Unrepentant Ambassador Stuck on the Frontline of the War Against Terror. It's not your usual memoir by a former ambassador.

The book was titled Murder in Samarkand in the UK.

Murray served as the UK ambassador to Uzbekistan from August 2002 to October 2004. From the beginning he proved to be a thorn in the side of the UK's Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) and the Uzbek government, headed by dictator Islam Karimov, who's headed Uzbekistan since 1991.

Karimov's a thug, but when Murray took office, he was 'our' thug who became a strategic ally in the War on Terror. He opposed Muslim extremists, and more importantly, let us use Uzbekistan soil for an air base (we've since been kicked out).

Murray almost immediately took issue with Karmov's repressive regime, known for murder, torture, and all the usual human-rights transgressions, much to the chagrin of the UK. He naturally did not endear himself to the Americans, whose main interest was keeping Karimov happy and glossing over his 'shortcomings'. Murray was appalled by this attitude and let his displeasure be known.

In short, he was sacked because he wouldn't shut up.

Murray readily admits his foibles. Although married with two children, he was a serial philanderer and an alcoholic to boot. He finally left Fiona, his wife of 20 years, for Nadira Alieva, 23 years his junior who was dancing in a seedy Tashkent club (read about her lap-dancing exploits). 

Here's a less-than-flattering account of their affair. Murray strikes me as a sad, even pathetic, figure.

I did enjoy the book and admired Murray's refusal to keep quiet and "play the game". He called them as he saw them.

He reminded me of Oskar Schindler, who rescued Jews during World War II despite nothing in his background to indicate that he would do such a thing, at great personal risk.

Murray paid the price, not just for speaking against wrongdoing, but also for making what seems to have been a very foolish personal choice.

It's a very good book. I highly recommend it.

As one reviewer put it, it's like a very funny version of a Graham Greene novel. Too bad it's nonfiction.

"The Uzbek people know only one word for Craig Murray: hero." -- Mohammad Salih, Uzbek opposition leader

Pyramid (Lake) Power

I am in the Reno, NV, area for a few days attending a meeting at my first place of employment after graduate school, the Desert Research Institute (DRI).

From the looks of things in the casino of the El Dorado Hotel (where I'm staying) I would say that the long-held belief that gambling -- ooops, I mean gaming -- is a recession-proof industry has just gone down the toilet.

I took a few hours to visit one of my favorite places in the Reno-Lake Tahoe area, Pyramid Lake, a gorgeous desert 'sea' about 40 miles northeast of Reno. The lake has almost the same surface area as Lake Tahoe (188 vs.191 square miles) but only abut 20% of the water volume (29 cubic km. vs. 150 cubic km. or 24 MAF vs. 122 MAF).   

Pyramid Lake, which lies wholly within the Pyramid Lake Paiute Indian Reservation,  is a remnant of Lake Lahontan, which covered about 8,500 square miles of Nevada and a part of California thousands of years ago. Pyramid Lake's level has dropped about 100 feet since the early 1900s, when about the half the flow of the Truckee River, the only surface inflow to the lake (other than precipitation), was diverted to supply irrigation water for the Newlands Project, the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation's first project.

I had my iPhone so I snapped the following pictures.

This one shows a view to the north. You can see the 'pyramid' in the back on the left side.  It (Anaho Island) is a wildlife refuge - famous for its white pelicans.

 

 

This view is toward the southeast. 

A remarkable place!

Lithium: Unintended Consequences May Induce Depression

Two months ago I posted on the lithium-ion battery boom and how it may blow up in our faces, as the essential ingredients are found in less-than-friendly (to the USA) places. Lithium, long a key component of anti-depressant drugs, is critical to electric cars and other devices on the drawing boards designed to make us more energy-efficient and less dependent upon hydrocarbons found in hostile places.

Now comes Simon Romero's New York Times story about the huge (almost half the world's supply) lithium reserves in Bolivia, and the country's militant resolve not to let Western corporations or others run amok in their desire to lock up all the lithium.  

The Bolivians are aware of what they have, and want to control its development. Their nationalistic ardor could spell problems for us down the road.  

Sometimes I think we need an Unintended Consequences Office (good acronym: UCO), where very smart people would work, trying to see pitfalls in new policies/technologies (think ethanol) before we travel too far down the road.

I can dream, can't I?

"The law of unintended consequences pushes us ceaselessly through the years, permitting no pause for perspective." -- Richard Schickel

Students: Win a Trip to Africa With Nick Kristof

Nick Kristof (here is his MySpace page), columnist for the New York Times, is once again offering a free trip to Africa for an undergraduate or graduate student. Check out the contest rules; entries are due by 11:59 PM EST, 13 February 2009.

Kristof, who grew up in Yamhill County, OR, on a sheep/cherry farm, has done this twice before.

Here are some impressions from the first (2006) winner, Casey Parks.

Leana Wen, a medical student at Washington University in St. Louis, and Will Okun, a teacher at Westside Alternative High School in Chicago, were the winners of the 2007 competition.

Great opportunity to see how much of the world lives, with a man who's trying to make the world a safer, healthier place. 

"But the trip changed me in ways that aren’t so comfortable, too. After staying up, exhausted but exhilarated by anger when a nurse in Cameroon told us if a woman died, well so what, that was God’s will, it was really hard to go home to television and amenities and not feel unsettled or greedy." -- Casey Parks, 2006 winner

Climate Change Conspiracy: Global Forces of Evil at Work

Two of Campanastan's colleagues had the following email exchange about global warming, in particular, two videos.

Colleague 1:

In case you guys have not seen the CBC documentary or the second more dramatic program on the disagreement of actual science and 
top climatologists with the current climate change scam, I attach the two 
links.  I thought these programs were very good and was relieved that 
real scientists are collecting real data and FINALLY speaking out 
against the politicians, United Nations, and Wall Street banker 
interests in the promotion of the false conclusions about climate 
change.

Maybe Al Gore will be sorry he ever "invented" the internet! 
Because of the internet, I believe that the climate change scam 
will crumble in the light of the work that is going on now to
show that the real scientific community is not on board at all. 
Unbelievable to me that this thing could have such a following of well intentioned but unquestioning people.

The pdf attachment [unavailable] is all about Al's motives, as if we can
 ever know or care what the true reasons are for the guy, but it is 
interesting to me that it is much of the same Wall Street gang that is 
currently looting our accounts.

During the Depression, people learned to carry their billfolds in 
their front pocket so they would not be pick-pocketed.  Now I see why!

Enjoy and let me know what you think.

I have been upset about this topic for some time and I really like 
seeing the scientific community trying to correct this junk science.

Colleague 2:

I watched one of the videos and part of the other and, though they're well done, I don't agree.  There's an awful lot of evidence supporting the climate change hypothesis in widely diverse fields by a lot of very smart, careful, and most importantly, independent and very ethical scientists.  Their data come from atmospheric science, paleontology, biology, glaciology, meteorology, all kinds of earth observations and other fields.   I find it impossible to believe that there's a conspiracy of this magnitude to create this scenario.  There's too much agreement between too many disparate fields of studies.

In my experience, the naysayers/disbelievers pick at the margins.  They'll find tidbits of contradictory evidence and extrapolate from this to the conclusion that the whole climate change hypothesis is wrong.  Certainly the globe has been warmer and colder than today, but the rate of change of temperature, of ice sheet melting & glacial retreat, of changes in biomes & species extinction, of changes in weather patterns, arctic warming, and of CO2 levels in the last 100 years is unprecedented.  Both the first and second derivatives are positive and much greater than at any time in the past.

Last.  I see very little downside in working to minimize CO2 emissions regardless of whether climate change is occurring.  Maybe there's a slight impact on global economies, but that's a tiny blip on the curve.  On the positive side, accepting the climate change hypothesis leads to energy conservation and that can only be a good thing - it'll preserve our fossil fuel resources a bit longer and encourage us to develop alternative energy sources.  Accepting the hypothesis spurs a lot of good science and development of new technologies.  Maybe it'll force us to start living more sustainable lives.  And there's a lot of international cooperation as countries work together to develop the science, technologies and policies to meet the problem.

But the downside risks of ignoring the hypothesis are enormous.  Drought.  Sea level rise.  Spread of tropical diseases.  Extreme weather phenomena.  Scariest of all might be the inertia of the whole thing.  A climate guy here said that if we reduced CO2 emissions to 1950 levels it would likely take 100 years or longer to re-establish 1950 atmospheric CO2 levels, if that would even be possible; there are feedback loops such as ice cap melting that may make the impacts irreversible.

So the videos are provocative.  And we should all watch 'em, but watch them critically.  And don't let them change public policies related to conservation and sustainability.  But my opinion won't change till I see agreement by many people from many fields published in refereed journals - not videos for the general public.

Check out my earlier posts on Sen. James Inhofe (R-OK), the "ostrich syndrome",  and another global warming skeptic.

I love people who believe in massive conspiracy theories, whether it has to do with climate change or world financial domination. Makes life a lot simpler when you believe that "forces of evil" are controlling things, and you are just a helpless pawn. You don't really have to think much.

And it's always good to throw in the UN and, these days, Wall Street bankers. Don't forget the Jewish moneylenders, the Rothschilds, the Illuminati, and the Trilateral Commission.

Regarding conspiracies by scientists: anyone who believes this doesn't know science or scientists. Global conspiracies require the acquiescence of large numbers of people. So you're going to get a huge number of scientists from disparate fields to toe the line? Uh-huh. Dream on, friend. Go to a meeting of one of the mainstream scientific societies and see what tranpsires.  

Slick videos are great, but what counts is the cauldron that is the refereed scientific literature.  

"In fact, one thing that I have noticed . . . is that all of these conspiracy theories depend on the perpetrators being endlessly clever. I think you'll find the facts also work if you assume everyone is endlessly stupid." -- Unknown