Balance of nature: human and theological implications (Introduction)

by dhw, Thursday, January 23, 2025, 09:01 (7 days ago) @ David Turell

dhw: So as far as you are concerned, the clearing should continue, so that the Amazon Rain Forest can disappear in, say, 100 years instead of 50 […] Yesterday you were a little more enlightened: you wanted more trees to be planted.

DAVID: Where logging companies work in North America, they replant.

So do you condemn them for panicking, or could it be that they have realized what you do not realize? That everyone should be doing the same thing! But you will be happy to watch the Amazon Rain Forest shrink and shrink.

DAVID: […] Here is a slow but helpful way to poison the soil [sic!]:]
https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2025/01/250116161230.htm

QUOTE: “ […] Maybe 100 years from now we will have found the microbes and genetic tweaks to get close to that goal, but these microbes are not there yet.”

DAVID: I've presented current bacterial research. How to accelerate it is your demand. It may be as fast as can be done now. More panic from you.

dhw: Same again from you. Let’s go on poisoning our environment for the next 100 years. What’s wrong with trying to end the poisoning as quickly as possible?

DAVID: Same again, for you the apocalypse is tomorrow.

Nobody has said it is tomorrow, but we know the dangers now, and as with the forests, we should try to eliminate those dangers as quickly as possible.

DAVID: The current speed of research may be enough for the recognized problems.

dhw: […] as an illustration: if you were a smoker, and your doctor told you that this would increase your chances of lung cancer, would you regard it as sensible to go on smoking, or would you think it wise to stop as quickly as possible?

DAVID: My life's health compared to Earth's health is a poor comparison. I must stop smoking to preserve the time I have. The Earth has lots of time.

The principle is the same: If something is harmful, remove it as quickly as possible. Do you think your NA loggers are in the wrong?

Theology

DAVID: God is a concept for all of us. Mine is nothing like yours.

dhw: That does not entitle you to claim that yours is a “real God-like figure” and mine is not. […]

DAVID: I can only accept what God does.

Stop kidding yourself: you only accept your theory that your God messily, cumbersomely and inefficiently designed and culled 99 out of 100 species that had no connection with his sole purpose (us plus food).

God and evolution: weaverbirds

dhw: […] please tell us why you think your God gave special knot-making courses to weaverbirds in order to design us humans and our food.

DAVID: Weavers are a necessary part of an ecosystem. All ecosystems exist to support humans and their needs.

dhw: And according to you all extinct, pre-human ecosystems also existed to support humans and their needs, even though we weren't around at the time.: […] Do you yourself feel a need for weaverbirds’ nests?

DAVID: That area of the Earth does.

And God said: “I’m gonna give all birds the brains to design their own nests, but there’s places in Africa where humans need knotty nests that nobody but me can build. An’ if I don’t build ‘em, them thar humans ain’t gonna survive.” I don’t buy it.

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DAVID: Introducing Willis Eschenbach:
https://wattsupwiththat.com/2025/01/22/greenhouse-efficiency-2/

QUOTE: "Abstract: Using the CERES satellite data, it is shown that over the last ~ quarter century, the increase in greenhouse gases has had no detectable effect on the global average surface temperature. On the contrary, the overall increase in available solar energy after albedo reflections is shown to be sufficient to explain the warming…” etc.

DAVID: I've followed him for years on this site. He was a Pacific Islands sea captain. He follows the same line of thinking as Willie Soon, a climatologist.

This is getting silly. Log onto the Internet, and you will find countless entries like the following:

Causes and Effects of Climate Change
Welcome to the United Nations
https://www.un.org › climatechange › science › causes-ef..

Causes and Effects of Climate Change

"Fossil fuels – coal, oil and gas – are by far the largest contributor to global climate change, accounting for over 75 per cent of global greenhouse gas emissions and nearly 90 per cent of all carbon dioxide emissions.
As greenhouse gas emissions blanket the Earth, they trap the sun’s heat. This leads to global warming and climate change. The world is now warming faster than at any point in recorded history. Warmer temperatures over time are changing weather patterns and disrupting the usual balance of nature. This poses many risks to human beings and all other forms of life on Earth."

Do you really believe that the UN scientists are a bunch of idiots or panicking propagandists, whereas your retired sea captain and your climatologist are the only honest citizens in possession of the truth? Once again: NOBODY knows for sure just how much damage will be caused in the future, but we do know that Fossil fuels, deforestation, methods of transport and agriculture are already damaging the environment. That should be enough to foster “as quickly as possible” rather than “as slowly as we like”.