Does the human race have a 50/50 chance of surviving the 21st century?

I have added a new book to my “hope to read soon” list.  It is titled, “Our Final Century,” by Martin Reese.  (Actually, I will probably read Our Final Hour, also by Martin Reese, instead.)  According to Amazon.com, “Sir Martin Rees FRS is the most eminent cosmologist in Britain, the Astronomer Royal and Professor at Cambridge. He lives in Cambridge.”

What he says in the book is quite distrubing.  Essentially, he puts the human race’s chances of surviving the 21st century at 50/50.

And I have to say, 208 pages in to Thomas Friedman’s ‘Hot, Flat, and Crowded,’ a 50% chance of human self-destruction in the 21st century is not implausible.

Here is the Amazon.com editorial review:

“‘It matters that one should understand the provenance of this important and disturbing book. It is not another futurological diatribe saying that the end is nigh, but a lucid, calm, profoundly well-informed work by a distinguished scientist, whose humanity - evidenced by a serious ethical commitment and a quiet sense of humour- balances the dispassionate logic with which he surveys his subject: the multitude of threats facing humanity in the twenty-first century from error and terror in the nuclear, biological and environmental spheres.’ Literary Review”

James Lovelock says the human race’s only hope is to adapt - fixing global warming will just make it worse

I have always felt that James Lovelock was on to something with his Gaia theory of Earth, which as The Daily Galaxy states, “the Earth is essentially a complex interacting system that can be thought of as a single organism.

But, in this case, I hope that he is wrong.  According to his latest thoughts on global warming, it is really too late to do anything about it, and the “affluenza” that Thomas Friedman emphasizes in his book, ‘Hot, Flat, and Crowded‘ has taken over the developing world is starting to affect the planet.

Here is the kicker, not only is it too late to do anything about it, according to Lovelock, doing too much to fix it might actually make it worse.  Essentially, he says we should be more responsible for the sake of it and just learn how to adapt to what is about to happen to us as a race of people.

It also brings to mind a comedy sketch I saw by George Carlin when he said something like:

“The planet has been through a lot worse than us.
Been through all kinds of things worse than us. Been through
earthquakes, volcanoes, plate tectonics, continental drift, solar
flares, sun spots, magnetic storms, the magnetic reversal of the
poles…hundreds of thousands of years of bombardment by comets and
asteroids and meteors, worlwide floods, tidal waves, worldwide fires,
erosion, cosmic rays, recurring ice ages…And we think some plastic
bags, and some aluminum cans are going to make a difference? The
planet…the planet…the planet isn’t going anywhere. WE ARE!” Here is the whole thing, but in typical Carlin fashion, it includes a lot of profanity.

The Status of “Spaceship Earth”

It’s a horrible catch 22 situation that leaves only a very small gap for any joy at all. If we continue to do nothing (note the use of the word continue), then we will doom ourselves. If we do do something, like a massive cut back in the emission of carbon in to our atmosphere, Lovelock believes that we would further damage Earth.

“Any economic downturn or planned cutback in fossil fuel use, which lessened aerosol density, would intensify the heating,” Lovelock will say, in a lecture to the Royal Society today. “If there were a 100 per cent cut in fossil fuel combustion it might get hotter not cooler. We live in a fool’s climate. We are damned if we continue to burn fuel and damned if we stop too suddenly.”

Suggestions wanted for DaddyHogwash.com’s 10 Most Fascination People

Requirements:

The person had to make a significant contribution to knowledge or humanity in the year 2008.

Barbara Walter’s 10 most fascinating people not very fascinating

I haven’t watched much T.V. lately, but I did catch Barbara Walter’s 10 most fascinating people last night.  Quite frankly, there really wasn’t much to be fascinated by.  Tom Cruise just one person behind Obama?  What a bunch of hogwash.

I guess the word ‘fascinating’ is relative to who is being fascinated.  Most of these people are nothing more than 30 minute celebrities.  Even Tina Fey, who I like, isn’t all that fascinating, just because she can make faces and noises like the “I set women back by 15 years” Sarah Palin.

When I think of fascinating people, I think of people who have changed the world, our understanding of the world, or made a long-lasting affect on all of humanity.  The only one on this list who fits that description is Barack Obama.  Love him or not, he epitomizes civic duty, cataclysmic change, social maturity, and most of all, American progress.

So, over the weekend, I will work on the first annual DaddyHogwash.com’s 10 most fascinating people of 2008.  Stay tuned.

Barbara Walters most fascinated by Obama, but Cruise over Palin?

2. Tom Cruise, actor

Walters asked Cruise what he regrets since meeting with her three years ago, and although he admitted he could’ve done things differently, he didn’t seem to regret anything. Premiering soon will be “Valkyrie,” Cruise’s new movie about a man that plotted to kill Adolph Hitler. Cruise said he decided to do this movie because he found it inspiring. And even though he has already won the most prestigious German award for the movie, there was much controversy early on. Cruise said that there are probably more kids in he and wife Katie Holmes’ future, but right now they’re just enjoying the ones they have. He also said that he has definitely grown up and learned through all of the mistakes he has made and successes he has had over the years.

My Thoughts: Is it just me, or is Tom Cruise always on this list? Obviously not, since Walters hasn’t interviewed him in three years, but it feels like he is always around. I was surprised that there wasn’t more talk about Scientology, but at the same time impressed that he kept his cool about the topic. Sorry people, no couch jumping for Tom tonight.