I Am Now a Global Warming Believer
The Guardian and some NASA scientists tip me over the edge:
Aliens may destroy humanity to protect other civilisations, say scientists
Rising greenhouse emissions may tip off aliens that we are a rapidly expanding threat, warns a report for Nasa
It may not rank as the most compelling reason to curb greenhouse gases, but reducing our emissions might just save humanity from a pre-emptive alien attack, scientists claim.
Watching from afar, extraterrestrial beings might view changes in Earth's atmosphere as symptomatic of a civilisation growing out of control – and take drastic action to keep us from becoming a more serious threat, the researchers explain.
Well that does it. I guess the science of climate change really is settled. Sea levels may not be rising, storms aren't increasing--heck, even the atmospheric warming forecast by alarmists isn't occurring--but we cannot absolutely rule out the possibility that an interstellar Greenpeace armed with planet-busting antimatter weapons won't preempt us oil addicts from one day harming Pandora's Na'avi.
This is obviously one risk we cannot afford to take.
The authors warn that extraterrestrials may be wary of civilisations that expand very rapidly, as these may be prone to destroy other life as they grow, just as humans have pushed species to extinction on Earth. In the most extreme scenario, aliens might choose to destroy humanity to protect other civilisations.
"A preemptive strike would be particularly likely in the early phases of our expansion because a civilisation may become increasingly difficult to destroy as it continues to expand. Humanity may just now be entering the period in which its rapid civilisational expansion could be detected by an ETI because our expansion is changing the composition of the Earth's atmosphere, via greenhouse gas emissions," the report states.
"Green" aliens might object to the environmental damage humans have caused on Earth and wipe us out to save the planet. "These scenarios give us reason to limit our growth and reduce our impact on global ecosystems. It would be particularly important for us to limit our emissions of greenhouse gases, since atmospheric composition can be observed from other planets," the authors write.
Even if we never make contact with extraterrestrials, the report argues that considering the potential scenarios may help to plot the future path of human civilisation, avoid collapse and achieve long-term survival.
Well there is little risk of being judged a rapidly expanding civilization while Barack Obama is in office, so we can breathe easily for the next sixteen months. However, I find it strange that amidst the many scenarios considered for alien encounters in the Acta Astronautica peer-reviewed Rorschach test, I missed the one exploring the possibility of liberty-loving aliens wiping us out to prevent the spread of socialist utopianism, which, once established, could destroy the galaxy by its kudzu-like growth even in the face of universal evidence of its comprehensive failure. Next issue, no doubt.
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Apr '11
Re: I Am Now a Global Warming Believer
It's only a matter of time before Hollywood churns this one out
Oct '10
Re: I Am Now a Global Warming Believer
Don Tillman
Mark Wilson
Don Tillman:
Okay, rally the science fiction fans: Has there ever been a published sci fi plot remotely like this? · Aug 18 at 11:18pm
Didn't see my comment, Don?
Aug 18 at 11:46pm
Oh, the *remake* of The Day the Earth Stood Still. I thought you were kidding... but no. · Aug 19 at 12:20am
Before the remake of TDtESS, there was "Plan 9 from Outer Space", where reckless humans were in danger of destroying the galaxy with the "Solaranite bomb".
"You see? You see? Your stupid minds! Stupid! Stupid!"
May '10
Re: I Am Now a Global Warming Believer
To Serve Man. Everything you need to know about Progressivism in one 30-minute Twilight Zone episode.
Jun '10
Re: I Am Now a Global Warming Believer
Is there some reason to believe that extra-terrestrials sophisticated enough to be measuring our greenhouse gases over time would not be able to read our newspapers and the Internet? There they would learn that humanity hasn't exactly been expansionist in its space exploits and that what little space exploration we've done lacks a "ludicrous speed" setting.
Thus, our chance of threatening them are nil. They'd move on to some really advanced civilization to destroy.
Dec '10
Re: I Am Now a Global Warming Believer
Apparently, they do not know the prime directive. Send William Shatner and Leonard Nimoy.
May '10
Re: I Am Now a Global Warming Believer
It's stories like this that make me wonder why the president can't find anything to cut in the budget.
Feb '11
Re: I Am Now a Global Warming Believer
The Guardian just changed their story. There is now a correction on the bottom commenting: "This article was amended on 19 August 2011. The subhead said the report was 'for Nasa.' This has been corrected."
Re: I Am Now a Global Warming Believer
I'm shocked, shocked that the Guardian got something wrong.
If only some of the stories about scientism's overreach were similarly untrue ...
Dec '10
Re: I Am Now a Global Warming Believer
jhimmi: Sounds like the Guardian and NASA are taking cues from Paul Krugman:
Paul Krugman on CNN: "we needed a massive buildup to counter the space alien threat - and really inflation and budget deficits took secondary place to that - this slump would be over in 18 months.....there was a Twilight Zone episode like this, which scientists fake an alien threat in order to achieve world peace. Well, this time we need it in order to get some fiscal stimulus." · Aug 19 at 3:53am
Edited on Aug 19 at 03:53 am
Shows how much HE knows. It was The Outer Limits ("The Architects of Fear"), not The Twilight Zone.
Apr '11
Re: I Am Now a Global Warming Believer
I think we're safe from Alien Invasion. I watched this documentary recently, "Independence Day", and all we need is a Mac Book to download a virus onto alien spaceships. The rapid growth and success of Apple is our greatest protection from anti-global-warming aliens. Thanks, Steve Jobs!
Aug '10
Re: I Am Now a Global Warming Believer
George,
Be sure to bring a towel.
Hurry.
Ford Prefect
Nov '10
Re: I Am Now a Global Warming Believer
And the funny thing is, in the original the aliens were perfectly fine with us destroying our own planet.
Jul '10
Re: I Am Now a Global Warming Believer
Mark Wilson
False positive? How do you know their sulfuric acid rain and 92 atmospheres aren't the result of an interstellar preemptive strike in response to the Venusians' (may they rest in peace) reckless and irresponsible carbon emissions? Seems a fitting punishment for such a barbarically fossil fuel burning race.
Because it was the result of a failed ecological experiment by the Martians, who used the power of government funded peer-review science to render the solar system uninhabitable. Still working it somewhere under all that rusty dust.
May '10
Re: I Am Now a Global Warming Believer
Time to defund NASA until they learn to use our money more wisely.
It's now confirmed. Anthropogenic Global Warming is truly the Tulip Mania of our times. And we remember how well that craze ended.
The first (tulip-powered) Prius car:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Flora%27s_Malle-wagen_van_Hendrik_Pot_1640.jpg
Mar '11
Re: I Am Now a Global Warming Believer
Already has, and not baseline no growth type stuff. They have lay off ~10K of workers between the Cape, Johnson & Marshall in the last year. Mostly contractors, some civil servants (80/20?). This is our no manned access to space dividend. We are waiting for the private sector to supply the rides to the space station, remember?
Tommy De Seno: What's with the little hub-bub right in the article about the study being "for NASA" and not "from" NASA?
Plausible deniability
They are most likely grant recipients (scientists @ universities submit proposals). Frequently the federal agencies are directed to "award" these "studies" by congress, no agency escapes the sausage grinding....On the plus side at least they "produced" something, not always a requirement with pork.
NASA has ~19K civil servants, a federally supported institution (JPL), everyone else is contracted with deliverables (hardware, software, support services), a 19B budget in 2011(vs federal budget of 3.8T 2011). Annually "everyone" pay about the price of a movie for NASA, are you entertained?
May '10
Re: I Am Now a Global Warming Believer
I actually set out to read the entire paper. It's not primarily about global warming, that's only one tenuous sentence of many scenarios they "analyze". The whole paper is definitely permeated by left-progressive thinking.
They say alien contact would be beneficial if it causes humans to better understand their place in the universe and drop religious superstitions. However, adherents particular monotheistic religions would cause worldwide conflict if their beliefs are challenged by the discovery. There is no mention that the breakdown of belief monotheistic religions would have the potential to cause serious problems.
Then there are these little gems:
- "Nevertheless, other selfish motives may cause [extraterrestrials] to harm us, such as their drive to spread their beliefs through evangelism (akin to the spread of Christianity or Islam)..."
- "Perhaps [extraterrestrials] observe our rapid and destructive expansion on Earth and become concerned of our civilizational trajectory."
- "If one’s goal is to maximize ecosystem flourishing, then perhaps it would be better if humanity did not exist, or at least if it existed in significantly reduced form." (although they don't endorse this view)
Edited on Aug 19, 2011 at 3:15pmOct '10
Re: I Am Now a Global Warming Believer
How true this, It was The Outer Limits ("The Architects of Fear"), not The Twilight Zone. With a pluasible political storyline.
How arrogant or deluded to consider that any aliens would regard this planets condition a threat to the Universe.
The only reason for aliens to lend a hand could be found in the Twilight Zone episode, To Serve Man...
Apr '11
Re: I Am Now a Global Warming Believer
Boy am I so proud to be a scientist right now...
Jan '11
Re: I Am Now a Global Warming Believer
As a service to George Savage and all of Ricochet, allow me to use the occasion of this post to recommend a very pertinent essay by a great mind and a great conservative - the late Michael Crichton.
"Aliens Cause Global Warming."
Here's the link:
http://s8int.com/crichton.html