Turning Points:On Monday's show, scientist and author Gregg Braden discussed his most recent work on crisis and transformation. We are living in a time of extremes but we can turn the frightening tipping points of such extremes into life-affirming points of transformation, he argues. People haven't realized yet that things aren't getting back to "normal," and there's a "new normal" that's emerging in which extremes in climate, the economy, and other areas have become a part of our everyday lives, Braden remarked. How can we adapt to the extremes if we're not honest with ourselves about them?, he asked.
Regarding climate change, he believes both a natural cycle and human-created conditions are separate factors. We're told that greenhouse gases are the cause of the problem, Braden noted, but a variety of evidence shows otherwise, such as the "inconvenient data" from Antarctica ice cores which indicates for the last 800,000 years, temperatures of the Earth rose before greenhouse gases increased. Solar cycles which affect climate have also been overlooked, he continued, adding that with a cooling cycle affecting the Northern Hemisphere, we should expect disruptions, and it makes sense for people to adapt and become more resilient.
In other extremes, there could be a move toward a world currency, and an entirely new paradigm for energy that eschews oil. But before we reach these drastic changes, we have the opportunity to go through turning points or events that allow us to set a new course, change the way we think about the world, make discoveries, or embrace new knowledge, he said. Braden offered examples of previous turning points including the discovery of DNA, the 1969 moon landing, the discovery of Gobekli Tepe, and the election of America's first black president, Barack Obama.
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