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Politics : Formerly About Advanced Micro Devices -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: TimF who wrote (317668)	1/1/2007 5:10:48 PM
From: tejek	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 1583677

But this is not "normal cost benefit logic". We're talking about the fate of the world and human civilization. The fate of the world and human civilization is something that should properly be analyzed using normal cost benefit logic. Of course the costs are extreme (or the benefits of avoiding them are extreme) if your talking about the end of civilization. Tim, read back the first line in the paragraph above. Now read the second line. Do they make coherent sense to you? They don't to me. With GW, there is the potential that current human civilization will be greatly diminished. Many of our most important cities are located along seacoasts or on rivers near seacoasts. The cost to relocate those cities alone would be humongous. And that does not begin to take into account whatever climatic changes result from GW. There is also the very distinct possibiliity that GW could lead to the extinction of humanity. After all, in the earth's past, that's how other species have gone the way of the dinosaur. There are many things that could end civilization, or even our species. If we make a massive effort to reduce every one of the small risks of civilization ending, we bankrupt nations, and likely create a greater risk to civilization. You can't pour unlimited resources in to the battle against every possible risk. The precautionary principle, at least when expressed in the strongest way, is extremely foolish. True, an asteroid could hit the earth and wipe out civilization. But right now, an asteroid is not heading towards earth as far as we know, but we do know that the earth is starting to experience serious climatic fluctuations. So while there are many things that could wipe out our civilization, GW has taken center stage and it behooves us to be quite a bit more proactive IMO.