How Climate Change Reversal Efforts Could Destroy Our Planet

The conclusion of this brilliant lecture is why Michael Crichton is and will continue to be a great inspiration to me and millions of others who see the simplicity of his grand and complex argument!

OK. So what happened at Yellowstone? I would say somebody really believed that the world operated like this, and they acted on that belief. Kill the wolves, save the elk. Move the grizzlies, avoid the lawyers. And on and on. It’s this kind of thinking that has to go, but we haven’t learned that lesson.

Here is a more recent story, which suggests that we’re going to kill bard owls in order to save spotted owls. Here on Santa Cruz Island, we’re going to kill the wild pigs, but actually it’s a little more complicated because there’re eagles on the island. First we have to kill all the eagles, then we have to kill the wild pigs in order to save the foxes. Here’s a notion that bringing the wolves back has actually reshaped Yellowstone and made everything wonderful again.

My argument is we can only have these simple ideas if we don’t really understand what a complex system is. We’re like the blonde who returned the scarf because it was too tight.
I’m sorry. I have a daughter who’s blonde and I have a wife who’s blonde.

I have to tell you the story about the lawyer who got on the airplane and found himself, to his delight, seated next to an incredibly beautiful blonde who was turning away to go to sleep. He didn’t want her to do that, so he said, “Let’s play a game. I’ll ask you a question, and if you can answer it, I’ll pay you $5, and if you can’t, you pay me $5. And then you ask me a question, and the same.” She said no and turned away to go to sleep. He said, “OK, wait. I’ll ask you a question, and if you can’t answer it, you pay me $5, and you ask me a question, and if I can’t answer it, I’ll pay you $500.” She sat up very alert. So he said, “I’ll go first.” His first question was, what is the capital of Alabama? The blonde reached in her purse, gave him $5. He said, “OK, it’s your turn.” She said, “What goes up the hill on three legs and down the hill on four?” He said, “Uh?” He got out his laptop. He Googled it. He did everything that he could, and he finally had to realize that he couldn’t answer it. He gave her $500. She put it in her pocket. He said, “What’s the answer?” She gave him $5.

Fortunately, we can learn to manage complex systems. There are people who have studied how to do it and know how to do it. But it does take humility, and with that, something very important, the ability to admit that we’re wrong and to change course.

If you manage a complex system, you will frequently, if not always, be wrong. You have to backtrack. You have to acknowledge error. You probably learned that with your children, or if you don’t have children, with your bosses.

And one other thing. We have to not be afraid. Fear may produce a television audience, it may generate cash for an advocacy group, but fear paralyzes us. It freezes us. And we really need to put that behind us as we move into a new era of managing complexity, because, look.

Here’s the Independent. The future of the Earth. Is this the end of the world? Earthquakes, hurricanes, floods. What is happening to our planet?

Is this the end of the world? No. We live on an active planet. Earthquakes are continuous, a million-and-a-half a year, or three every minute. A Richter 5 every six hours, a major quake every three weeks. There’s a quake the size of Pakistan every eight months. Look at Kobe, Japan. Despite building codes, the buildings just toppled. Very good building codes.

At any moment on our planet, there are 11 lightning strikes every second. There are 1,500 electrical storms on the planet at any moment. A tornado touches down every six hours. A tidal wave crosses the Pacific every three months. There are 90 hurricanes a year, one every four days. It’s constant.

Is this the end of the world? No. This is the world. And I think it’s time we knew it.

The entire lecture is below and is very fun to watch.  If you have the time, indulge yourself.  It is well worth the time.

Source:  DCClothesline / Independent.org / Technology Review

Image: Wired