{2} Co-evolution of Minerals and Life | Dr Robert Hazen

The goal of this series of posts is to share my own journey of fascinating discoveries that have helped me gain a realistic appreciation for this Earth I inhabit and the climate system that governs the biosphere all of us depend on.  I do this because too many faith-based people have totally disconnected from physical reality, they believe that the constructions of their imaginations have more power that the geophysical reality outside our abodes.  This has led to disastrous choices on many different levels.

If there's any hope to be found in the future it will come from individuals rediscovering the real physical planet we inhabit and honestly assessing how our society and it's runaway population have impacted our planet's biosphere and our future prospects.  

In the first post I shared the NOVA/PBS/NASA video "Earth From Space" which gave a nice overview of our dynamic planet and the incredibly complex web of connections that go into creating our biosphere.  Since I'm convinced an understanding of evolution is key to appreciating the world we inhabit, I'm beginning with some fundamental evolution stories.

I intended to start my review with our atmosphere's evolution, but in working on that post I realized there's an even more fundamental evolution to consider.  In this post will take it down to basic building blocks, namely a lecture given by Dr. Robert Hazen: "The Story of Earth: How Life and Rocks Co-Evolved".  

Incidentally many of the posts in this series will simply be an embedded excellent lecture by a leading authority followed by my time-signature notes on the lecture and further information for the curious and I will keep my opining to a minimum.

You can find the lecture notes and information regarding Dr. Robert M. Hazen and his work below this video.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=08EaPC0zetw

CarnegieInstitution | 57:29 minutes | given February 20, 2014

Published on Jul 29, 2014 - CarnegieInstitution - 57:29 minutes

Dr. Robert Hazen, Carnegie Institution for Science, Geophysical Laboratory

{1} Our Global Heat and Moisture Distribution Engine

This is the first in a series of posts where I want to explore and describe this Global Heat and Moisture Distribution Engine that sustains us all.

For an introductory overview I will leave it to the NOVA/PBS/NASA video Earth From Space.  It isn't a complete review of our climate system, it's dedicated to looking at how all the natural forces that surround us come together to create the life sustaining biosphere on our one and only home planet.  Yet, it can't help but review a good deal of information about what's behind our global weather systems.

The documentary is a tour de force of our dynamic planet that I believe every curious student of life ought to watch and try to understand.  It would be wonderful seeing them produce a sequel that does focus on weather patterns and what drives them.  In the mean time I'll share the following video along with notes and appropriate links and time signature for easy reference.  

Please note, if viewing at YouTube you can link directly to a specific section of the video by adjusting the final digits of the url.  12:20 would be =12m20s

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aU0GhTmZhrs&t=12m20s 

Feel free to copy and share the following notes.

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Earth From Space Full HD Nova 

http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/earth/earth-from-space.html

Published on Jul 15, 2014

YouTube channel Natural World 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aU0GhTmZhrs

The groundbreaking two-hour special that reveals a spectacular new space-based vision of our planet. Produced in extensive consultation with NASA scientists, NOVA takes data from earth-observing satellites and transforms it into dazzling visual sequences, each one exposing the intricate and surprising web of forces that sustains life on earth.

Featuring interviews with: 

Waleed Abdalati (NASA Chief Scientist):

Piers Sellers (NASA Goddard Space Flight Center)

Emily Shuckburgh (deputy head, Polar Oceans Team, British Antarctic Survey

Jeff Halverson ( University of Maryland, Baltimore Campus, Meteorologist)

David Adamec (NASA Scientist)

Gene C. Feldman (NASA Oceanographer)

Charlie Bristow ( Birkbeck, University of London)

Holly Gilbert (NASA Solar Physicist)

Debating-Rod Martin's globalwarmth_org's worship

I received the following challenge this morning that deserves a thorough response. 

Rod Martin, Jr.1:25 AM - January 6, 2016 via YouTube - 

proprietor of "GlobalWarmth.org" (#4)

+citizenschallengeYT, 

CO2 has been far higher in Earth's past with life thriving! (#1) Warming doesn't cause extreme weather; cold does. More accurately, storms are driven by thermal differences. Warming the Earth brings poles closer to equatorial temperatures, thus eliminating most storms (#2).  More warmth creates more evaporation which yields more rain and fewer, smaller deserts (#3).

GlobalWarmth.org_climate_science/extreme_weather

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Here is a perfect example of what I describe as The Self-Certain believing their own mind's eye view of their world as reality, while relegating the real world to an imaginary construct.  

(#2) Rod's conviction that "warming the Earth brings poles closer to equatorial temperatures" and that thus we should welcome warming, demands that Earth is a cartoon construct, made of some solid heat conducting material and little more.  Storms on this planet are driven by regional scale temperature and barometric differences.  Our real geophysical Earth is huge, with a liquid ocean covering two-thirds of it's surface, land covering a third and a pulsating cryosphere covering large portions of both, all of which resides under an ocean of fluid gases in motion.  

Our planet has Jet Streams that push and pull storm systems across our globe.  What this "closer to equilibrium" temps means on our real planet Earth is that Jet Streams are slowing down a bit and meandering more, this in turn leads to all sorts of extreme weather events - as witnessed by the increasing tempo of infrastructure destroying, life disrupting events happening throughout the world these days.  How Rod manages to ignore all that is beyond me.  

(For a more authoritative description of what's going on I've embedded a short interview with Jennifer Francis PhD who's been studying this particular phenomena for a long time.)

Considering the faith-based mind. What is science's sin?

I would suggest an argument could be made that at the core of much of the emotionality of Republican resistance to scientific understanding, and climate science in particular, is their submersion in the ego-centric Bible and the accompanying presumption that they are gifted enough to know ultimate truth.  

Don't get me wrong, it's not just the Bible, it's the entire Abrahamic Family of self-obsessive "holy" books.  That faith system may have worked great for humanity when it existed on an infinitely large planet, with scattered warring tribes running around - but, lordie, lordie is it a disaster in today's over crowded planet of diminishing resources, rising populations, anger and rapidly transitioning weather systems.

In younger decades I spent a lot of time wrestling with and thinking about god, evolution, my/our place in creation (that is, our wonderful planet and beyond) and such lofty musings.  That period culminated in three essays that I still feel good having written.  I want to share two (the third is ripe for a serious rewrite) before getting into trying to explain this Global Heat and Moisture Distribution Engine I keep going on about. 

This is important because good communication demands understanding your audience and tailoring your message to what they are capable of comprehending.  Thus we need to spend more time considering, and hopefully starting to understand, the mind of the faith-based reality denying beholder.

  

Here's some food for thought, no doubt with gaps and in need of improvement, have at it, make it yours.  I sure don't have any answers, I'm just wrestling with the problem and sharing my experiences.

Note: As for gaps in my essay I want to acknowledge two worthy comments.  In one Victor, in Germany, argues that this brand of self-induced Christian-blindness is unique to Americans and that internationally Christians are far more accepting of scientific observations and facts.  

The second one, from Kevin, exposes an important omission in my essay, he makes an argument that Fear more than religion itself is at the root of today's mass disconnect from our planet's physical reality.  I agree with him, but on the other hand, people have always framed their religions around their own expectations rather than some holy constant - their religions act as a justification and shield for their own innate attitudes. Still, Kevin is correct in shining the spotlight on our Fear of not being in control, Fear of losing what we have, Fear of our threatening unknown future.

Kevin writes: I think a better explanation than religion is laid out in Robert Altemeyer's The Authoritarians. Their brand of religion is more a symptom of their personality traits than a driving force. ...

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What is Science's Sin?

August 2008

Recently, I discussed Creationism with a bright young student.  She challenged me with remarks about the Earth's "true" short age; Grand Canyon being evidence of Noah's Flood; even claimed evidence that coal can be produced in a matter of months.  She went on to explain God's plan included an imminent Armageddon - that is, destroying his own Creation.  When I countered with facts and observations debunking these notions she became defensive, saying that attacking someone's faith was a horrible thing to do.

It made me wonder:  Why do so many feel compelled to embrace willful ignorance? By this I mean willful ignoring masses of real, verifiable and available evidence simply because it conflicts with one's own preconceptions and challenges one's fears.

Considering the heart of faith-based science deniers

I would suggest an argument could be made that at the core of much of the emotionality of Republican resistance to scientific understanding, and climate science in particular, is their submersion in the ego-centric Bible and the accompanying presumption that they are gifted enough to know ultimate truth.  

Don't get me wrong, it's not just the Bible, it's the entire Abrahamic family of self-obsessive "holy" books.  That faith system may have worked great for humanity on an infinitely large planet, when it was warring tribes running around - but, lordie, lordie is it a disaster in today's over crowded planet of diminishing resources, rising populations, anger and rapidly transitioning weather systems.

In younger decades I spent a lot of time wrestling with and thinking about god, evolution, my/our place in creation (that is, our wonderful planet and beyond)  and such lofty musings.  That period culminated in three essays that I still feel good having written.  I want to share two before getting into trying to explain this Global Heat and Moisture Distribution Engine I keep going on about. 

This is important because good communication demands understanding your audience and tailoring your message to what they are capable of comprehending.  Thus we need to spend more time considering, and hopefully starting to understand, the mind of the faith-based reality denying beholder.  Here's some food for thought, no doubt it could use improvement, have at it, make it yours.        

{edited 1/4/15 PM}

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God flowing into the Word

I've been told I don't understand the reality of the Bible.  It's been explained God acted infallibly through his human agents.  At every stage along the Bible's evolution God was there flowing into the pages to make it perfect.

The last time I listened to this opinion an image came to my mind:  There was a patient in an operating room, undergoing brain surgery.  The world's foremost surgeon was there, a doctor of vast knowledge and skill.  But, instead of performing the operation, the expert stands over a child giving step by step concise and complete directions, while the child performed the actual task.  What are the chances of the child getting it right?  Can it be any different when God communicates with myopic self-centered children?

Behind Marc Morano's facade

A bit of unfinished business.  In my last post of 2015 I wrote about Marc Morano's contempt for learning about our Earth and his disregard of anything beyond his own ego-centric interests.  At the end of my thoughts, I tacked on over a dozen links to further articles giving various details into the ways and means of this climate science denial fabricator.  

Since sharing authoritative information with others is one of my main goals, here's an easy to copy and share index of articles that look behind the facade of Marc Morano.

 The Hustler arrives for his Paris "Red Carpet" entrance.

A look behind the facade.

This peek courtesy of Baerbel W

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uCVezyqdxIE

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Here's a look behind the faux science of the hustler,

courtesy of Graham Readfearn

The faulty science of the Climate Hustle documentary 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XM62eTr8gqA#t=11

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The Fakery of the Paris ‘Red Carpet’ Premiere of Marc Morano’s Climate Hustle Film

By Graham Readfearn • Wednesday, December 30, 2015 

http://www.desmogblog.com/2015/12/30/fakery-paris-red-carpet-premiere-marc-morano-s-climate-hustle-documentary

About this blog and me

I'll start 2016 with some rambling about this blog and where I'm coming from.

Back in 2011 I started commenting at Anthony Watts' blog, WattsUpWithThat.  I did it with trepidation since I knew Mr. Watts had quite the reputation for banning skeptical commenters regarding his insinuations and pronouncements.  I tried being rational and civil, but the contrarian tactic of baiting to divert the conversation must have suckered me over his tolerance-line for alarmists and I found myself joining his legion of the banned and effectively being censored from his online "debate".  Ironically his compatriots seem to have no limits on the hysteria, insults and fabricated claims they are allowed to inject - oh but you better not confront them with facts, that's unacceptable in their echo-chamber "debate."

What's a little go-getter to do?  Roll over for Anthony?  Why?  When I could respond with a blog of my own.  Thus, "What's Up With That Watts et.al" was born.  Dedicated to examining contrarian claims; learning about their debate tactics; confronting their arguments with reason and links to authoritative sources for learning; and sharing that information with other concerned students and citizens.  Deep down I was also hoping to spur some dialogue with other like minded individuals, perhaps even encourage some to engage in the public "debate" themselves.