Michael Crichton picks a fight with environmentalists

[germanos]

Ah, but we're not doing that


There are certainly possibilities to try to get a sort of CO2 balance. Research is being done to have cars run on (vegatable)oil, and for this yearly crops could be planted.

Note though that will need active human input, and that is not what Berz was hinting at (AFAIK). To assume that nature will take care of the increased CO2 by itself is wishfull thinking.
(disclaimer: offcourse Nature will take care of the problem. The issue is if mankind will have a role in the 'new balance' )

[Locutus]

Wow, he has a new book out again? Seems like the older he gets, the faster he writes... Okay, I'm off to the book store in a few minutes!

Originally posted by Harry Tuttle
Does he still explain everything in mind numbing detail?

Yes!!

Originally posted by The Emperor Fabulous
Crichton is my favorite author. In fact, he's the only one I've ever read on a regular basis.

Same here

Jurassic Park:
The Lost World:
Andromeda Strain: (My all-time favourite book)
Congo:
Sphere:
Timeline:
Prey:
Airframe:
Disclosure
Rising Sun
Great Train Robbery

Michael Crichton

[The Mad Monk]

Originally posted by Urban Ranger


Crichton is so bright that he knows more than ecologists and climate scientists with regards to global warming.

No, he just knows that nobody knows that much about global warming.

Humans show a distinct talent for latching onto new science and running with it -- often into a wall or off a cliff. The one theme he has always written into his novels is that science and technology must be treated with care -- that the "dwarves astride the shoulders of giants" remain dwarves.

[Gibsie]

I like the way he condemns researchers for using celebrities to promote their cause. Because he's the only celebrity whose viewpoint matters, of course

[The Mad Monk]

You have an odd definition of celebrity.

[Chemical Ollie]

Reminds me of Tom Clancy's "Rainbow Six"

[General Ludd]

Originally posted by The Mad Monk

Humans show a distinct talent for latching onto new science and running with it -- often into a wall or off a cliff. The one theme he has always written into his novels is that science and technology must be treated with care -- that the "dwarves astride the shoulders of giants" remain dwarves.

Sounds like a luddite.

[The Mad Monk]

You have an odd definition of luddite.

[Jon Miller]

I think he is correct

as do a number of other people I know (many quite bright)

I don't think there is any chance that we screw up the world when global warming

we might make it unpleasent for us to live on, but that is about it (and it would require a lot mroe effort than we have put into it)

far more important is the polluting of water, we make areas where nothing can live

Jon Miller
(I care about the environment, I just think that global warming is not very important and I think that by putting money into global warming and not into toxity we are misusing resources)

[General Ludd]

Originally posted by The Mad Monk
You have an odd definition of luddite.

Most people do.

[Impaler[WrG]]

Its well established that (1) Human activity is rapidly incressing the CO2 level in the atmospher (2) this is raising the tempurature of the planet. The only things in question is how change is going to happen and how disruptive it will be for us. As long as he dosen't try to bash thouse 2 points then he wont be in the wrong.

I think if we get off with it equivilent of "bad" weather ever year (like a bad hurricane season or a bad rainfall meaning a year of weather that would normaly happen once every 10 years becomes the norm) then we could count outselves lucky and adjust with out too much trouble.

Some kind of doomsday senario like melting the Ice caps or enter an ice age is a rather wild conjecture at this point (but ofcorse the first 2 points I made were wild conjecture back in the 70's, more research needs to be done ofcorse).

[The Emperor Fabulous]

Eaters of the Dead (based on Beowulf, made into "Thirteenth Warrior" with Antonio Bandares):

[chequita guevara]

While I think Chrichton is a great author, I've never liked his arrogance that he thinks he knows more than the experts in the field. It's like Sava arguing with MtG.

It's possible that humans aren't behind climate change, and that this is within normal varioations. The problem is, if you're wrong, by the time we find out, it will be too late to fix it. You're like the guy in the canoe being warned that the reason the canoe is going faster is because you're headed towards a waterfall, and you reply that variations in waterspeed are normal within a river and we should continue going full speed ahead.

[DanS]

I really hope that since he is now done with his book, he will rerelease his classic CalTech lecture "Aliens Cause Global Warming." The UCS' citation of scientific concensus as something important is blown out of the water in that speech.

He's something of a hero of mine, even though I haven't read any of his books and haven't watched any of his movies except part of Andromeda Strain.

[DanS]

Ah yes, he did put it back up on his web site.

Aliens Cause Global Warming

http://www.michaelcrichton.com/speeches/speeches_quote04.html