Sunday, September 29, 2013

More from the get-a-vasectomy-to-prevent-hurricanes guy, Eric Holthaus

The world’s best scientists agree: On our current path, global warming is irreversible—and getting worse - Quartz
[Eric Holthaus] What makes the IPCC so important is simple: They are required to agree. Last night, the group pulled an all-nighter to ensure that representatives from all 195 member countries agreed on every single word of the 36-page “summary for policymakers” (pdf). That instantly makes the report the world’s scientific and political authority on what is happening to the climate, what will happen in the future, and what needs to be done to avoid the worst impacts.
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Without jumping up and down on the desks of their computer terminals, this forum of scientists has done about as much as they can do. With this report, they have proven humankind’s impact on the climate, and confidently projected dire consequences should world governments fail to act immediately.
Who is Eric Holthaus, and why did he give up flying today? | SciGuy | a Chron.com blog
I’m considered an expert in my field. I have to do something big, right now.

Berger: So how much do you travel for your current job, and how big of an adjustment will it be?
Holthaus: Right now, i work for a startup: Weathermob. Our goal is to revolutionize weather forecasting globally. In the last 10 days, we’ve been fundraising with VC’s in NYC, Boston and San Francisco. I have to travel a lot.
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I’ve used Skype for meetings before, and I can plan around the most important meetings by taking Amtrak.

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

The article says:
"What makes the IPCC so important is simple: They are required to agree. Last night, the group pulled an all-nighter to ensure that representatives from all 195 member countries agreed on every single word of the 36-page “summary for policymakers” (pdf)."

And about a week or so ago, I read on your site the following by Pachauri:

"We are an intergovernmental body and we do what the governments of the world want us to do,"

So, are governments are simply using the IPCC to implement the policies they want?