As I read the article on the role of professors Happer and Austin as climate-change skeptics, two thoughts came to mind. First, it pleases me that the Princeton physics department has been supportive in spite of their dissenting scientific positions. Second, although they are correct that the Earth has survived large temperature increases in the past, human civilization has not been similarly tested. Optimistically, humankind would respond cooperatively to inundation of coastal population centers and displacement of water supplies and agricultural zones by sharing resources and land. However, I fear history tells us the more likely outcome is war, famine, and social upheaval.
As I read the article on the role of professors Happer and Austin as climate-change skeptics, two thoughts came to mind. First, it pleases me that the Princeton physics department has been supportive in spite of their dissenting scientific positions. Second, although they are correct that the Earth has survived large temperature increases in the past, human civilization has not been similarly tested. Optimistically, humankind would respond cooperatively to inundation of coastal population centers and displacement of water supplies and agricultural zones by sharing resources and land. However, I fear history tells us the more likely outcome is war, famine, and social upheaval.