E-mail exchange with son-in-law:

ACS:
We agree on who is in charge. Man causes most of his own problems in trying to remedy perceived imperfections.

Big problems do require big solutions. The difficulty is usually determining whether there is a big problem and whether the supposed solution will be either ineffective in the grand scheme or will do more harm than perceived good.

I suppose DDT took care of the locust swarms in Africa, and that was a perceived advantage. Were environmentalists later motivated by the Holy Spirit to observe that DDT apparently caused thinning of the eggshells of certain birds and led to DDT being banned worldwide? The biggest health problem in Africa is now malaria, as a result of anopheles mosquito proliferation. Perhaps this is in the grand scheme.

Some problems are easy to see. Others less so. Los Angeles smog was visible and poisoning of rivers by mining runoff could be tracked fairly easily. The Los Angeles smog was caused by effluent from millions of vehicles and was controllable by catalytic converters. Similarly, poisoned rivers from mining runoff was caused by actions of one or a few persons. That could also be controlled and in many cases corrected by a legal obligation to the perpetrator.

I agree that everything is a trade-off, and with billions of people, there will always be someone who has a perception that there is a need for action. I don't believe now is the time for control of carbon dioxide emissions, which will cost additional billions of dollars. It is time for further study to determine the need for control. That study should be undertaken by people who can look the science relatively objectively, without some previously developed notion concerning absolute purity or the like, or without a financial or other beneficial interest in the result. This involves individuals, groups, and even countries. The latest information on the Copenhagen Treaty is that underdeveloped nations (mostly African) will not support a UN proposal unless the United States guarantees significant financial aid (pay off, bribe, etc.).

Dad

-----Original Message-----
From: Woodward,Gary,ST. LOUIS,Palatability Management [mailto:Gary.Woodward@rdmo.nestle.com]
Sent: Tuesday, November 24, 2009 1:35 PM
To: Arthur Sucsy
Subject: RE: If Emissions Cuts Are Not Enough that it will


As to the matter of "who's in charge". I couldn't agree more and I am pretty convinced that extra CO2 will generate counter forces like really big trees etc which will compensate. A couple of volcanoes blow their tops and the sulfur aerosol will be taken care of.

But I am quoting a man who was very influential to me as a youngster when I remind you that "Big problems require big solutions". He was referring to the locust swarms in Africa and the boon of DDT. On a smaller scale, there are lakes that used to be and Los Angeles smog that used to be overwhelming and mining runoff that and on and on because we treated these as someone else's problem (which it was), but many of these have been fixed by rules and regs and lots of dollars. Everything is a trade-off and to someone there is a line that when crossed triggers a need for action.

gjw