Very helpful collation of the material - thank you. It is such a jungle to find one's way through, taking in to account all the biases and radically different opinions....I just get more and more confused!
It is hard for humans to wrap our head around time horizons that we cannot truly comprehend. Thousands, millions, billions of years; confusing, as not relatable. Your article is a great attempt at « humanizing » the very long history of our great blue ball floating in the universe.
Thanks for this. I've found lots of new sources that I hadn't seen before. Coincidentally, this recent article from the LA Review of Books, by historian Deborah R. Coen (https://lareviewofbooks.org/article/whats-next-for-histories-of-climate-change/) also discusses the history of climate change. It presents a fascinating perspective on the past, particularly how quantifying our past, our history, may overlook something significant. Here's a short excerpt:
"Environmental historians Ian Jared Miller and Paul Warde diagnose the problem this way: “Purely quantitative or global approaches to energy” tend to overlook the experiences of those who are not making the decisions but whose lives are affected by them. This oversight is a result of methods that make it “difficult to grasp everyday experience as a prompt to action and an agent of change.” Otherwise put, historians miss a great deal when they rely on the quantitative tools of scientists."
Thanks, that is an interesting article. History is fascinating because it comes to use through so many filters. I was intrigued by the perspective about 'collapse' and possible deliberate move away from complex hierarchical ways of life.
Thanks for taking the time to find and share such great resources -- the explanation of the Milanokovitch cycles (and that we should be in a mild ice age right about now) was very convincing, and the illustration of the history of Earth on a football field, just wow. I've seen Neil deGrasse Tyson explain it using a 365-day calendar, and it's just as amazing. These are great resources to arm ourselves with -- knowledge, and the spreading of such knowledge, is power.
Very helpful collation of the material - thank you. It is such a jungle to find one's way through, taking in to account all the biases and radically different opinions....I just get more and more confused!
Thanks PJ. It is a jungle. I've spent a fair amount of time with my head in this stuff and I still find it overwhelming sometimes.
It is hard for humans to wrap our head around time horizons that we cannot truly comprehend. Thousands, millions, billions of years; confusing, as not relatable. Your article is a great attempt at « humanizing » the very long history of our great blue ball floating in the universe.
Thank you for sharing!
- Polo
Thanks, it is definitely a challenge but something I enjoy contemplating because it just blows my mind sometimes.
Thanks for this. I've found lots of new sources that I hadn't seen before. Coincidentally, this recent article from the LA Review of Books, by historian Deborah R. Coen (https://lareviewofbooks.org/article/whats-next-for-histories-of-climate-change/) also discusses the history of climate change. It presents a fascinating perspective on the past, particularly how quantifying our past, our history, may overlook something significant. Here's a short excerpt:
"Environmental historians Ian Jared Miller and Paul Warde diagnose the problem this way: “Purely quantitative or global approaches to energy” tend to overlook the experiences of those who are not making the decisions but whose lives are affected by them. This oversight is a result of methods that make it “difficult to grasp everyday experience as a prompt to action and an agent of change.” Otherwise put, historians miss a great deal when they rely on the quantitative tools of scientists."
Thanks, that is an interesting article. History is fascinating because it comes to use through so many filters. I was intrigued by the perspective about 'collapse' and possible deliberate move away from complex hierarchical ways of life.
Thanks for taking the time to find and share such great resources -- the explanation of the Milanokovitch cycles (and that we should be in a mild ice age right about now) was very convincing, and the illustration of the history of Earth on a football field, just wow. I've seen Neil deGrasse Tyson explain it using a 365-day calendar, and it's just as amazing. These are great resources to arm ourselves with -- knowledge, and the spreading of such knowledge, is power.