Humans are too stupid to prevent climate change from radically impacting on our lives over the coming decades. This is the stark conclusion of James Lovelock, the globally respected
not by normal people
environmental thinker and independent scientist who developed the Gaia theory.
In other words, a LOON.
It follows a tumultuous few months in which public opinion on efforts to tackle climate change has been undermined by events such as the climate scientists' emails leaked from the University of East Anglia (UEA) and the failure of the Copenhagen climate summit.
"I don't think we're yet evolved to the point where we're clever enough to handle a complex a situation as climate change," said Lovelock in his first in-depth interview since the theft of the UEA emails last November. "The inertia of humans is so huge that you can't really do anything meaningful."
Well, he's evolved to that point, but the rest of us neanderthals haven't ...
One of the main obstructions to meaningful action is "modern democracy", he added. "Even the best democracies agree that when a major war approaches, democracy must be put on hold for the time being.
He really means forever.
I have a feeling that climate change may be an issue as severe as a war. It may be necessary to put democracy on hold for a while."
You want war? We'll give you war. And a good swift kick in the ass.
There's more, if you can stomach it.