119 Conclusion
This is how we started:
“When someone is honestly 55 percent right, that’s very good and there’s no use wrangling. And if someone is 60 percent right, it’s wonderful, it’s great luck, and let him thank God.
But what’s to be said about 75 percent right? Wise people say this is suspicious. Well, and what about 100 percent right? Whoever says he’s 100 percent right is a fanatic, a thug, and the worst kind of rascal.
— An old Jew of Galicia (Polish poet Czeslaw Milosz)”
To end our journey through climate change and science we can try to make a following conclusion remark:
The scale of geologic processes on the Earth is vast and cyclic. The study of the past is possible with less precision (we did not have thermometers in Mesozoic!) but some accuracy (since we use proxies). The study of the present requires long-term observations to verify our models and hypothesis. This can be precise (better instrumentation) but not necessarily accurate because we do not have enough time to see the full cycle of geologic episode (glaciation or deglaciation) and monitor it the same way we do now. In addition, science always find new variables, forcing mechanisms and methodologies. In this situation we can’t be 100% right and our certitude should be exercised cautiously.
IMHO fighting global warming and trying to modify earth system is not a realistic aim. But fighting ourselves and changing ourselves might bring better future for us and our children.
“If you want to change the world, start with yourself.”
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