Ice doom of DOOM!

[james_davis_nicoll]

The previous ice age lasted some 110,000 years and ended about 11,000 years ago. In other words, some 4,000 generations of humans knew of nothing but harsh winds and eternal snows. The apparently "normal'' periods between ice ages, like the present one, have averaged between 8,000 and 12,000 years. In short, the next ice age is overdue. The key question is when it will come. Can space be colonised by a sufficiently large population so that, when the next ice age strikes, it will not threaten the survival of the race?

Comments

[calcinations.livejournal.com]

THey are assuming there are still humans around in a hundred thousand years or so when the next ice age might arrive.

I'm British and never heard of Adrian Berry, but then since I was at uni I've not found general science writery people to be as much use as blogs and actual science papers and books.

Wait....
His second book was "Crossing the universe with black holes"!!! I have a copy of that. Let me check my librarything.
Publoished in 1977. Which leads to wikipedia. To complete the trifecta, he's apaprently the 4th Viscount Camrose!

Born in 1937, so basically he's gone emeritus, since he'll be 78 or so by now. That's me being charitable, it could be he's an anti-science fuckwit driven by narrow minded political ideals though.

[calcinations.livejournal.com]

Oh wait, he's on the GWPF advisory board. Definitely politically drive fuckwit then. (If you can get a Dr's note about his mental health I'll withdraw that allegation)

[calcinations.livejournal.com]

Here's a Telegraph article by him that resurrects the dead theories of Svensmark:
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/science/space/nightsky/11356838/The-Night-Sky-February-2015-is-climate-change-caused-by-astronomical-events-beyond-our-control.html

The actual reality is that the theories were tested and found to be lacking, but Berry doesn't think so.
This bit indicates that he truly doesn't know anything, or else is trying to write propaganda:

"As for the fashionable theory of climate change caused by carbon dioxide, it is contradicted by all the geological evidence. Searches going back 500 million years have failed to find any connection. Svensmark and Calder consider the case for man-made climate change “well and truly squelched.” "

Note the ignorance of the last 150 years of physics and climatology...

Sorry for posting so much, but I haven't run across such a lunatic for a while. Hearteningly, his torygraph article has no comments at the bottom of it.

[ethelmay.livejournal.com]

Searches going back 500 million years

THEY'VE GOT A TIME MACHINE NOW? WE'RE ALL DOOOOOOOOMED!

[mmcirvin.livejournal.com]

ah, good, that's TWO high-profile climate denialists who are viscounts.

[beamjockey.livejournal.com]

#NotAllViscounts

[calcinations.livejournal.com]

#NotAllBiscuits

[mmegaera.livejournal.com]

I need an I adore this button for this, thank you.

[ethelmay.livejournal.com]

Two and viscounting.

[major-clanger.livejournal.com]

He was the Daily Torygraph's science writer for many years, and actually not too bad until he got the idea that being able to explain other people's science (which he was tolerable at) meant that he was qualified to come up with his own.

He also, as his SFE entry notes, wrote a couple of SF novels. I read Koyama's Diamond many years ago and several parts of it have stuck in my mind for their sheer awfulness of characterisation and prose style.

[narmitaj.livejournal.com]

His father (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michael_Berry,_Baron_Hartwell) was Chairman and Editor-in-Chief of the Telegraph up to 1986 and before that his uncle was (Adrian's uncle, that is).

[calcinations.livejournal.com]

Ah, how the establishment works- give jobs to younger member of it. They don't need to be wonderful, and awfulness does usually mean they lose their job, if htey are sufficiently junion enough, but basically if you can do a tolerable job of work they'll keep you on for life.