Hey, why read stuff on your screen when you can get a real physical book to tell you how to fight what these authors call “antiscience”? Here’s a link to a story at Ars about the Mann and Hotez Science under Siege.
OK, there are plans to actually post some things about earth science, but for now, some flippancy.
The country is being run by MAGA, and when America was great originally remains up in the air (1950s? 1920s? 1880s?). If you turn the clock back, what technological marvels would you have to do without? And what monsters since unleashed would go away? So, with some commentary, are GG’s notes of technologies that make an impact during GG’s lifetime on GG…Have fun and feel free to make your own list…
Back in 1992, Charles Wilkinson wrote a book, Crossing the Next Meridian, that argued that five dominant forces from the Americanization of the West were due to fade away: hard rock mining, overgrazing of public lands, logging of public lands, destruction of river and stream ecosystems, and prior appropriation of water. At the time, there was optimism that these drivers of development in the West could be overthrown or at least tamed. By 2011, despite the Obama administration being in office, High Country News bridled at the apparent return of these old Lords. Even so, though, change was in the air. Hardrock mining, save for massive heap-leach gold mines dominantly in Nevada, was fading fast as cheaper deposits overseas entered the market. Conditions for grazing fees increased, and things like the Clinton-era roadless rule and Pacific Northwest Forest plan seemed to end the dominance of getting the timber cut out. Demolition of dams, such as the Elwha dams in Washington, spoke for a search for balance between dams and aquatic ecosystem. Even the patriarch of the Lords, prior appropriation of water, was losing steam as things like trans-watershed water projects ran into legal problems.
In the space of the next few days, the decline of yesterday’s lords will likely be reversed, potentially with damage difficult to recover.
Many years ago, GG was doing some work in New Zealand, and one of his Kiwi colleagues said that New Zealanders denigrate intellectual work and prize hard physical labor. That felt kind of refreshing to GG at the time as nerds and computer people were getting rich and celebrities in the US, making physical or skilled labor seem of lesser value. This was leading to shortfalls in certain skilled occupations like machinists as these weren’t jobs requiring a college degree and so somehow less worthy. The issue in both places was a lack of respect for entire classes of work. Sometimes we see this within a field: doctors are very well paid in the US, while nurses and other medical support people have trouble making ends meet. We need skilled electricians and machinist and heavy equipment operators as much as we need accountants and influencers and PhD researchers.
Field geophysics is kind of an oddity because you are exposed to both the intellectual and manual sides of labor. Now today a lot of equipment is very black box, but not so long ago, if you wanted to have a reliable dataset to work on, you needed to have enough skills to get equipment working properly, and you were reliant on the greater skills of the people designing and building your equipment that would allow you to be able to get the data you wanted. And along the way, in being out in the world and getting permission to put equipment on private land or public land, you dealt with people who relied on their own physical labor, whether it was a trail crew in a national park or a rancher running cattle or a wrangler getting your gear into the wilderness. Many of these people had political views wildly different from your own. But as we explained our work and what it took, and we saw the effort they put in on their jobs, there was a level of respect that each of us had for the other.
For awhile we in the U.S. bathed in adoring light those who were born from roughly 1901 and 1927 as members of the “greatest generation,” a term popularized by Tom Brokaw. These folks endured the Great Depression and fought WW II and the Cold War. That generation was also responsible for constructing a global framework of cooperation and respect for other nations that included the notion of major international trade as a plus for international stability. Domestically, they saw development of vaccines that eliminated many dangerous diseases. Tax rates both of income and estates prevented the accumulation of extreme wealth. That generation was largely responsible for investments in science and technology that led to things from the moon landing to microwave ovens.
Those folks, the youngest of whom would be 97 right now, are virtually absent from any political discussion. Their example, which a few years ago seemed etched in stone as a model to follow, is now dissolving under an acid wash of extremism. Just what are we losing sight of? Let’s review.
There are days when you look around and wonder, just what was anybody thinking? Or maybe just “was anybody thinking?” Well GG is pretty grumpy these days and three things have caught his eye as things that could have been a ton smarter than they are.
Marijuana. Multiple levels of “oops” here. Start with the way that its listing with the feds blocked nearly all academic research into the full effects of the drug. As a result, when legalization started to gain momentum, arguments devolved into “Killer weed!” vs. “There’s no proof.” Or “it’s safer than alcohol!” which, given the sixth of a million killed by alcohol annually, seems a rather low bar. Well, we are learning that Mary Jane is not an unmitigated good, especially for those under the age of 25. But wait, there’s more! As transporting marijuana across state lines is a potential felony, we grow the stuff in places where you need to do this indoors. With lots of heat and lights and…well, it is quite the energy sink. And even where this can be grown outside, a lot of these are not the most environmentally safe operations.
Cryptocurrency. A classic solution in search of a problem (unless you are a criminal). Oooh, we’re avoiding the big bad banks and all those regulators…so our funds can go AWOL one way or another. Yes, please, sign me up for the money that can vanish quickly or even just disappear in plain sight if I lose a key. And let’s not mention that purchases are awkward and often slow. Instead, let’s note the proliferation of bitcoin mines that are driving host communities to the courts. Oh, and that eat huge amounts of electricity that, you know, could be used to power places that make, you know, stuff that people use?
AI. Specifically Large Language Models. OK, we are earlier here than the other two, but there are hallmarks of a bubble. Everybody is shoveling in money as fast as possible to get their large language model or equivalent the chance to digest everything ever on the internet. A few folks are beginning to ask, just who is going to pay for all this? And given that we’re already at the point of having digested everything ever written that the inefficiency of these things has blown up insanely. Soon we’ll reach the point where we could simply send everybody to college for free if we just spent the money in that direction. And once again, as with the other two, power is needed to succeed. So we have the bizarre apparition of AI firms buying their own nuclear power plants.
So here we are, desperately in need of getting off of fossil fuels, and what are we doing with this green energy? Frankly, we are mainly heating the planet a different way while, at the same time, delaying the transition we need elsewhere. There are arguments in favor of some of these things, but not necessarily with the costs incurred.
Let’s go way off topic (yes, you’ve wondered if there is a topic…yeah yeah yeah)
So this past summer GG got to go on a six day backpack. This was unique for him in many ways, not least not being in charge; he was along as a support hiker on a trip run by Pass To Pass, a group dedicated to getting Parkinson’s patients out on the trail and stretching themselves out while providing support from the hike leaders, support hikers and, on many trips, llamas. Now with an estimated one million U.S. Parkinson’s patients out there, odds are you know somebody with the disease, which remains incurable, but many Parkinson’s patients swear that exercise is a huge help in keeping symptoms at bay. And a disease affecting that many people (and with a prominent celebrity in their midst in the form of Michael J. Fox) has a number of worthy charities. This one is pretty unique: those who run it are “Parkies” as are the leaders of all the backpacks (and I think the dayhikes as well). They view it as life changing. For instance, their board president wrote this:
“There was one hiker of whom we were concerned if she would be able to make the trip. Upon initial conversations she was adamant that she could do it. Nonetheless, having been in a wheelchair less than a year ago, she began working out and walking/hiking daily and remained committed to her Rock Steady boxing routine. Her improvement was amazing. Even the trainer at Rock Steady boxing noticed the improvements. On the trip, she was a solid, consistent hiker who handled the trip with ease, confidence and determination.
“This is exactly why Bill and Nadean Meyer established Pass to Pass. To get Parkies to proactively exercise and change their life for the better, to go on the offensive against Parkinson’s Disease. This story is a perfect example of the outcomes PTP hopes to achieve. This hiker changed her life by getting fit and hiking with PTP.”
GG was along on that hike; while it is a bit of an exaggeration to say she did the hike with ease, she did do the hike with determination and good cheer. And hearing her story one evening was remarkable, going from a wheelchair to a walker to a cane to a backpack. She really had to work to convince P2P to let her go, and she backed up her words on the trail.
What is amazing to GG (as one who has to organize trips from time to time) was the logistical miracles this organization pulls off. Running several trips at a time or close together, they are facing changes in access due to fires, changes in trip members owing to medical changes (one trip was greatly changed by a COVID infection), moving llamas around and finding people to deal with them in the turnover between trips, confirming hikers are capable of completing the trip, getting training for leaders, getting trail angels to meet the hiking parties at both ends….all on top of the usual challenges of wilderness travel (and most of the backpacks are shuttle trips, not loops). And again, this is done with all the people in charge having Parkinson’s. Frankly you could imagine a whole travel agency being employed to deal with this.
The organization is looking to expand from their Pacific Northwest roots, but they are hoping for some cash in the near term. As they write, “Fundraising helps cover the cost of the permits, llamas, wilderness first aid training, gear (such as first aid, sleeping pads, chairs, end of trip lunch, satellite subscription for the GPS, llama food, water filters, gas and supplies for trail angels just to name a few).” Again, the hard work in organizing and running all this is unpaid volunteer labor. So GG passes this along in case this sounds like a group you might want to help. They are a non-profit charity; you can investigate donating to them online.
Interviewer: “Yes, yes, very good. Sit down.” (pause while sitting) “OK, please stand” (another pause) “Hmm, yes, sit, please” (pause) “Now stand”
A: “Hold on, what’s all this?”
I: “Well, you are here for the job interview, and I need to see you are capable of standing and sitting.”
A: “So can we move on then?”
I: “Yes, of course. Please finish this rhyme: ‘Jack and Jill went up a hill to fetch a pail of water. Jack fell down…”
A: “Er, what does this have to do with the interview?”
I: “Please, I’ll ask the questions. Can you finish the rhyme?” A: “Of course I can”
I: “Well, then…do it.”
A: (sighs) “and broke his crown and Jill came tumbling after.”
I: “Very good, very good indeed” (scribbles on paper) “Now, please sing ‘God save the king'”
A: “What?”
I: “It is a well known song. Please sing it.”
A: “I don’t see the point.” I: “You are here for an interview, correct?”
A: “Well yes, but what does this have to do with being an accountant”
I: (pause). “Well, everything, I guess.”
A: “Well this is silly; I shall have to look for work elsewhere.” (rises and leaves)
I: “Ah, was so promising in standing and sitting…”
…
Does this sound like any job interview you’ve ever had? No? Then GG guesses you never ran for public office. Especially the American presidency. To run for office, candidates must raise lots of money, must greet lots of people, must kiss babies, must give speeches over and over, approve advertisements, and must claim to do things that in fact the job by itself cannot do. And do this for years at a time, even when nominally working at some other job. And, you know, be somebody you’d like to have a beer with. And, as we recently saw, “debate” other candidates (which little resembles true debates) where victory or defeat can come down to … looking at your watch? Bad makeup? It is bonkers. You have to wonder how many potentially great presidents never even considered running…and for that matter, how many past great presidents would never have gotten elected.
Oh well. Maybe we get what we deserve with a system like this…
Not so very long ago, the thing that made college sports interesting for many fans was the ability to watch an athlete mature over their time at school. And for the athlete, getting a degree in a reasonable time was a perk, as was knowing what courses they would have to complete to get that degree. While winning was important to fans and athletes alike, there was patience to see a program develop. Even teams that spent years losing would have good turnout for their homecoming game and any rivalry games; these provided a focus for reconnecting with friends from their youth. Winning now was for the pros, where athletes might get traded or cut and so every year brought a new cast of characters.
Have times changed! And times changing is always a good motivator for a grumpy geophysicist…
The Grumpy Geophysicist 
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