Nobelist says global warming solution will cost Americans
Erica Tuggle
Issue date: 10/9/08 Section: News
Nobel Laureate Thomas Schelling called global warming a "major energy preoccupation" and said it will probably take the government two decades to understand it enough to fix the problem, in his lecture Monday.
Thomas Schelling kicked off the 2008 Burkett Miller Distinguished Lecture Series with a lecture on "Managing the World's Greenhouse Problem."
The lecture was sponsored by the UTC department of biological and environmental sciences and the Scott L. Probasco, Jr. Chair of Free Enterprise, an organization "to help citizens understand the principles that form the foundation of the American economic system."
This partnership stemmed from Schelling's work as an economist as well as his eco-conscious attitude.
Henry Spratt, a UTC professor of Biological and Environmental Sciences offered a response after Schelling's speech in which Spratt called for a return to re-establishing natural ecosystem living. In the proposed lifestyle, plants and animals reach safe, maintained population levels, everything is recycled and solar energy is put to use, Spratt said.
"Most scientists think we're at the point of no return. If we go much more past this threshold there could be catastrophic changes," Spratt said.
Spratt said he supports the Native American Iroquois' way of decision making, which took into account the impact of ecological decision impact on the seventh generation.
Spratt said the gist of Schelling's thinking is that it is a bad idea economically to only treat the symptoms of global warming. Schelling also says that in fixing global warming problems, industrialized nations like the United States would bear the burden of the cost while the third world countries would reap the benefits.
Schelling has proposed such geo-engineering options as orbiting satellites to capture more solar energy, fertilizing oceans to promote carbon particle growth in the oceans and releasing more sulfur into the air to deflect solar rays.
Thomas Schelling kicked off the 2008 Burkett Miller Distinguished Lecture Series with a lecture on "Managing the World's Greenhouse Problem."
The lecture was sponsored by the UTC department of biological and environmental sciences and the Scott L. Probasco, Jr. Chair of Free Enterprise, an organization "to help citizens understand the principles that form the foundation of the American economic system."
This partnership stemmed from Schelling's work as an economist as well as his eco-conscious attitude.
Henry Spratt, a UTC professor of Biological and Environmental Sciences offered a response after Schelling's speech in which Spratt called for a return to re-establishing natural ecosystem living. In the proposed lifestyle, plants and animals reach safe, maintained population levels, everything is recycled and solar energy is put to use, Spratt said.
"Most scientists think we're at the point of no return. If we go much more past this threshold there could be catastrophic changes," Spratt said.
Spratt said he supports the Native American Iroquois' way of decision making, which took into account the impact of ecological decision impact on the seventh generation.
Spratt said the gist of Schelling's thinking is that it is a bad idea economically to only treat the symptoms of global warming. Schelling also says that in fixing global warming problems, industrialized nations like the United States would bear the burden of the cost while the third world countries would reap the benefits.
Schelling has proposed such geo-engineering options as orbiting satellites to capture more solar energy, fertilizing oceans to promote carbon particle growth in the oceans and releasing more sulfur into the air to deflect solar rays.
