just the thought of this is scary

[rockbot]

I guess the climate change clan will stop at nothing....[&:]

http://www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2012/03/how-engineering-the-human-body-could-combat-climate-change/253981/

 

[bostaurus]

Wow, that is scary. Talk about playing God.

 

[ktbi]

Very scary. Just follow the money!!! If something like this ever became real, someone would find a way to make us all crave Buckwheat Pancakes and I would corner the Buckwheat market and invest heavily in Maple Syrup.......The Lakers would engineer a bunch of 8-foot forwards and the Cowboys would grow 400lb quarterbacks. Scary to think what the Raiders would engineer, and a blue pill in the water supply would have us all voting Democrat.....Ron

 

[rockbot]

Hey Ron thats so true. Makes me wonder if it ain't going on already.[8D]

 

[Plumbata]

With smaller body size comes the issue of greater surface area per unit mass. Small, skinny people would die quite quickly if faced with a harsh and cold climate without the benefit of a great deal of caloric energy at their disposal, and 4 of such people would require far more energy than would be necessary to keep a person 4X the mass reasonably warm and alive in similar conditions. There has been a great deal of oscillation in global climate over the last several million years; a warm period will be followed by a cold one and the cycle repeated, based upon the geologically recent past. Engineering humans to conform to a climate which will last for 5,000-50,000 years would be disastrous for the species in the long run.

Regarding food energy consumption, it is well-known that the sled-dogs of the arctic and sub-arctic are expected to provide a great deal of "work", but what I have read in the past indicates that the veteran dogs; the stronger and more resilient dogs, require far less dried fish or blubber than the greenhorn dogs. The experienced dogs had trained their bodies and metabolisms to utilize the caloric energy and nutrients far more efficiently than the newcomers. Perhaps people can remain at their same average size and still conserve energy, provided that they don't vegetate on the couch eating 5,000 calories of Twinkies and fried potato chips for 10+ hours a day in front of the TV instead of getting out and cleaning the litter off their lawns, streets, and waterways. I do it, even though 99.99% of the trash isn't from me. It is actually fun, believe it or not.

The discussion of altruism presented is irrelevant based upon the fact that no societally defined "altruistic" action enacted by the actor is done so without the subjective experience or expectation of pleasure, satisfaction, or other adequate personal/emotional/spiritual justifications. The practical definition of altruism would be to lay one's life down for someone utterly undeserving; a despicable person who means nothing, or less than nothing to you emotionally, socially, or intellectually. Show me some cases of this, Mr. Liao. Sacrificing one's quality of life for the betterment of the future generations or one's friends or family is not altruism; it is an exercise in wisdom and deeply ingrained generosity. Altruism does not exist, not unless you look towards the stories regarding the sacrifice which Jesus made according to texts dating to several centuries after his death; a sacrifice purportedly made for all of mankind. Beyond this, I have seen no documented cases of true altruism. They may be out there, but I haven't seen them.

Regarding "Cat-Eyes", I personally have blue eyes. Possess very dark hair and am 1/4 Jap, but have blue eyes, which are well known to be superior in nighttime or hunting situations. These eyes also provide 20/12 vision even now in my mid 20s, and I have better night-vision and vision in general than any of my friends, including the ones with the aid of glasses or contacts. It is a statement of observed, verifiable, and repeated fact; not a boast. I have nothing to gain but a point made against this fool of a fellow suggesting the viability of genetically-engineered "cat-eyes". I can run through the woods at midnight when my dear compatriots are walking and fumbling with their flashlights or cell-phone light-sources. Perhaps blue eyes rather than cat eyes would be more realistic, Mr. Liao... But with that name i figure he's endowed with brown eyes; better in the bright sun but not-so-much in the dark of night or when utilizing lower levels of energy-intensive artificial light, as he recommends in order to "stop global climate change". Seems like the fellow may be just totally insane and disconnected from the reality outside his academic papers and textbooks.

Interesting how this well-educated fellow crafts such an in-depth paper based upon such a narrow frame of world-experience. I'm sure that none of us would attempt to play the dead-serious devil's advocate to the degree he has, anyway.

Also, I plan to eat eggs, bacon, steak, pork-chops, sausage, lamb-ribs, and other additional delicious cuts taken from livestock until the day my heart chokes upon the cholesterol accrued from decades of consuming the delectable meat of our tasty livestock friends. If Mr. Liao has a beef with that, he can go eat some seaweed. []

 

[rockbot]

I'm with you all the way!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wqwRqbcJlm0

[]

 

[Steve/sewell]

Rock, Plum, Do you want to see a full fledged nut job. This is the AGWs leading advocate James Hansen.[8|] http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1uxfiuKB_R8 He actually states in the video he can see our oceans boiling in a hundred years with the icecaps completely gone.[] He is supposed to be working for NASA he is away from his real job as a space scientist more then he is at it. He is constantly being arrested for green causes and is so out of touch with reality he plain and simply needs to be fired from his real job because he DOES NOTHING WORTH WHILE THERE PERIOD.[]

Remember how 10 years ago the big scare was ozone depletion and how the hole was getting larger at each end of the poles and the sun was going to burn us to death because the ozone layer would be completely gone....Do you remember that!!?[&:] I do,why aren't they talking about that now anymore?[8|] You know why[] because it has been proven to be completely false that's why.[&o] At the two poles it is completely normal for the ozone layers to develop holes in the summer months this is the way the Grand architect designed them to work. Now this same AGW crowd is reclassifying the name of their agenda to simply Climate Change. This way it can encompass any weather change they see fit to meet their needs. You watch in 10 years it wont be about warm it is going to be about the coming mini Ice age again just like it was in the 70s.

Speaking of the mini ice age......The mini ice age begins this coming winter,we are headed for a lengthy solar sunspot minimum. No the earth is not going to be completely covered in ice instead we are heading back to a climate where as the the 1970s real winter in the traditional winter spots is going to be very cold again. Enjoy the warmth of this winter now, as we are about to gradually enter a much cooler phase over the next 30 years similar to the Dalton minimum 1790 to 1830... If the AGW crowd really thought about it a warm planet is a much more sustainable and a much more inhabitable one. Look at Time Magazines covers side by side.....Scare tactics tend to repeat themselves I remember the cold prediction from Time magazine quite vividly.... I was in my Junior year at High School and you could walk across the Delaware river in Mid January that winter right over to Philadelphia International Airport. The Delaware river is a fast flowing river a mile wide with heavy ship traffic, it had completely froze on the surface for a three week period over that winter just like in Europe and the winter experienced this year .Don't be scared weather is very cyclic and will bounce around again over the next 100 years.

 

[bostaurus]

Altruism does not exist, not unless you look towards the stories regarding the sacrifice which Jesus made according to texts dating to several centuries after his death; a sacrifice purportedly made for all of mankind

I think you say some of these things just to dig up some fun back and forth discussions! I would love to bite on this one but much too busy packing. Let's try this one again in about 2 weeks[]

 

[bostaurus]

The mini ice age begins this coming winter,we are headed for a lengthy solar sunspot minimum.

Bummer...they just moved the USDA planing zones and our new place is right on the line for 8/9. I was planning to plant some hardy citrus. Maybe I should hold off on that for a couple years.

 

[bobble]

Goodnight,and good luck.