I’m sorry, but you need to live with it.

Or die with it, maybe? I suspect more people share the position that survival is a common responsibility.

I’m sorry, but you need to live with it. By that logic, anyone can stop anyone else from polluting anywhere. I should be able to file lawsuit on a car-owner in Brazil. Thankfully, the world does not work that way.

By your logic, Aum Shinrikyo should have received a free pass.

!!!

You’re equating me driving my car with a cult that released lethal nerve gas in a closed subway at rush hour?! And you wonder why folks think you are extremist/alarmist and don’t take you seriously!

M. Nam

The atmosphere is shared. There is no way to split the difference. By your logic, Aum Shinrikyo should have received a free pass.

Prema, the original article talked about India and China per se, not Taiwan and ethnic Chinese born bred and educated elsewhere. There are six ethnic Chinese who have won science Nobels, OK! But one was born in the U.S. and the other five did most of their life’s work here.

The issue is not whether the Earth is warming or not, or mankind is the cause or not. Maybe mankind is causing global warming and maybe it is very dangerous. That’s not the point.

The point is: Who is Gore or a bunch of scientists to tell the rest of us what to do about it? Maybe the rest of us don’t really care if the oceans rise by 2 feet over the next century. Or 200 feet. Or 2000 feet. And if we don’t care, we should not have to make the inevitable sacrifices that Gore asks us to do (higher gas prices, heating costs, etc). Maybe the rest of us are fine if the weather changes drastically. Maybe there’s some good in it. Three or Four crop yields in New Jersey instead of one? Heavy rains in Rajasthan or Arizona turning it into a green belt? Lower heating costs in the winter? Nice beach front property in Antarctica? The possibilities are endless.

We’d like to take our chances since we like to see the cup as half-full. Maybe we’re wrong and we’ll suffer, but we reserve the right to make that choice.

By all means, if you choose to not pollute, walk/bike to work, not use polluting products – more power to you. I might even join you.

But if you force something down my throat, I reserve the right to throw up on you.

M. Nam

So you think Steve Chu is not an ethnic chinese because he was born in America? And the list clearly shows two science Nobels for Taiwan. That makes a total of six chinese science Nobels vs three for indians. Economics is not a science as we usually understand the term. There is a big difference between the physical sciences and the so-called social “sciences”.

None of the three indian science laureates earned their award in Independent India. Raman won it in British India. Khorana and Chandrashekhar won it as american citizens. All this talk of India replacing America as a science superpower in the near future is balderdash. China has a far more realistic shot at it. Their leaders who are all either scientists or engineers, have abitious plans and the competence and determination to follow through. India’s educational system on the other hand is a mess. Very few of the numerous so-called engineers that are churned out in India are considered employable by western corporations.

Sigh! Its one thing to argue if there’s sufficient evidence for global warming. But equating it with socialist theories of consumerism, etc takes things to a whole new level of shallowness. I agree these ideas may be connected in the minds of some extreme left-wingers. But if you refuse to take the argument beyond that level, I have no reason to take you more seriously than I take them.

Its a funny world where one’s political affiliation is a strong predictor of one’s opinion on scientific theories. Can we start looking beyond ideology here, because this is not about the next presidential election, its about the survival of the planet.

Gosh, all this is soooo interesting. (sarcasm tags)

Here’s my list of 6 ethnic Chinese who have won science Nobels: Daniel Tsui, physics, 1998; Steve Chu, physics, 1997; Samuel Ting, physics, 1976; Tsung-Dao Lee and Chen-Ning Yang, physics, 1957, and Yuan Lee, chemistry, 1986.

Yuan Lee is Taiwan-born, Steve Chu is US born, but we count them as ethnic Chinese.

The more interesting thing, to me anyway, is that Bronx High School of Science grads, alone, won 7 physics Nobels. And in our Columbia-vs-Brown competition here at SM, we have: Columbia 82 – Brown 3.

The prize is for Economic Science. The Econ nobel is considered one of the science ones; only peace and lit are not.

Ethnic chinese have won 6 science nobels, not three as you erroneously claim.

Your own link says 3. Who are the 6? I imagine you’re counting Steven Chu, Physics 97, but he was born in St. Louis…