What Global Warming? A review of Crighton's 'State of Fear'

I read and enjoyed State of Fear although I was also annoyed and later, confused and worried. State of Fear tells the story of a philanthropist who finds his donations are being used for unsavory purposes; specifically, to fake evidence for an environmental catastrophe. He quickly fades from the story but his assistants and some federal agents continue to follow the conspiracy and foil the plot.

The story is good. There is a lot of action and close escapes, some memorable women and great exotic locations. There were some problems though. The close escapes are all of the kind that Austin Powers lampooned so well, "Aren't you going to kill him?" "No, I'm sure the sharks will. I will just walk away and assume that he did die." "But you've already assumed that five times."

Crighton's book always carry a message and his popularity stems both from these controversial subjects and from the way they don't get in the way of the action. Jurassic Park was a thrilling story of man vs monster, but it was also a story of the way man himself can be a shortsighted monster focusing on profits, and a glimpse of the ways our increasing understanding of DNA will change our lives.

State of Fear is a spy story of sorts, and an exciting one, but it also encourages us to question some strongly established views. For example, and least controversially, charitable organizations might not be so benign after all and charitable does not mean free of greed.

The controversial story in State of Fear is that Global Warming is a lie, or at least completely unproven. This is the part of the story that confused and worried me. Crighton backs up his claim with scientific reference after reference, which is good. However, in his book, the people showing global warming as an unproven or unsupported hypothesis are all brilliant, while the environmentalists are mean-spirited idiots, which is annoying.

The book made me reexamine my assumptions on the subject. I listened to Dr. Forbush speak out against global warming and big business (don't bother unless you want to learn how not to do a podcast) in the most boring, unsupported way possible.

I also visited Cooler Heads, a site that tries to show the global warming for the myth it is. To my shame, as soon as I saw it was a consumer site, and related to big business, I turned away. This is exactly what the deluded folk in State of Fear did. It did have references, if you are interested. One was the Marshall Institute, which has a Q&A with responses like this:

"15. Will global warming produce more violent storms? This is not likely."

They may be right in this case, but the bare bones answers were kind of annoying. Violent storms may be caused by global warming but the evidence for that will be statistical. One storm does not prove GW, not even a bad decade of storms is enough.

Added 20 years later. I wonder if anyone reads these things. Anyway, we see for sure that global warming has indeed produced more, and more violent storms. The Marshall Institute was wrong.

Three sites that felt they had evidence for global warming were Global Warming Early Warning Signs, The Earth Institute and the Global Warming International Centre. Crighton visited the Earth Institute and the scientists there apparently are dismayed that he didn't ask them their opinion (they feel GW is real).

One thing I'd seen before is the way one organization tries to hijack another's visitors. There is a "globalwarming.org" and a "globalwarming.net" site, differing only in the suffix. Which came first, I don't know but I have seen this used as an underhanded way to steal visitors who mistype the name.

Anyway, in my opinion, global warming is probably occurring but it doesn't matter. GW is caused by CO2 (and a few other gases) emissions and to stop emitting would be to stop all enterprise. However, reducing emissions of other polluting gases would automatically reduce greenhouse gases..

To reduce various fossil fuel exhausts would reduce pollution: smog, acid rain, and a number of lung ailments. For individual drivers to drive less or to carpool, would reduce the number of cars built and the energy that goes into constructing a car is probably as much or more than the energy that goes into driving it. Driving less would likely improve people's general health...

I have calmed down as an environmentalist as I learned a little (really, the least possible) about economics. I have a vague idea that reducing automobile production would not help people's total quality of living. Still, if people are concerned about global warming and pollution, leaving their cars in the driveway would be the reasonable thing to do.

Forest Fire in Gangneung threatens Olympic Village

I am typing this from Incheon, on the other side of the country so I don't have personal details to add but I did write about a similar fire powered by strong winds years ago so I felt I should share the details I have learned.

This YTN report - in Korean - does not mention the Olympic Village but does blame the high winds for making the fire uncontrollable.



Yonhap News has a small report on the fire.
As with the fire I witnessed years ago, the entire nation is working to fight this one with fire fighters and vehicles from all over the country coming to help.

Unsurprisingly, the air quality in the area is terrible (Gangneung is the one red dot on the right on the map):

Earlier fire at Naksan temple.

Hoengsong and Sokcho. Camp and Pokemon

I haven't taught at every GLPS camp at Minjok Sagwan High School in Gangwon Province, near Wonju, but I have been to many and greatly enjoy them. I probably enjoy them more than the students but I will save that kind of commentary for the end of this post.

It has been six years since I lived in Gangwondo and the places I remember have changed greatly. This post will be something of a tourist's report of my visit.

I had been suffering a slight abdominal pain, low and in front of my left hip joint for nearly a year.  Will trying to get in shape using the rowing machines at camp, something worked the pain is gone!

But I didn't exercise much as the temperature was high all camp.  I think we saw rain twice, both early in the first week of camp.  The rest of the time, we cooked.  I took the dog for walks but she didn't get as much time outside was either of us wanted.
Camp Pictures!

My son on the steps on the right. He joined a class attempting to safely drop eggs from great heights.

A student taught me about Hot Pepper Dragonflies.  This one, Crocothemis servilia only turns such a beautiful red during mating season. 

These two of a spider were the only good ones I took.  My phone camera would only focus on the distant sky.  What really drew me to this individual though was his loss of legs.  This is a four-legged spider!

Walking stick.

Some of my students had trouble doing actual research outside rather than just catching critters.

I found this salamander after one of the two rains we experienced.

One weekend, we returned home.  Good for us, but boring to write about.  The next weekend we went to Sokcho.  My son was born there eleven years and a few months ago but he hadn't visited in the six years we'd lived in Busan. He was very interested in seeing our old apartment and seeing what he might remember.

But mostly he was interested in Pokemon Go! In Korea, this game can only be played on Sokcho so far. This audio interview (autoplay) explains why. Basically, Korea is officially at war and Google isn't allowed to publish certain details on its maps in Korea so the resolution isn't good enough for game play (Daum does have that level of details for some reason).  The block of globe that Google aloted to Japan has a funny wing that reaches into one part of Korea - Sokcho - so the game is live there.

Sokcho is Pokemon-crazy with sign everywhere directing you in where to go and how to play.

It is horrifying to think that people are so into Pokemon that they throw their pets into the garbage!

Below, Ulsan Bowi was barely visible through the heat haze.

 After cooking in the direct sunlight, we found my only friend who still lives in Sokcho after six years and hung out on the beach.

These tetrahedrons are huge and break up the motion of the surf to protect the piers.  They are mostly jumbled together so I found the long view below fascinating and unique.

We also swam at Mul-Nori Soo-young Jang, a concrete box near the camp.  I didn't take any pictures but here is what I can tell you. Yoo-bi Castle Pension has rooms and campsite for rent. They also have a pool filled by stream water that is wonderfully refreshing. To find it, use Daum maps and enter "강원 횡성군 둔내면 영랑리 119 새주소강원 횡성군 둔내면 강변로영랑6길 115" in the search bar - hope you have the Hangeul character set on your computer.

4 rivers project: possibly not all that bad

Yonhap news has the details in English.

An excerpt:

"Dredging and the dams were believed to worsen the water quality by prolonging the time water stays there," the commission noted.
Overall, however, the 16 dams have no serious safety problems, the commission highlighted, adding that, "The 16 dam structures were properly built in consideration of standard weight and the safety level proposed in the design have been attained."
   The river project also has successfully lessened the risk of flood in the areas adjacent to the rivers and enabled the use of pooled water for drought-hit areas, the government panel said.
"All in all, the four-river project has attained its goals to some extent ... but it has generated some side effects because it was carried out too hastily amid some limited local river management technology," it said.

I'm (soon to be) back!

I'm taking some time to return to Gangwon Province this summer.  I'm looking forward to snorkeling in Sokcho and swimming in many places.
If you want to get to Gangwon, Seoul Searching has good news:

In an effort to increase tourism in their regions, many provincial governments have begun to offer special services to international guests. Lucky us! One such example is the Gangwon Shuttle Service sponsored by Gangwon Province. This shuttle bus is a great way for foreigners to experience Korea's most breathtaking natural landmarks as well as some of its best festivals.

North Korean Drones in Gangwondo

Three crashed drones have been found in South Korea suggesting that many more have traveled into and back out of South Korean airspace.  One of these Unmanned Ariel Vehicles crashed near Samcheok, which is quite a bit south of where I worked, already 80 or more kilometres south of the border.

Arirang video - autoplay - on the subject,

Dong-a Ilbo, which called the UAVs suicidal,

and the Marmot's Hole on the subject.

Koreans Carrying on - and other Google Alerts

Although I'm no longer in Korea, much less Gangwondo, I have a Google alert set for Gangwon News (and also for my name.  Man, a whole of people with the same name die every year).  Most of the alerts are about soccer standings, others appear interesting to me but not enough to share.  I am not sure if these three articles are, in fact, interesting enough to write about but the first one I looked at filled me with cynical snark.

Indeed, I felt so bad about being so snarky, let me point out the positives in Strittmatter's opinion article in the Gazette.  Strittmatter is a new teacher and probably a fresh college grad who is in a tiny town near the DMZ.  I first planned to write about her naivete, but really, it is a tough time to be a newby in Korea and having military tanks frequently driving through town.  She does pass on the important message that most 'old Korea hands' share:

Although I awake daily to emails from uneasy family and friends, the South Koreans are unintimidated by the North Korean nuclear threats. Even in this small town, the residents carry on with their daily lives despite the escalation of threats from the North. Korean families have not stockpiled bottled water, rice, or kimchee (a Korean food staple often made by fermenting cabbage underground for several weeks). Farmers continue to tend their crops, shops stay open until dark, and children still practice taekwondo after school.

I guess I feel her naivete most shines through in the way she describes her Korean friends optimism for reunification.  This is a popular line, and relatively easy to explain in a second language, but the less palatable truth is that reunification, even peacefully arranged, will be hugely costly and few South Koreans are eager to consider it.
Now that I have just remarked on how most Koreans are unconcerned about North Korea's bluster, let me offer the contrast of  a Chosun Ilbo account on the lack of emergency shelters in Gangwondo.

South Korea started building evacuation shelters in 1975, but the project was virtually suspended in the late 1990s since rapid urbanization and industrialization meant many buildings had their own underground facilities. 
Instead, the government designated underground car parks, basements of apartment buildings and subway stations as evacuation points.
But critics say even purpose-built shelters cannot guarantee the people's safety since they cannot be perfectly sealed against chemical attacks and lack gas masks.

Indeed, CNN knows about the Parking Garage- Bomb Shelters.


Finally, my son loves the big cats, especially cheetahs.  This story doesn't feature cheetahs but it does feature leopards.  The Hankyoreh reports that there may still be some in Gangwon Province.  The evidence, as supplied by the article, seems pretty weak to me but I can still hope it is true.  To my Minjok Sagwan friends, be careful!