The Damaged Global Climate System - 6

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I. "Parts is Parts" Ignorance

In this series, the systemic nature of the global climate system has been emphasized.

The reason for that is the simple reality that "parts is parts" has a place within the vast realm of ignorance, but it has no place in systems science:

The Earth system is often represented by interlinking and interacting "spheres" of processes and phenomena. The atmosphere, hydrosphere, biosphere and geosphere form the simplest collection, though some would add the cryosphere as a special element dealing with polar regions and processes, and others would add the anthroposphere emphasizing human dimensions and impact on the planet. The difficulty with any representation that divides the system is the danger of continuing a deconstructed perception of the holistic Earth system - in reality no part of the Earth system can be considered in isolation from any other part.

(Earth System Science in a Nutshell, emphasis added). At all times we are either moving toward "parts is parts" ignorance, or away from ignorance toward the awareness to be gained by the systemic knowledge of Earth Systems Science:

Our shared goal is to understand, predict, and respond to human-caused environmental change at local to global scales. To take on this challenge, we strive to investigate the complexity of the global system, including the interactions, synergies, and feedbacks that link the oceans, atmosphere, land surfaces, and freshwater systems. A global perspective has emerged that challenges the research community to view and study the planet as a singular, highly-interactive system, moving past disciplinary approaches to evaluate the interactions among chemical, biological, and physical processes across the Earth's surface. Through the graduate and undergraduate programs, we will train a new generation of scientists that comprehend the multiple facets of environmental processes, and who are able to think synthetically, evaluating change in our oceans, water, air and land processes as part of an integrated and connected system.

(Stanford, Earth Systems Science, emphasis added). The Earth System is composed of integral subsystems that seamlessly compose the whole.

The Global Climate System is one such integral system.

II. How To Stay Systemically Ignorant

The first thing to do, if you want to be a part of the vast system of ignorance, is to isolate a part of an episystem then fail to consider it to not be part of that episystem:

Today's post has to do with one specific meme that is on the edge of the climate change denier meme complex.

A meme which the President perpetuated in his news conference yesterday:

"[oft heard meme] ... no single weather event can be linked directly to ... global warming."

("President OBAMA: You know ... we can’t attribute any particular weather event to climate change.")

(see Katrina & Global Warming). Notice that according to this meme every single big weather event that makes the fossil fuel industry and government look bad (such as Hurricane-Superstorm Sandy or Hurricane Katrina) "can't be linked directly to global warming."

Now who would want us to believe that?

(False Climate Change Meme Infects The President). From that point on, anyone who "goes there" will develop even more ignorance:

"Why is that meme a false meme as the title of today's post indicates?" you may ask.

Since we deserve an answer, let's contemplate this problem with an exercise in deductive logic, premised on the false meme under our consideration today:

1) No single weather event can be linked directly to global warming;
2) all weather events are single weather events;
3) therefore, weather events can't be directly linked to global warming.

(see Doctors of Philosophy Make Phd. Mistakes). To see what the propagandists and/or apologists (who originally fabricated this false meme) are advancing, let's analyze this a bit further by considering a realistic meme:

1) Weather is a function of the global climate system;
2) all single weather events are parts of the global climate system;
3) the global climate system has been damaged by global warming;
4) therefore, all single weather events are part of the global climate system that has been damaged by global warming;

(see How Fifth Graders Analyze Hurricane Sandy). See the subtlety that the false meme forces, and see the bigger picture the accurate meme "global climate system" connotes?

(ibid). That is why the epigovernment controlled government can admit global warming is real, and even claim to want to avoid it, yet continue to be manipulated by the oil industry (Barry & Oil-Qaeda vs Arctic Wilderness, 2).

III. Ask The Proper Question If You Want A Proper Answer

The reality is that any global system that is damaged cannot be diagnosed by beginning the diagnosis with a postulation such as: "we can't tell if the performance of a subsystem removes it from the episystem."

In other words, don't analyze any weather anywhere in the context of determining whether or not it is part of the damaged global climate system or not.

It is.

The proper question is "when a part or subsystem evinces either damaged behavior or proper behavior, is it still part of the episystem in both instances?"

The answer is that any subsystem is always part of its episystem, period.

Thus, we must ask a more intelligent question.

A more useful question is "how do we repair the damage to the episystem in a manner that will also repair the damage to its subsystems?"

That will improve the analysis of the situation by removing the ignorant question "is this broken arm a part of the body like the other one is that is not broken?"

IV. The Future Looks

The future looks a certain way when we ask the dumb questions (Dumb & Dumber -> Bleak & Bleeker), but if there is to be any "light at the end of the tunnel" we have to go there with questions that have progressive answers.

I have contemplated, since the current election in the U.S.eh? is so demented (This Is Not About Donald Trump), whether this election is just a charade put on by the epigovernment playwrights (The Ways of Bernays).

In the debate last night, the protagonist emoted:

“We are now, for the first time, energy independent,” said Clinton. “We are not dependent on the Middle East ... We have got to remain energy independent,” she said. “It gives us much more power and freedom than to be worried about what goes on in the Middle East.

(HuffPo). In other words, our power, freedom, and independence are based on the control of fossil fuels regionally.

Carried further, our next president implies that we are only free if we have our own poisons with which to damage the global climate system further.

Good American freedom and independence consists of poisoning ourselves with home-grown American poison rather than poisoning ourselves with poison we purchased from the bad guys in the middle-east?

That is the inverse side of the same coin (The Donald University vs. The Lord GOP University, Doomer Tuesday) I suppose.

The U.S. elections do not appear to be a source of solutions (The Elections of Pontius Pilots, 2, 3, 4, 5).

V. Conclusion

The option at the moment for many people seems to be to follow the advice of Rust Limbaugh and/or Matt Sludge:

"The deplorables are starting to wonder if govt has been lying to them about Hurricane Matthew intensity to make exaggerated point on climate" - M. Sludge
...
"people shouldn’t trust the government’s warnings because the government is likely biased. He claimed that the government was inflating fears of the storm’s damage. Limbaugh said people shouldn’t worry because his house was hit by Hurricane Wilma in 2005 and was just fine." - Rust L.

(Salon). At least they all add support to my hypothesis concerning the etiology of social dementia (Etiology of Social Dementia, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14).

And Agnotology (Agnotology: The Surge, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17).

So, choose your trances carefully (Choose Your Trances Carefully, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6).

The next post in this series is here, the previous post in this series is here.

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Damaged subsystem: AMOC considerations ...

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