UPDATE: co-author admits it is a “horrible mistake”, see below – Anthony
From the you’ve got to be effing kidding me department.
First, I apologize to my readers for the headline. Read on and I think you’ll see it is justified. The headline is paraphrased from the article and the paper to give you the flavor. I have reproduced the passage used by the Guardian and provided a link to the full paper below.
First, the Guardian story: (h/t to reader “a jones”)
Now the paper, peer reviewed and published in Acta Astronautica titled:
Would Contact with Extraterrestrials Benefit or Harm Humanity? A Scenario Analysis
Seth D. Baum,1 Jacob D. Haqq-Misra,2 & Shawn D. Domagal-Goldman3
1. Department of Geography, Pennsylvania State University.
2. Department of Meteorology, Pennsylvania State University
3. NASA Planetary Science Division
Acta Astronautica, 2011, 68(11-12): 2114-2129
Here’s the relevant passage:
A preemptive strike [from extraterrestrials] would be particularly likely in the early phases of our expansion because a civilization may become increasingly difficult to destroy as it continues to expand. Humanity may just now be entering the period in which its rapid civilizational expansion could be detected by an ETI because our expansion is changing the composition of Earth’s atmosphere (e.g. via greenhouse gas emissions), which therefore changes the spectral signature of Earth. While it is difficult to estimate the likelihood of this scenario, it should at a minimum give us pause as we evaluate our expansive tendencies.
Words fail me. Truly this is science fiction, and not the good kind. I have a feature called “Climate Craziness of the Week”, this may be the all time winner.
Read the entire paper here (PDF)
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UPDATE: Former Economist sci/tech reporter Oliver Morton chips in with this in comments, it seems a “horrible mistake” was made by the co-author. Still no word on how this passes peer review.
http://paleblueblog.org/post/9110304050/some-important-points-of-clarification
So here’s the thing. This isn’t a “NASA report.” It’s not work funded by NASA, nor is it work supported by NASA in other ways. It was just a fun paper written by a few friends, one of whom happens to have a NASA affiliation.
…
But I do admit to making a horrible mistake. It was an honest one, and a naive one… but it was a mistake nonetheless. I should not have listed my affiliation as “NASA Headquarters.” I did so because that is my current academic affiliation. But when I did so I did not realize the full implications that has. I’m deeply sorry for that, but it was a mistake born our of carelessness and inexperience and nothing more. I will do what I can to rectify this, including distributing this post to the Guardian, Drudge, and NASA Watch. Please help me spread this post to the other places you may see the article inaccurately attributed to NASA.
http://paleblueblog.org/post/9110304050/some-important-points-of-clarification
So here’s the thing. This isn’t a “NASA report.” It’s not work funded by NASA, nor is it work supported by NASA in other ways. It was just a fun paper written by a few friends, one of whom happens to have a NASA affiliation.
…
But I do admit to making a horrible mistake. It was an honest one, and a naive one… but it was a mistake nonetheless. I should not have listed my affiliation as “NASA Headquarters.” I did so because that is my current academic affiliation. But when I did so I did not realize the full implications that has. I’m deeply sorry for that, but it was a mistake born our of carelessness and inexperience and nothing more. I will do what I can to rectify this, including distributing this post to the Guardian, Drudge, and NASA Watch. Please help me spread this post to the other places you may see the article inaccurately attributed to NASA.
Message E.T.A. soon.
Reads as follows.:-
Do not worry, you are not worth the bullet.
message end.
No doubt the aliens will want to harvest our precious bodily fluids, too.
Oliver Morton (@Eaterofsun) says:
August 19, 2011 at 5:26 am
> So here’s the thing. This isn’t a “NASA report.” It’s not work funded by NASA, nor is it work supported by NASA in other ways.
Not to worry – NASA knows full well it cannot block attempts by people affiliated with NASA from spouting off to peer journals, the US Congress, or anyone else who might be listening off the planet, especially if the subject includes CO2 pollution. Perhaps they’ll get an EPA grant to see if ETs will want to sample CO2 from Venus (too much sulfur?), Mars (too thin?), or Earth (just right, with good oceanic and limestone storage).
I would like to know who did the peer review….
BBC Radio 4 News at One just reported this story. They played the ‘Dr. Who’ theme first, then said that NASA says we should curb our greenhouse emissions to avoid alien attack, then said, “We’ll let you think about that one.” So if even the Beeb doesn’t believe it….
http://paleblueblog.org/post/9110304050/some-important-points-of-clarification
[So here’s the thing. This isn’t a “NASA report.” It’s not work funded by NASA, nor is it work supported by NASA in other ways. It was just a fun paper written by a few friends, one of whom happens to have a NASA affiliation.]
Someone taking the mickey out of the peer reviewed system, not a suprise this is too unbelievable to be true, but not too different from the rubbish supporting AGW that is accepted.
I have been in contact with the Aliens through the use of ACID (Alien Contact Interstellar Dialog). They sent one of their Ambassadors (ronaldmcdonald), a rather funny looking chap who reminded me of a clown, who explained that the Alien society was not going to destroy Planet. They were going to harvest some of the humans to eat. They were going to pick only the biggest, plump, juicy ones; much like we pick the big fat plump cherry for a treat. You see, they are actually an advanced plant society (triffids) and their relatives are evolving on Planet. The Aliens are angry that we have been eating their brethren but need us to increase CO2 levels to 666 ppm so that they can complete their evolution.
POT (Propaganda Overruling Thinking) will rise as the benchmark for the intellectual organizational structure of this newly evolved species that will then become the prime contact with ACID, which will then regulate the harvest of humans. The EPA (Extraterrestrial Propaganda Agency) will be the duel interface with ACID that will regulate all CO2 levels so as the plants on Planet are hindered in growth so that they do not become a threat to the Extraterrestrial plants. The EPA will serve the duel purpose of keeping the plants at bay while providing a stable supply of plump, ripe humans for a sustainable environment.
Another organization, the IPCC (Interstellar Propaganda Colony Control), through frequent contact with ACID, will serve as the prime driver of policy to control humans by showing that the plants are doing the humans a favor by eating them, as it keeps their population under control. A Goreacle will be installed to help the IPCC control the masses.
There will be a major effort to eliminate the army of ones, the WUWT (World Understanding Weather Traits), as any independent thinking will have a detrimental effect on the combined efforts and effects of the EPA, ACID, POT, IPCC, and the Goreacle. This underground army is believed to be led by Anthony Watts, but due to the independent nature of its members there could be hundreds of thousands of cells.
I will now meet with a representitive of BEER ( … ).
Look up Curiosity on Discovery and in particular their look at Project Blue Beam
Is it April Fool’s Day?
Someone must be putting on a con, right?
I skimmed through the report and thought it looked like a fun little paper. Of course the Guardian picked up just one of very many possible scenarios and twisted it.
Josh could have a field day with this.
I always wondered where Al Gore got his ideas from…
Al and Alf discussing climate change
Come to think of it… Alf’s “Dad”, Willie, looked a lot like Joe Lieberman… 😉
Apologies if someone else has mentioned this – but wasn’t this scenario about aliens taking the liberty over careless earthlings a film with Keanu Reeves…? The Day the Earth stood still (remake – not the wonderful original) – a piece of green propaganda bilge.
The mere idea that atmospheric composition without knowing about the underlying system of oceans, landmass, ecosystems and their interactions would indicate anything to an outside observer is indicative that these people only work on one cylinder and never get the whole picture.
Question: If mace is a spround srang, and I have a bright hat, what time is it in Copenhagen?
Answer: a fly paper!
Correct!
Trusting the scientists that Joh Huntsman trusts.
This one has my vote for all time whatever you call it.
For anyone who is interested,
Here is the authors web site
http://sethbaum.com/
Can anyone please explain to me why/how this obvious crackpot is able to produce this utter nonesense (presumably) at the US taxpayers expense and even worse subsequently get it ‘peer reviewed’ and published?
Here is his CV
http://sethbaum.com/cv.pdf
Note the ‘advisor’ for his PhD ‘Discounting Across Space and Time in Climate
Change Assessment’ is one William Ewart Easterling
http://www.eesi.psu.edu/people/Easterling.shtml
http://www.ems.psu.edu/easterling
http://www.ems.psu.edu/sites/default/files/u5/vita/Easterling_Resume.pdf
who is the Dean of EMS at PSU which makes him Michael E. Mann’s (http://www.meteo.psu.edu/~mann/Mann/) boss.
Enough said I think?
http://www.smbc-comics.com/index.php?db=comics&id=1623
http://www.smbc-comics.com/comics/20090830.gif
/yep, nuff said.
“OOOOHHH Baby! SHAG me!”
The plot of the next psychadelic Bond movie has been born.
Well, Michael Crichton did tell us, tongue firmly in cheek, how space aliens (or, rather, a belief in space aliens) cause global warming. Now we have “scientists” telling us, in all seriousness, that space aliens could forcibly terminate global warming.
If these characters are worried about how space aliens should react to us, they should be less concerned with greenhouse gases, and much more concerned over potential alien concern that global warming psychosis (and other popular eco-psychoses) are possibly contagious and thus Earth should be forcibly quarantined (or worse).
This has to take the award for climate craziness of the week, no contest.
Mark Baker says:
August 18, 2011 at 9:34 pm
“Maybe I have had a bit too much of the Old Pulteney tonight but I cannot believe anybody actually wrote this as a serious endeavor. Somebody, somewhere planted this article and The Guardian picked it up or The Guardian knows it is crap and printed it anyway. I especially liked the section about not broadcasting anything that could tell the Aliens about the biological make up of humans. Isn’t that what we broadcast every hour every day?”
Actually, it is a good use of the Precautionary Principle. There is a finite chance that an advanced alien civilization exists (by “finite,” we mean that a finite number of zeros is needed to express the probability). There is a finite chance that the aliens might become pissed off because of our global warming. Therefore, the Precautionary Principle demands that we take action to prevent to possibility that Earth might be destroyed by Green Pissed Off Aliens. We must take action to reverse global warming and to create defenses appropriate for aliens. We will have new taxes on energy and new taxes for defense. In a way, it is sort of a Left-Right political compromise.
So, let me get this straight. Scientists have been arguing that current and future CO2 production will cause catastrophes and destruction, thus, eliminating most of humanity. They say, to save ourselves, we need to reduce CO2 emissions. But, now, the theory is our destructive CO2 and the production and technology related to it’s emission, if left unchecked, will make us too strong to destroy so the aliens will have to destroy us preemptively??? I kind of like the alien theory better, all things considered.
GORT! klaatu barada nikto CO2-O
Merovign says:
August 18, 2011 at 6:07 pm
“Any one of use could make exactly the same argument with equal force on any topic you could think of.”
Yes, that is the folly of the Precautionary Principle. Unfortunately, the Head of the EPA, Lisa Jackson, has cited the Precautionary Principle as one justification for the EPA treating CO2 as a threat to humans.
You are all being TOO skeptical.
Penn state is absolutely correct!
Michael Mann is an alien! He was dispatched to the Earth to regress it’s technology, stimulate a return of ice age glaciation, and cause the extinction of a possible competitor. This dastardly plot, even recruits duped and zombified humans to aid in their own destruction.
They are here, and there doesn’t seem to be much we can do about it!
Doom, doom, and double doom. GK