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)
================================================================
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.
Discover more from Watts Up With That?
Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.
At least this was supposed to be fiction:
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1300563/
The Age of Stupid
“A future archivist looks at old footage from the year 2008 to understand why humankind failed to address climate change. “
As my daughter would say: “LOL”
It presumes a value system similar to some of our own but then, that’s the Guardian, madder than a box of frogs!
Maybe They will simply come here to steal our carbon dioxide to help thaw their frozen world.
Unflippingbelievable! File this under WTF (Winning The Future).
Robert of Ottawa says:
August 19, 2011 at 11:07 am
“I find drinking beer regularlry has prevented aliens from invading Earth.”
=============================================
I can’t argue with what is proven to work.
I haven’t seen an alien yet, so keep hoisting that glass. After all, it’s to “save the planet” and it’s all “for the children.”
Well so much for the Prime Directive.
“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.”
Be sure to tell them all – http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V3FnpaWQJO0
The science fiction is settled!
Where is the scientific evidence that other civilizations in our galaxy:
(1) even exist?
(2) are any more advanced than we are?
(3) don’t have their own problems?
(4) even know/care what kind of gas we are passing?
Maybe they are looking at earth through their telescopes, terrified that we’re coming to get them…
Report author: “… Oops, did I just click Reply All
New phrase, beyond Fonzi’s “Jumping the Shark” as a term of bottom-of-the-barrel desperation.
Now we have alarmists who’ve reached the bottom, having “Jumped to Aliens.”
Was any one of the authors member of the failed Pennstate Climategate Michael Mann inquiry ?
Robert of Ottawa says:
August 19, 2011 at 11:07 am
I find drinking beer regularlry has prevented aliens from invading Earth.
====================================================
Robert, you are confusing cause and effect… I suggest you repeat the experiment.
So I click on the PaleBlue.blog and all I see is a guy in a canoe from NASA back-paddling.
I’m still waiting for R Gates to comment on this peer reviewed paper published in a scientific journal.
I won’t hold my breath.
reply to: mark wagner says: August 18, 2011 at 6:58 pm
You’re welcome Mark, I try to ‘help’ where I can in situations like this. {VBG}
“Don’t bogart that grant, my friend. Pass it over to me….”
George Turner says:
August 18, 2011 at 2:45 pm
“I, for one, look forward to an invasion attempt by these alien idiots who can stare at thousands of planets for millions of years and not realize that atmospheric gases change over time.”
I agree with George, but for a different reason. Think about all of the past Star Trek episodes. Has any other single male besides me noticed that most of the alien women are really hot? Even the Borg queen. If any of you are monitoring this blog from afar, perhaps you could refer me to a reputable intergalactic dating website? 🙂
Hey! it makes perfect sense.
Really, look at the long term record:
1 – earth gets warmer
2 – CO2 goes up
3 – earth gets cooler
Now we know why it gets cooler after CO2 rises: it’s nuclear winter, brought on by worried alien greens each time.
In all honesty, mankind might want to first try to find a realistic answer to to the question ‘What is life?’ (or, the more basic form: ‘What’s the difference between a live cat and a dead cat?’). All this speculation about ETI skips that step. If we don’t really understand what life is, how in the world would we predict how much of it might be out there, and what it might think of us?
Personally, I blame this type of pseudo-science on the mental illness I call ‘Masters of the Universe complex’.
If you read their definition of ‘universalist,’ it said: “a universalist ETI is one that desires to maximize the interests of everyone, regardless of which civilization they are part of.”
Well, that’s pretty close to how democrats view themselves. In fact, in some circles democrats are viewed as internationalists. Nice of them to blow their own horns…
Steve from Rockwood said August 19, 2011 at 3:30 pm:
The lack of aliens invading Earth is causing Robert to drink beer regularly?
Are you conducting your own similar experiments?
[Robt requests additional data be gathered, more research into the alien/beer ratio be determined. As soon as possible, Robt ] 8<)
Well I dunno. It sounds as credible as anything else the warmers have to say. 🙂
“Robt requests additional data be gathered, more research into the alien/beer ratio be determined. As soon as possible, Robt ”
My grant application is in the mail…..have you noticed the cost of good beer?
From Dave Worley on August 19, 2011 at 7:39 pm:
Did you remember to tie it to global warming? If not, you might be stuck with National Bohemian.
For additional anecdotal evidence, I never got in the habit of regular beer drinking, haven’t had any booze in years, and yet the Earth has still not been attacked by aliens. BTW, my lack of beer drinking may be traced to exposure to National Bohemian back in college. Cheapest stuff available, and almost worth the price.
Heh, I wonder who on their PR staff wrote the Wikipedia entry (emphasis added):
Health benefits? I will note there are many touting the health benefits of drinking urine as well.
Should they now note the health benefit of avoiding alien invasions? Off to your research, Dave!