Mathematics, Water, and Global Warming

All our surest statements about the nature of the world are mathematical statements, yet we do not know what mathematics “is” . . . and so we find that we have adapted a religion strikingly similar to many traditional faiths. Change “mathematics” to “God” and little else might seem to change. The problem of human contact with some spiritual realm, of timelessness, of our inability to capture all with language and symbol—all have their counterparts in the quest for the nature of Platonic mathematics.  (John D. Barrow, English cosmologist, theoretical physicist, and mathematician)

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This looks as if it could be a very interesting book:

“This Will Help You Grasp the Sizes of Things in the Universe”

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From Smithsonian.com:  “Rare Desert Pterosaur Fossil Discovered in Utah: The rare Triassic fossil is the most complete early pterosaur ever found, and gives new insight into the evolution of the first flying vertebrates”

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This is something to be deeply concerned about:

“More than 2 billion people lack safe drinking water. That number will only grow.  As populations grow and climate change shrinks freshwater stores, water scarcity takes center stage”

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Perhaps related:

“As waters rise, coastal megacities like Mumbai face catastrophe: For coastal megacities like Mumbai, rising seas and weather chaos linked with climate change threaten economic and social disaster.”

“Why sea level rise varies from place to place: The impact of global sea level rise varies regionally, thanks to these factors.”

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I have no very strong opinion on the matter of global climate change, nor on the question, if it’s actually occurring, whether humans are a major factor in it.

However, I have friends who do.  One is a professor of geology at BYU.  He believes, if I’m not mistaken, that the earth’s climate is changing, and that humans bear at least some of the blame.  The other is a former BYU faculty member in engineering, educated entirely (through to his Ph.D.) at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.  He passionately doesn’t believe in anthropogenic (or human-caused) global warming.

It’s important enough that I suppose I should be paying more attention, but . . . well, I haven’t been.  There are only so many hours in the day, and I have lots and lots of interests.  Moreover, I’ve figured that whether I spend a lot of time on the issue or not, and whether or not I believe in anthropogenic global warming, my opinion will have little or no impact on the political, economic, and environment decisions that will be made and no real effect on the fate of the earth, whatever that may turn out to be.

However, I admit that I’m becoming somewhat more interested.