The part of the speech that jumped out at me was:
"He told a story about how a neighbor asked him what good the lizards are that he studies. He answered, “What good are you?”"
From which point of view is Prof Pianka speaking? It can't be the POV of the universe, since it isn't conscious. If the POV is Reason's, well, reason being an abstract state of mind wholly peculiar to man would put man in a priviliged position the quote denies.
Science offers the certainty of misery and extinction. Christianity offers hope and eternal life. I think I know who the victor will be.

It's hard to figure out where he's coming from, but one thing is clear. 'Science' is a religion here.

One of the fascinating things about the many (52!) comments I got on this post, from February, was the extreme reluctance of certain people to accept that there are ANY metaphysical assumptions underlying science. Science = TRUTH!

I think a LOT of people feel the need for something that explains the universe, and imagine naively that science can fit the bill. But science can not tell us if the extinction of the Dodo was good or bad. Only that it happened.

Terry,

Science, when perverted by the likes of Dr. Pianka, can offer death and misery. It can also offer hope and the nearest thing to immortality this mortal world can offer. It need not be opposed to Christianity.

I think it's noteworthy that Dr. Pianka remarks that one of the "problems" associated with the present alleged overpopulation is a reduction of average IQ. Methinks Dr. Pianka imagines himself an Alpha (to borrow from Huxley's "Brave New World") and finds it icky that he has to associate with mere Betas, let alone Gammas, Deltas, and Epsilons.

What an arrogant inhuman bastard!

John,

Um, not to revive that argument from February, but....

Science itself is not truth-- it's a process for discovering truth, or if you prefer, worldly truth. There may be otherworldly truths, but science isn't equipped-- and cannot be equipped-- to discover them.

What is sad is that Dr. Pianka and his fellow travelers cannot admit the possibility that there is more to this world than what we see, directly or indirectly. There lies their arrogance, from which flows their inhumanity.

Be strong, Weidner. Resist temptation!

I plan to be in the remaining 10%, and also plan to bean this scientist with a baseball bat so he can join the missing majority when his apocalypse comes.

By the way: he studies lizards, and says he are no more important than bacteria. How many lizards are studying him?

John writes:

"Be strong, Weidner. Resist temptation!"

Heh. :) Good! Now, if I can only resist my inclination to act like a troll..... :)

I suffer from the sin of Pride as much as the next guy, and so I don't suffer foolishness gladly. That's why I get twitchy when people start holding up creeps like Dr. Pianka as model scientists (not that you did, John), and then use such creeps to bash science generally as inherently and implacably hostile to religion.

I know we have our differences about the proper view of science, John. I think yours owes much to Catholicism, where mine has more of a Byzantine Greek flavor-- Inner Learning versus Outer Learning, as the Greeks put it. My point only was that creeps like Dr. Pianka are somehow hollow men-- they seem to have no inner life that could be called Christian, and so the teachings of the Inner Learning are lost on them. *sigh*

Maybe I should convert to Orthodox Christianity instead of groping back to an old-fashioned Episcopalianism....

Hale, I know what your point was---I was just teasin'

Speaking as a former Episcopalian, I'd say....well, hmmm, stop. Never mind.

Maybe I'll just say that it might be a useful way station on the path to Christianity. And the music's great!

Hmm. The article said he condemned Al Gore by name. Sounds more like one of the CONSERVATIVE elites. You know, the kind that think that everyone but them is worth so much less?

This is probably hard for a lefty to comprehend, but conservatives in general do not think Al Gore, (or Mr Pianka) are worth less than us. God loves us all the same.

We think their ideas and their principles and values are worth less. And we explain why we think so, using facts and logic. Which our opponents then side-step, with silly cracks like yours, rather than refuting or debating.

Why you chose to label an obvious nutcase as representing the views of a "Liberal Elite" is beyond me. You might just as well call him part of the "Conservative Elite" or, for that matter the "Tinfoil Hat Wearing Elite."

Whatever the actual validity of the "elite" meme, inferring that the views of people like this are representative of any group with shich you are having this discussion distorts things out of recognition.

Oh yeah, and I'm hardly a lefty. Where did you get that?

Pianka's work in Herpetology and in Evolutionary Ecology is inductive ( evidence-based ) and highly statistical and very original. His papers and books are among the most highly cited - and if they were blogs - they would be near the top of the eco-sphere for that subject. He is a gifted and very popular instructor and speaker. He is very perceptive and very fun to argue with.

When the authority in population-energy-time studies tells you there is a problem, the real question is "Should I listen and look at his data?"

All Pianka has done is apply his methods to human populations and their relationship to the planet.

Yes, its shocking that a noted and popular man would advocate airborne Ebola.

But is it not equally shocking that he says the current rate of consumption of natural resources is unsustainable - or does each of us on some level agree with him?

It's not shocking, I've been hearing it since the 70's.None of the predictions have panned out.

And I do not agree. Our resources are increasing, because they are created by human ingenuity, and the number of humans is increasing. Our proven reserves of oil have been increasing since 1940. Most natural resources are declining in price, in constant dollars, and have been since 1900. Air and water pollution in developed countries has been steadily declining for decades...

Pianka's position has nothing to do with resources. He is part of the Death Lobby.

Update:

Dr Pianka has received death threats and his talented and tight-knit family ( which includes a USAF fighter pilot) has been terrorized by fanatics - especially militant Creationists who have made unfounded allegations to the FBI.

The bright side of things is that sales of Pianka's wonderful books have skyrocketed and will have to go into reprint.

--

It is true that wealth comes from human ingenuity - but only if humans are free to think and to gather facts and then act on them. Dissent is part of the process.

If oil is so abundant, how come it is over $60 a barrel?

If its so abundant, how is it the US produces HALF the oil today that it produced in the 70s?

How come the rate of discovery of new fields is exceeded by current world production by 10 times?

Do you know WHY we moved to an Oil economy at the turn of the century or why we moved to Coal in the 18th? Something became scarce.

The West is cleaner BECAUSE people were warning about these issues, and people listened, not because it magically occured. Facts won out over fanaticism.

It is a fact that lizards, songbirds, amphibians, and habitat are decreasing around the world. It is a fact that water and oil are becoming scarce and that watersheds are under stress due to development. It is a fact that fisheries that were abundant in the past - such as Cod or Lobster - are now in collapse. It is a fact that soil erosion has destroyed the fertility of much of the sloped land in the world.

It is not to say these issues cannot be addressed, but to stick your head in your beliefs and not face the facts and those who have found them is irrational.