Risk

 I’ve found myself in some online discussion threads discussing risk.

• I made a post over at Angry Bear blog about iron fertilization of phytoplankton in the pelagic ocean to increase carbon capture. Some posts in the discussion thread dismissed it as too risky. While I had acknowledged some risks in my post, I pointed out that doing nothing is risky (increasing risk of infectious disease, more expensive food and water, resource wars) and that simply converting to green energy won’t remove the greenhouse gases already in the atmosphere;

• I made a post on Facebook about the risks of using semaglutide for weight loss. Yes, all drugs have risks, but untreated obesity is risky, too (heart disease, cancer, hip/joint problems).

Life is risky. It’s easy to focus on a new and unfamiliar risk and ignore routine and familiar risks. People buy and carry guns out of fear that they will be injured or killed by a stranger with a gun. The data clearly show that if you are going to be injured or killed by a stranger, that stranger will most likely be wielding a steering wheel, not a gun.

If you’re worried about cancer, eat plenty of fruits and vegetables, exercise, maintain a healthy weight and use sunscreen. Get regular colonoscopies, breast exams, skin exams and prostate exams, particularly if you have a first degree relative who had cancer before the age of 70.

As for climate change, if we don’t figure out how to remove greenhouse gases from the atmosphere, the loss of albedo from snow/ice-covered areas, increase carbon dioxide release from thawing permafrost and release of methane from frozen clathrates will drive increasing warming for decades even if all anthropogenic greenhouse gas production ceases.

You can’t avoid risk, you can only manage it. Carpe diem, peeps!