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Comment Re:What is Bruce Schneier's game? (Score 1) 397

If the NSA were to require them to install a secret backdoor then the NSA would be compromising the security of all of their government customers because they don't sell two different versions of their software, it is the same for all customers.

Unless the product has been certified for use with classified information, that's not much of an assurance. The government has its own internally-developed tools -- which presumably it has confidence in (SIPRNet, etc.) -- for protecting information that it deems sensitive. The NSA might well decide that subverting a commercial tool is worth the risk of compromising something that's used by the government, but only in relatively trivial ways.

I don't know enough to impugn Zimmerman et al, but I don't think "it's used by the government!" is necessarily a great seal of approval, unless it's a formal certification (e.g. NSA Type 1 listing) saying that it can be used to protect classified information. And I'm not aware of any COTS software products that are on the Type 1 list; the NSA only approves particular hardware implementations (at least that I've seen, though I'm happy to be corrected although I'd be surprised).

Comment Re:An extreme response ... (Score 1) 341

First of all, we're tracking at or above the A1FI scenario (the worst case considered) and there's no sign of changing that.

Secondly, the IPCC has always been very conservative. Many scientists say that 2m/6ft is what we'll see by 2100 and a few (like Hansen) even predict much higher numbers. Also, sea level rise won't magically stop in 2100.

Comment Re:Something will have to give (Score 1) 416

Much of the fresh water used today is fossil water. Desalination uses large amounts of energy, making it a nonstarter except in places like Saudi Arabia (until their oil runs out.)
There is no shortage of energy, just the prices go through the roof. There is enough fossil fuel available to drive CO2 to 1,000 ppmv.
Resources such as phosphorus and potassium are diluted into a unusable form (runoff) by agriculture.

Comment Re:Something will have to give (Score 2, Informative) 416

Efficiency improvements have never been able to compensate for growth. They aren't even today in the US. All reduction in energy consumption was due to the recession, as the recent record numbers for oil consumption show.

Malthus was only delayed by the fossil fuel bonanza which is coming to an end.

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The most exciting phrase to hear in science, the one that heralds new discoveries, is not "Eureka!" (I found it!) but "That's funny ..." -- Isaac Asimov

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