Who Am I?

So who is Greg R? For reasons that I will explain, I have chosen not to reveal my identity online in what can be fairly robust discussions.

No, this is not me.    CC-BY-SA-3.0 Blue Plover

I was born in a rural area of a third world country but am very lucky that my family moved to a first world country when I was young. I was your classic nerd throughout my teens and had a love for science and learning that has never abated. As a young man I had strong environmental leanings and remember as a University student writing letters to politicians supporting environmental causes (causes that I still believe in). I completed a Science degree at University (taking units in the physical sciences, mathematics and computer science) but I have to admit that I was never even taught the scientific method as part of that degree. A postgraduate research degree enabled me to then work performing research followed by a career in IT.

Throughout my adult life I have been totally turned against the environmental movement in general as I've seen it taken over by people who seem to hate reason, hate humans, hate progress, and worship nature. But at the same time, many of my beliefs and actions are very similar to the environmental movement. In fact I have been involved in several areas that see me working closely with people in the environmental movement. This is why I choose not to reveal my identity on this and other blogs. Challenging the science behind people's belief systems can too easily lead to broken relationships which I want to avoid.

I've been participating in a number of conversations on blogs and forums. My approach has been to try and use the scientific process, to focus on the actual data and if it supports a position or falsifies it. In a number of cases I have been able to engage with people. Rarely has anyone from the alarmist side of the discussion been willing to look at the data and see what it says, but I have called on people to look at the data for themselves and see if it supports the predictions made or not. When posting on other people's blogs you are at their mercy as to whether or not they will let you comment and it's been good that my posts weren't blocked. But the situation that drove me to set up this blog is where I was cut out of a conversation, it appears because I attempted to counter their arguments with empirical evidence. If I want to have my say, I need my own blog so here we are.

Permaculture

Over at Temperate Climate Permaculture, John Kitsteiner describes himself as a "fundamental Conservative Christian Evidenced-Based-Environmentalist Libertarian". I can align myself with all those labels too which is probably one of the reasons I get so much out of his blog. But permaculture brings me into contact with a diverse range of people, many who are incredibly different to myself.

One of the greatest strengths of permaculture is a philosophy not too different from the scientific process. I really want to align myself with the permaculture movement but I do worry that some of the most prominent proponents have bought into the CAGW theory and the wider population might link permaculture to it through their activities. This is the reason I decided to start commenting over at the Permaculture Research Institute's Permaculture News blog on some of their global warming articles. I don't want to see what is arguably the leading permaculture news site to be seen as just an enclave of people pushing CAGW.

I believe permaculture brings solutions to many of the environmental problems we face. Projects such as Greening the Desert show how even in the worst of locations permaculture can transform the landscape, creating a productive environment. This year I will be completing a Permaculture Design Course and who knows if it will take me anywhere career wise, but on a personal level it will enable me to take work on my own property a lot further.