Mr. James Bud Alcock

• 
  06/26/01 -- Amazon Forest Could Vanish Fast - [Cached Version]
  Published on: 6/26/2001    Last Visited: 1/6/2006  

  Professor James (Bud) Alcock said his research shows that if there is
  ...
  deforestation on regional and global climates, Alcock said his study
  ...
  These species not only depend on the rainforest, Alcock said - the
  ...
  because the forest itself is endangered," said Alcock.
  ...
  trees to return water to the air," said Alcock, noting that the sheer
  
  size of the Amazon River Basin has already been reduced by about 25
  ...
  Alcock noted."It's a very difficult problem because of several
  
  pressures.
  ...
  rainforest, but Alcock said damage to the overall system would
  ...
  Alcock presented his findings on Monday at a joint conference of the
  
  Geology Society of America and the Geology Society of London titled,
  
  "Earth System Processes," in Edinburgh, Scotland.
  
  Alcock said he decided to do the research so he could better explain
  ...
  James Alcock, of Pennsylvania State University, says the forest could
  
  virtually disappear within half a century.
  
  His estimate of the possible rate of destruction is faster than most
  
  others and Mr Alcock, professor of environmental sciences at Penn
  ...
  Professor Alcock is presenting his findings at a conference in
  ...
  Professor Alcock, who says the size of the Amazon river basin has
  ...
  Professor Alcock says plans to preserve small areas of forest would
  ...
  Professor Alcock said: "There are already a large number of species
  
  that are endangered, because the forest itself is endangered.

• 
  2003 GSA Annual Meeting - Geoscience Horizons - PR -... - [Cached Version]
  Published on: 10/13/2003    Last Visited: 3/20/2004  

  James "Bud" Alcock, professor of environmental sciences at the Penn State Abington campus, said that a model he has prepared indicates that global warming and other environmental factors in play today may alter the natural cycle of these warming and cooling periods.He will present these findings to the Geological Society of America at the organization's annual meetings on Nov. 2-5, in Seattle.
  
  "The underlying causes of the warm and cool cycles are thought to be tied to the earth's orbit in relation to the sun - the distance change and the earth's tilt.The differences seem small compared with what appears to happen as a result on earth," said Alcock."There's a very delicate balance to our climate system.With carbon dioxide becoming a fixture in the atmosphere as a result of burning fossil fuels and the global warming that results, there's a distinct possibility that this balance can be altered and that the earth's climate could behave quite differently."
  
  Alcock noted: "I don't think any knowledgeable scientist thinks global warming is a good thing for the environment."However, he added that some northern areas might benefit in this instance, and if there were no consequences, it would be better than a return to the time when large parts of the United States - including Manhattan and parts of upstate Pennsylvania - were covered by ice some 20,000 years ago.
  
  Still, he remains concerned that we may disrupt the balance in the climate system and cause it to behave in ways we cannot predict, which might be very harmful to the planet.
  
  "It's a lot like playing Russian roulette.You might get lucky, but why take the chance if it is unnecessary," said Alcock.

• 
  Amazon Links - News in 2001 - [Cached Version]
  Published on: 1/1/2001    Last Visited: 4/13/2007  

  James Alcock, of Pennsylvania State University, says the forest could virtually disappear within half a century.
  
  , AMAZON CHIEF SAYS BIG FIRMS THREATEN FORESTS (JUN 19, 2001) page removed

• 
  Amazon May Pass "Point of No Return" within a Decade - [Cached Version]
  Published on: 10/4/2001    Last Visited: 2/3/2003  

  The day when there is no Amazon rainforest to talk about could be a lot sooner than most people think, says James Alcock, a researcher at Penn State University-Abington.
  
  A professor of environmental sciences, Alcock has developed a mathematical computer model to study deforestation.The current rate of deforestation in the Amazon is estimated at 1 percent per year, but Alcock says that is enough to propel the rainforest beyond the point where it can sustain itself if there are no attempts to change the agricultural, mining, and timber-harvesting practices in the region.
  
  Alcock says his model shows that, if nothing is done to alter these practices, the Amazon could pass "the point of no return" in 10-15 years and essentially disappear in 40-50 years."Alcock's estimates differ markedly from those of other scientists, who have surmised that, under current conditions, the Amazon would remain for at least 150-200 years.
  
  "Tropical forests work, they are dependent on trees to return water to the air," says Alcock."This interdependence of climate and forest means risks to the forests are much closer at hand than what we might expect."
  
  The "interdependence of climate and forest" refers to the dependence of a rainforest's trees on high levels of daily precipitation and their recycling of that precipitation through the process of evapotranspiration-the conversion of water into water vapor that is released into the atmosphere.
  
  Without enough vegetation, the amount of water the rainforest returns to the atmosphere is decreased and the risk of ecosystem instability increases.This conclusion, he says, presents a challenge for those concerned about the Amazon's future.
  ...
  "My study has the potential to be very important for two reasons," says Alcock."It suggests we have very little time to act, and it raises the possibility that interconnections between forest and climate would threaten the ecosystem's sustainability even if we decided to save significant areas as preserves."
  
  However, not everyone agrees that the removal of trees in the Amazon will ultimately alter the sustainability of the region's ecosystem.
  
  ...
  "The key lies in the First World's recognition of the rainforest as an incredibly important global resource," says Alcock."We in developed countries need to work with Brazil, Peru, Colombia, Bolivia, and other countries that contain the Amazon Basin on strategies that create a sustainable ecosystem and that minimize our impact on it."
  
  For information, contact James Alcock, Department of Environmental Sciences, Division of Science and Engineering, Penn State Abington College, Abington, PA 19001-3990; (215) 881-7356; fax (215) 881-7623; jea4@psu.edu.
  
  For related stories,search our Archive. Return to The Forestry Source Current Issue Highlights page.
  
  Return to the SAF Homepage.

• 
  Amazon Rainforest, Climate Change, Protect Rainforest... - [Cached Version]
  Last Visited: 8/20/2008  

  James Alcock, of Pennsylvania State University, says the forest could virtually disappear within half a century.His estimate of the possible rate of destruction is faster than most others and Mr Alcock, professor of environmental sciences at Penn State's Abington College, says the danger lies in a complex feedback process.

• 
  Amazon forest 'could vanish fast' - Topic Powered by... - [Cached Version]
  Published on: 5/7/2001    Last Visited: 11/19/2001  

  James Alcock, of Pennsylvania State University, says the forest could virtually disappear within half a century.
  
  His estimate of the possible rate of destruction is faster than most others and Mr Alcock, professor of environmental sciences at Penn State's Abington College, says the danger lies in a complex feedback process.
  
  Research published in the journal Science earlier this year suggesting that deforestation rates in the Amazon could reach 42% by 2020 were based on unreliable facts and "ecological futurology", Brazil's science and technology ministry said.
  
  Point of no return
  
  But Professor Alcock's forecast, based on a mathematical model of human-driven deforestation, is starker still.
  
  ...
  Professor Alcock is presenting his findings at a conference in Scotland being held jointly by the Geology Societies of America and London.
  
  He hopes to develop his research with fieldwork in the Amazon, although he argues that his model is also a useful predictor of what could happen in the other great tropical forest systems, in south east Asia and the Congo river basin in Africa.
  
  Professor Alcock, who says the size of the Amazon river basin has already been reduced by about 25%, believes the threat lies in a process known as evapotranspiration, in which the rain that falls on a forest is retained and then returned to the atmosphere.
  
  But without a healthy vegetation base, he says, there is little to stop the water running off, and this creates the potential for a highly unstable forest system.
  
  Risks are close
  
  "Because of the way tropical rainforests work, they are dependent on trees to return water to the air", he said.
  
  "This interdependence of climate and forest means risks to the forests are much closer at hand than we might expect.
  
  "It's a very difficult problem because of several pressures.For example, you can't say: 'Leave the rainforests alone' when people are living in poverty."
  
  Professor Alcock says plans to preserve small areas of forest would probably not work, because damage to the overall system would limit the rain necessary for their survival.
  
  Less rain falling on the forest could also increase the likelihood of fires.
  
  Another consequence he foresees is the extinction of many creatures that depend on the forest for survival.
  
  Professor Alcock said: "There are already a large number of species that are endangered, because the forest itself is endangered.
  
  Estimates 'exaggerated'
  
  "We might be able to keep a few animals at the zoos, but we'd surely lose a lot of amphibians, reptiles and insects."

• 
  Brazil: profit and poverty fuel Amazon deforestation - [Cached Version]
  Published on: 9/11/2002    Last Visited: 2/18/2005  

  Pennsylvania State University professor of environmental sciences James Alcock, predicts that if deforestation continues unabated, within 10 to 15 years it will reach a "point of no return," and the entire Amazon rain forest could be wiped out within 40 or 50 years.

• 
  CSICOP and the Skeptics: An Overview by George P.... - [Cached Version]
  Published on: 4/26/2006    Last Visited: 7/23/2008  

  This is apparent in the writings of leading spokespersons such as James Alcock, Martin Gardner, and Paul Kurtz--all members of the Executive Council.
  ...
  James Alcock has made several attempts to associate parapsychology with religion in order to discredit it as a science.One of his concerted attempts was published in Free Inquiry and was entitled "Parapsychology: The ‘Spiritual' Science" (Alcock, 1985).Alcock's feelings toward religion were candidly revealed in his 1981 book, Parapsychology: Science or Magic?, where he asserted:
  ...
  In fact, only one member of the Board of Directors is a scientist (Alcock); the others are philosophers and editors.
  ...
  15 As of March 1991, the Executive Council included James Alcock, Barry Beyerstein, Kendrick Frazier, Martin Gardner, Ray Hyman, Philip Klass, Paul Kurtz, Joe Nickell, Lee Nisbet, and James Randi (personal communication from Barry Karr, March 12, 1991).
  ...
  16 The Board of Directors consists of Alcock, Frazier, Kurtz, and Nisbet.
  ...
  James Alcock (1981) expresses fear in his anticipation of psi application:
  ...
  Alcock's writings provide examples that support this contention. Vilification of advocates of the paranormal.
  ...
  One of the projects was to produce a news magazine format radio show with skeptics such as James Alcock, Susan Blackmore, and Ray Hyman. (For several months the term "Center for Inquiry" was used by CSICOP in more than one context; it now refers only to the headquarters complex [Karr, 1991].)
  ...
  As far as I know, of the three (Alcock, Beyerstein, and Hyman, all psychologists), only Hyman has published even one scientific ESP experiment (McClenon & Hyman, 1987), and that study fell "short of scientific acceptability" under Hyman's (1984-1985, p. 129) own criteria because it was not published in a refereed journal.
  ...
  ALCOCK, J. E. (1981).Parapsychology: Science or Magic?New York: Pergamon.
  
  52 Journal of the American Society for Psychical Research
  
  ALCOCK, J. E. (1985).Parapsychology: The "spiritual" science.Free Inquiry, 5(2), 25-35.
  
  THE AMAZING KRESKIN: BIOGRAPHY. (1988, November 26).

• 
  Edgecase - [Cached Version]
  Published on: 7/28/2001    Last Visited: 8/28/2002  

  The destruction of the Amazon rainforest could be irreversible within a decade, according to James Alcock of Pennsylvania State University.Without immediate and forceful action to change current agricultural, mining and logging practices, he says, the forest could pass the point of no return in 10 to 15 years.His model indicates that the forest, far from having 75 or 100 years to reach total collapse as other researchers predict, could essentially disappear within 40 or 50 years.
  
  Post Comment
  
  Front Page

• 
  Loss of Amazon Rain Forest May Come Sooner Than... - [Cached Version]
  Published on: 6/26/2001    Last Visited: 3/4/2005  

  James (Bud) Alcock, a professor of environmental sciences at the Abington campus of Penn State, reached these conclusions by constructing a mathematical model that used the two million-square-mile Amazon River Basin as an example.
  
  Because moisture is critical to rain forest ecosystems, Alcock studied how the ecosystem responds to changes in natural climate cycles that occur over time when large areas of trees and vegetation are cleared for agriculture, logging, and mining.
  
  "Because of the way tropical rain forests work, they are dependent on trees to return water to the air," he said, adding that about a quarter of the total rain forest in the Amazon River Basin has already disappeared.
  
  The results showed that, with no action to curb the losses, the rain forest could become unsustainable,that is, unable to regenerate and thrive fast enough to maintain its unique ecosystem and the life it supports,within the next decade or so.
  
  Alcock presented his findings June 25 at a joint conference of the Geology Society of America and the Geology Society of London in Edinburgh, Scotland.
  
  Climate-Forest Connection
  
  "The interdependence of climate and forest means risks to the forests are much closer at hand than what we might expect," said Alcock.
  
  He explained: Rain forests require high levels of precipitation, which comes from rain.
  ...
  Alcock said his study differs from most of that work because he focused on how altered weather patterns affect rain forest ecosystems at the local level, rather than studying the interrelationship of tropical deforestation and regional or global climate.
  
  In the Amazon River Basin, Alcock noted, the loss of large areas of forest is likely to bring about the extinction of many species of animals that are dependent on a healthy forest environment.
  
  "There are already a large number of species that are endangered because the forest itself is endangered," he said."We might be able to keep a few animals at the zoos, but we'd surely lose a lot of amphibians, reptiles, and insects.We couldn't take them all."
  
  Halting deforestation is a tough issue for society to address because millions of people living in and near the major remaining rain forests of Brazil, the Congo, and Southeast Asia are heavily dependent on the forest for their livelihood, Alcock noted."You cannot say 'Leave the rain forests alone' when people are living in poverty," he said.
  
  Although Alcock conducted his model-based study at Penn State, he said he hopes to extend the research through field work in the Amazon Basin.
  
  He undertook the present study as a way to better explain the concept of feedback,exemplified by precipitation and evapotranspiration in the rain forest,to his students in an introductory course on earth systems.

Page:  1 2