Oh, this is rich. Apparently just over 30 years ago scientists were worried about the wealth of evidence pointing at global cooling. So is global warming a real problem today? S’far as I’m concerned, the jury’s still out on that particular verdict.
Oh, this is rich. Apparently just over 30 years ago scientists were worried about the wealth of evidence pointing at global cooling. So is global warming a real problem today? S’far as I’m concerned, the jury’s still out on that particular verdict.
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Be careful there, you’ll incite the Global Warming cult zealots on you with talk like that.
But… yes. I think we have far too little understanding of the natural heating and cooling of our planet to reliably attribute *ALL* forms of global warming on humans alone.
Never mind that a single supervolcanic eruption such as yellowstone produces enough ash to cover an entire continent and fill Earth’s atmosphere with sulfur dioxide (and every other kind of harmful oxide) — and inevitably sends the planet into a global cooling.
Not that we shouldn’t conserve our environment — we absolutely should, in addition to finding more efficient power sources (for the sake of efficient power itself).
I like to view the “humans-are-evil-for-destroying-the-planet” sentiment as being akin to good old-fashioned Catholic guilt. We need something to feel bad about so we can commiserate with others, launch crusades, lambast our enemies while feeling good about our own actions.
Global warming is nothing but plain old primitive tribalism rearing its ugly head.
In other words, continue to recycle and be concerned, but don’t become religious about environmentalism. Lest you make people like me prefer terms like ‘conservationism’ to simply avoid being lumped in the same category as alarmist radicals with a unifying political power agenda.
Couldn’t have said it better myself, Eric. That’s effectively my take on the whole issue, as well.
Mike McConnell (700 WLW in Cincinnati) talks about this all the time! The truth of the matter is the globe goes through periods of warming and cooling over the course of time. It has had it’s points of warmth and it’s points of cold (like the glacial period), and humanity has been responsible for little to none of it! It’s just the course of nature.
McConnell also points out that in history during times that have been largely warmer times, they have been relatively peaceful times of plenty when crops have been good and people well fed. So he says, “If it’s going to get warmer, I welcome it.”
The dumbest thing, though, that I’ve heard people say is that global warming is going to cause an ice age…. How does that make sense???
It’s also very hypocritical that this Live Earth concert group is spending all this time and money and energy (BURNING CARBON!!) to raise the awareness for this issue. It’s just a bunch of publicity and Al Gore hopes it’s going to launch another Presidential campaign for him – which shows he’s desperate.
My suggestion is actually read the article and look at their data, their conclusions are based on only a couple of years observation and they (National Academy of Science) admit they don’t have the basic data to even ask the right questions. Re-look at their data, it shows temperatures are higher. There’s a trend downward on temps, but overall they’re higher. Think we might have gathered more knowledge, more data and from more source points since the 70s?
You know, back when we thought dinosaurs were slow and drug their tails on the ground, and when a diagnosis of cancer (of any type) was a (quick) death sentence and the height of video games was Pong?
We now have so much more data, and faster computers, that we can now see mega trends (much of the data used in this article has a limited sample range, that is only the northern hemisphere).
The globe does go through periods of warming and cooling. That was a part of the original “cooling” warning. In 1975 we were two decades past the longest warming cycle known (and still known). This feed into their climate predictions leading them to see that the increased equitorial temps and periodic cooler temps in the northernm hemisphere signaled we were about to start the change. So we are now half a century out and still warming. This is the longest, and most intense warming cycle the world has known for the past million plus years (as far as we can see with tree-ring and ice-core date).
As to how warming can cause freezing, it’s possible that the increased fresh water from glacial melt can affect ocean currents (which provide much of the warmth outside the tropics). We’re already seeing changes at the poles in these currents. If the Gulf Stream should shift (or close down) that would me colder temps for NW Europe and the East Coast of the US.