I recently saw a depressing article on bbc wherein science has determined that
the already catastrophic results of greenhouse gas will stay in effect for AT LEAST
1000 years; regardless of any real time decrease in the amount of emissions now.
If one is to believe this “scientific” prediction, then the efforts to curb emissions
are not only too little too late, but in fact of no help at all for our future.
Some researchers believe that the current rate of global warming will raise
sea levels by 5 meters in the next 90 years. So long New York, L.A., New Orleans
and Bangladesh…Mass migrations of low- lying populations will be the issue for
our grandchildren. And we’re worried about a few million “illegal” Latinos…

There is more than meets the eye.

March 24, 2009

The headline says: Stranded whales returned to sea off SW Australia

Did they realy save those whales (7 out of 70 that died) or just prolong their agony considering what mankind is doing to, what long has been thought of, oceans too mighty to ever be ravaged, but has finaly reached that point, and is continually being degraded from there?
Oh well, spend a few million dollars doing a study on the rate of degradation just as is being done on the rate of global warning.

When we get there, we will know precisely how long it took, we are masters at doing that.

Visited my daughter once in Denver. On the trip up to the mountains, pulled up to a scenic stop overlooking an expansive valley. There were pictures of a clear day where one could distinctly see all the way across to the mountain on the other side. Then it depicted other days, with what could aptly be called a no view, because not more than several feet from the scenic stop, nothing could be seen but a grayish haze. But the information display informed us about the highy sophisticated measuring device that could detect the minutist pollution particles that combined in such larger numbers to almost turn day into night.

I recall, I think it was sometime during the 80’s, a report of researchers preserving a sample of the air somewhere out west in the mountains, a rare location that held the least amount of contaminant of anywhere in the US, to use as a comparison in the future to what it was like at one time.

Can’t do anything about it, but carry on mighty engineers and scientists so that we can rest with assurance, knowing that the utmost calculation is being done, and of course, keep an accurate record of the casualties. Carry on you whales too, knowing that your life is in good hands.

It is time, it is time, the soothsayer said.

Don from Real Union Of Social Science (google it)

I suppose a Club of Rome Part 2 will convene over the crisis of global cooling. The centralizers of the world need more tax revenue going into more oligarchic and unaccountable hands. I hope enough wise people will scream at Congress to head off this insanity, because another systemic tax like this will kill the western world.

This is a joke.  Quick, one person, name for me the NUMBER ONE producer of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere?  Second, what is the % of emissions from automobiles?  Third, how much has the earth warmed overall in the last 12 years?

Answers are:
1 - “Black dirt” - this is the layer of carbon under the soil, mostly formed by burned detritus.  For example, forest fires.  This alone issues more carbon dioxide into the atmosphere than any other source AND it emits for up to thousands of years AND man has no control over it.

2 - Automobile usage contributes less than 5% of carbon dioxide emissions into the atmosphere, so leave my SUV alone.  Also, another fact, the Toyota Prius, from start of production through five years of service, actually causes more environmental damage than a Ford Expedition.  Mainly because it uses nickel based batteries from a source in Canada (one of top 5 polluters on earth) and all the parts are shipped to Japan and back as completed to the US (and not on a sailing ship).

3 - The overall mean temperature of the Earth for the last 12 years cumulative has dropped by 1/10th of one degree celsius.  Where’s the warming.

My point is, even if you do believe in Global Warming, and I don’t know if I do (and I’m not on a “corporate payroll, whatever that idiotic comment meant), if you take the time to look at things objectively, you’ll see that the science behind this is so up in the air it’s laughable.  Models that are inherently biased, measurements that either taken out of context, plain wrong, or simply ignored, etc.

If you ask me, throughout history anytime a group of people become so fervent about a subject that they refuse to even listen to another viewpoint, they are usually either wrong or trying to hide something.

I do believe in the point about the overpopulation, however.  With China as the world’s single worst polluter, and no existing or imagined treaty planned to halt that, even at 1 child per couple that would still add 270 million people, a 20% increase, to China alone (assumes 1.2B currently, 60% of the people become married and half have a child).

That’s my 2 cents.

Sure is amazing how fast the deniers get on the spot. Almost like they are being paid to search the net and slam anything related to global climate change.

Jason!!,

So, what corporation’s name is on your pay, or dividend, check? Are you paid by the hour or by the denial?

“it is difficult to get a man to understand something when his salary depends upon his not understanding it” - Upton Sinclair

“global climate change has emerged as one of the most critical and contentious security issues of the 21st century”

Um, very true - but don’t forget about an even bigger security issue (for life that is) resource depletion and all “we” will do to keep the cars running and the shoppers shopping…

Nothing matters if we don’t control the explosive growth of our population. I don’t understand why this issue is not being discussed. Efforts to reduce carbon are only window dressing to the very real problem we face. China’s one child policy needs to be emulated on a global level.

Excellent article. Ritter is right that global warming and its consequences far outweigh all other issues. I’m glad our present administration is on it but they face the resistance of not only repugs but of a powerful ruling class used to calling the shots. The other aspect of this is that even with the best success in greenhouse gas reduction, climate change is coming and we will have to adapt. That means physically restructuring our society for the different world of the near future as well as working globally in insure that basic necessities get where people need them to avoid massive migration and war.

“Global Warming” is a scam!