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Earth's climate changing a.k.a. Global Warming
chrisisall
Brosnan Defender Of The Realm
I was just at a science fiction site where I'm astounded to learn that there are a lot of creative, intelligent & educated folks that attach some kind of hyper-emotional twisted political-conspiratorial thing to a simple, scientifically provable fact, that fact being that the Earth is on a warming trend. Big fights also over whether man is causing it, which I think is rather useless since so WHAT if man IS causing it? It's not like we could just STOP tomorrow, and if it's a natural cyclical function of this planet, all the more reason to not bother with the argument. Oh, but then it goes to man isn't causing it because it's not happening.
Just wondering about people here... is all the science owned & distorted/fabricated by left wing world domination desiring liberal fascists (as some actually say in places), or is the changing climate something that could or will affect our way of life on this planet (specifically, in the area of sea level rise & farm land arability)?
Just wondering about people here... is all the science owned & distorted/fabricated by left wing world domination desiring liberal fascists (as some actually say in places), or is the changing climate something that could or will affect our way of life on this planet (specifically, in the area of sea level rise & farm land arability)?
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Furthermore, evidence can be taken not merely from statistical figures (which one could argue could be bent and twisted), but also from - here goes - common sense. Chemistry 101: heats gets trapped in certain molecules such as methane, carbon dioxide and even water vapour. Burning fossil fuels, by the very nature of the substances, releases large amounts of both carbon dioxide and water vapour. Mind-bogglingly large areas of our planet are spent on cows, who will eventually get slaughtered for the benefit of our hamburger consumption, and who release, from their digestive processes, tremendous amounts of methane. The cumulative effect of all these fast-food cows results in, again, a powerful increase in our atmospheric methane levels.
What's even worse is the runaway effect this will eventually cause. By that I mean that the more we keep our planet's heat trapped within its atmosphere, the more the Earth's average temperature rises. While this only includes a mere few degrees at most over an entire century, this means, on a global scale, a massive vaporization of liquid water. As more water thus enters our atmosphere, the global warming effect increases even further, resulting in more vaporization, and so on. Hence, the runaway effect. At one point, things will inevitably grow beyond our control and Earth sadly becomes Mars 2.0.
Some say: what damage could it do? Things get a little hotter... so what? It's bloody cold during Autumn and Winter; I could use a bit of warmth. Obviously it's much worse than that. Firstly, ice caps melt, causing vast amounts of liquid water to pour into the ocean. Larger waves and general oceanic unrest lead to more tsunamis and unpredictable weather conditions, a retaking of land by the seas and so on. Secondly, as the Earth heats up, it tends to lose hold on its atmosphere, causing the various gasses we need to breath and to protect us from hostile radiation from space to float outward into space. Basically, the same thing that happened to Mercury, the Moon and Mars, would happen to us.
I'm quite honestly a trifle worried, though I'm by no means an environmentalist in the 'political' sense. I consider myself a sober-minded scientist above all, but I'm nonetheless worried.
You're correct and there's one more thing, freak weather this planet has gotten. Like the major heat wave we had last summer. Is that a good example?
Exactly, one of the effects is that we will experience extreme meteorological phenomena such as extremely cold winters coupled with incredibly hot summers, lots of rain followed by brutal droughts, etc.
Well, we need to do something, question is, what? Kinda too late to just shut down ever polluting factory & truck, and force everyone to stop eating cows... seems to me it's rollin' too fast to stop it now.
We need more indoor hydroponics, and a SERIOUS investment in solar power (as well as wind & geothermal). Drought in arable areas seems to me to be our most immediate concern here, what do you think?
Look, we're not writing your term paper here, are we? ;-)
But take a look at a response to a question of mine from today (a fellow American btw):
for a planet 4+ billion years old, what takes place over a few years, decades or even centuries is pretty irrelevant.
But I have to admire ( while being sickened ) at the slick PR tactics the extreme, far Left has deployed on those who refuse to buy into the fairy tale of AGW. The labeling of anyone who questions the data, the political motivation, the contradictory messages, anyone who even dares to suggest we wait and see to collect more data before we go screaming like chicken little , everyone is collectively branded as a " denier ". That word has a very distinct and powerful meaning, as it was used, rightfully so, to cast asperscions on anyone who doubted the horrors of the holocaust, or that " denied " there ever was one. With one single word, the entire argument, it is hoped, can be put to rest, and the character and motivations ( as well as the intelligence and sanity ) of ANYONE who doubts that AGW is real and of any significant concern, can be mocked and marginalized.
This isn't 'science', in the least. It's propaganda, thuggery and intimidation.
Tell me that doesn't make you jaw drop just a little... :O
Seriously though, denial is easy, ignorance is bliss. And some folks find political propaganda behind every corner or under every pebble of dust.
I would feel much better were I not so fully aware of the situation as it is. I might try to avoid the notion and live happily in utter blindness. But my political interests are close to nil and my understanding of GW is based on neutral, scientific publications, where a theory is actually backed up by arguments, by data and above all, by bright reasoning. I'm not a leftie by the way, couldn't stomach being one for that matter. When I'm not entirely apolitical, I find myself everything but a leftie regarding most aspects of life. Only in a minor few things do I gravitate more to the left. My preferences, if any, are nuanced enough to look for what I like best on both sides.
The quoted American clearly has a very narrow view on things: he tries to demonstrate others' unscientific behaviour but manages not to supply objective counterarguments himself. It's science all over the place with discussions like these. Granted, to what propagandising means the numbers concerning GW are used by some people, is beyond our control. Some indeed may only pretend to care (or to not care) for the sake of more electoral gain. But denying GW is like denying the hole in the ozone layer while our very CFC's were actually reducing its thickness below critical minima. History has caught up with these nay-sayers and we are now perfectly aware of ozone depletion. GW will just be another struggle of science versus stubbornness. At least we, scientists, have our views based on indisputable facts, have them tested time and again, and work vigorously to also devise a solution. It's easy to say there's no such thing as global warming because that effectively fires you from the responsibility to help us do something about it. It's also cowardly. And since our American friend brought the holocaust into this (which I find tasteless to be frank), those who said "we didn't know about it" actually meant "we knew about it but wouldn't dare do something about it". I'm not that guy, sorry.
Enough said!
Beast is trying to be funny, I'm sure. ;-)
Yes recycling and recycled materials are often expensive, but only because of the competition from the non-recycled alternative.
It's going to take a major world-wide shift in culture, education, and society to do what has to be done. Unfortunately we're only human.
I personally hold to the belief (for now at any rate) the the warming trend is not entirely man-made, but severely man-assisted.
In any case, devising meaningful solutions to the problem as it stands should trump simple debates on the cause. Do fire-fighters debate the cause of the fire, or go about saving lives?
Speak for yourself; I am from Vulcan.
Even worse.
Meanwhile in the teens here, a LOT south of the AC.
Whatever. Somewhere Hugo Drax is laughing.
Any thought?