WHAT IS THERE WE DON’T UNDERSTAND ABOUT CLIMATE CHANGE?
The optimum word is CHANGE. People deny global warming by saying that there was snow fall in Georgia or the coldest winter on record in bumfuck Egypt. We shouldn’t be focusing on the word warming in Global Warming and expect our freezers to start defrosting on their own.
We are in the midst of climate change and change is chaotic. A world without change could expect relatively reoccurring weather patterns each season in a particularly place. But, in the midst of change – the midst of the earth getting hotter on average – we can expect unprecedented and unpredictable swings in temperatures, precipitation, storms and weather patterns throughout the world until the temperature again stabilizes: warmer – with its predictable results.
the Ol’Buzzard
"Deniers", heck of a label!
ReplyDeleteMy problem is I look back at what we know of the Earth's history & I see 100,000 years to as long as 250,000 years of ice age followed by 10,000 years of interglacial time. I see this cycle having repeated itself for millions of years (since the continents collided & formed the Himalayan mountains).
Now, 10,000 years since the glaciers receded there is wide spread talk of warming. I'm not sure this is a bad deal because I lived in Minnesota for 6 years and a long winter is not as nice as being warm for 8 months.
The folks living on the sea shore are concerned because if it warms up they will have to move but the Earth's climate is dynamic, the sea level does rise & fall.
Now I'm told it's going to warm up because I drive my car (man caused global warming) & if I stop driving my car the people living on the sea shore won't have to move.
I ask publicly "what causes an ice age?", "what about the Earth's own cycles?".
For asking these questions I am publicly labeled a "denier".
Mankind has done 99.9% of it's growth during the present interglacial period & there are now over 7 billion souls on this planet. If we go to an ice age there is going to be a really uncomfortable few years as mankind adjusts to the climate.
If mankind has managed to change the earth cycles I for one think warmer weather (to grow food if nothing else) is a good thing.
FWIW I do not think mankind has changed the Earth cycles, I do think there is more we don't know than we do.
Unfortunately the Global Warming advocates hooked onto the "it's all our fault" Schick and the line was drawn in the political sand. Climate change became a political football to be passed back and forth. In the meantime, no one in real position of power was/is doing anything about the obvious changes in our climate. Everyone on both sides seem intent on fixing blame instead of finding ways to deal with it.
ReplyDeleteI am of a mind that pollution of any kind should be dealt with on it's own merits. It does not make any sense to shit in your own nest. And let's face it, we all live in the same nest no matter what corner we live in. Clean up our act because it is the right thing to do. Deal with climate change because it is the right thing to do. Screw the blame game. I am so fuckin tired of the blame game.
What I find interesting is that the energy companies are using some of the same PR companies the tobacco companies used to create doubt amongst the public.
ReplyDeleteMRMacrum is right, nobody likes having "It's all your fault" about climate change thrown in their face. But like it or not, mankind is part of the reason climate change is happening. What's ironic is you have people on one hand talking about all the great accomplishments of humans and on the other hand denying that humans have anything to do with changing the climate. Mankind can't be both great and powerless at the same time.
I like the cartoon that says, "What if climate change is a hoax? What if we make a cleaner, nicer world to live in for nothing?" That's a good question. What's the downside to cleaning up the environment??????
They are today's equivalent of the Flat Earth Society.
ReplyDeleteClimate change happens, with or without mankind.
ReplyDeleteMankind's task is to find a way to survive with the change.
I suspect this is too long a term project for most of us with our short lifespans. It would take an unusual person/family/group to plan for their lines survival well ahead of the impending change.
Okay, light snow just started here in SW Indiana - this is February 2nd - It is friggin winter! Shit, even the nations's most reknown meteorolgist - The gound hog - Philedelphia Phil or something; claims we are getting another six weeks of winter. Now, do you know that Australia is experiencing a heat wave - highest temps in years.
ReplyDeleteThe justification for climate change is the average increase ever year in the world and not the depth of the snow in Marquette, Michigan. And, for the life of me I cannot understand the thumper conservative far right's opposition to climate change. Is not all that happend according to them - God's will. Look at how they frail their hands in the air when a small child is ran over and killed by a car - they say that it was God's plan. So, is not global warming also God's plan?
And, is not science then the work of God? If so, then to deny science is to deny God? Right?
Sarge
Did you see the great cartoon XKCD did a week or so ago on the subject of climate change? If you missed it, it's at http://xkcd.com/1321/
ReplyDeleteSnow and cold where you guys live and never ending record breaking rains and floods where I live. The entire Atlantic Coast of France is flooded. I live on a hill, but all of the valleys are full of water. We haven't seen this much rain since the summer of 1994 and it looks like we are going to break that record.
ReplyDeleteWhen the huge Agrifarms in California dry up and wither , and they shut down the Casinos in Las Vegas because the Colorado River has dried up .... there will be fewer deniers, O.B..
ReplyDeletealso .... "Change" is the only constant in the Universe ....
ReplyDeleteOn a side note but somewhat related - All the extra Carbon we are pumping into the atmosphere is having a positive effect on the old growth trees still found here and there around the planet. Apparently Old Growth trees are able to suck in more Carbon than new growth forests. So ther is a ever so slight silver lining to turning Beijing into smog Hell.
ReplyDeleteOld growth forests? positive effect?If you are talking about hard wood trees, they are in retreat all over the world. You only have to look at forestry maps that document the the retreat of species as the climate changes to realize the real impact of what is happening. I came back here, because here in France, the news today was that this January was the warmest ever on record and we have officially broken all rain fall records since they have been officially recorded. The sun came out today...I have to wear sunglasses, it's such an unusual sight. Normally, it there is a cold snap in January here. If it is cold enough, you can hear the oaks crack and explode like canons at night. It's a good thing because it controls disease and varmints. The most damaging thing to me about the way the winters have gone here is that when it does get cold, it usually late in the season. When so many plants and trees have set buds and we have lived with 4 years of disasters like this. For the ast 12 years, I have worked at least 2 months a year for a chateau in Lalande de Pomerol...Vieux Cjhevrol performing many of the little tasks of keeping 21 hectares of grape vines happy. This is a traditional family run wine making operation and we are proud to stand in the face of mondialization of the wine business. We try to do everything as traditionally as possible, so I am intimately acquainted withwith the effects each year of the particular climatic variations on the thousands of grape vines I have to care for each year. If there is a late frost after a warm winter, we have a disaster. Don't get your hopes up, 2013 was a lousy year for great wines. Warm winter, late cold snap, when the vines finally recovered and set buds again, they had a very stunted growing season....very wet and late...the grapes themselves were thin skinned...much of the flavor of a good wine comes from the quality of skin...very low sugar and full of water. When we finally harvested them in the beginning of October, we had to pick them under very desperate conditions, slogging through oceans of mud because there was one torrential rainstorm after another and the grapes were rotting on the vines faster than we could pick them. On the other hand, in 2003, there was heat wave and drought...the grapes were like raisins, full of sugar and tough, and a very low yield, but the results were incredible!
ReplyDeleteThe atmosphere is only a few miles deep, not much space to store dirt in. Count the parts per million of carbon, compare it to the records in ice and other sources, it's obvious we, in 200 years, most of it in the last 50, put it there and are warming that thin layer of atmosphere. The idea that if it heats up we can adapt is the deniers folly. Lets see, if it's too hot to grow lettuce and oranges in southern Calif. and Florida, or wheat and corn in the grain belt, then we're screwed. Only a small percent of that can move north. These plants rely on specific soil types and hours of sunshine. The top soil going north and the light ain't gonna cut it. Production will fall, a lot. It's not true old growth will save us by sucking up more CO2, trees have a bell curve, large old take in more than little trees, but in their final maturity years they slow. Add to that, every furniture maker or paper mill in the world intends to cut all they can find.
ReplyDeleteAs to current cold in the US, this is the polar air mass slid to one side, there is not more or new cold, it's just fallen off onto us. Russia right now would love to have it back, snow for the olympics, to cover the evidence of their sloppy construction zones would be much appreciated.
microdot - I know "old growth forests" are in retreat. I was just pointing out the one thing I know about all the extra carbon being pumped into the atmosphere that could be seen as a positive. Over all of course, cutting our carbon footprints to as close to zero would be the ideal. But let's face it, 6 billion plus humans have to get on board that bus. They will eventually, but sadly I think it will be to late for our species. I am comfortable knowing though the planet will survive us. It has a much better track record than we do.
ReplyDeleteIf our species even has a glimmer of surviving the long haul, the only alternative is out there in Space.
MRMacrum, if there is any consolation, one of the hardiest species that have survived many eons of catastrophic climate changes on this planet are cockroaches and they do seem to appreciate good beer.
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