Sunday, February 11, 2007

Coffee Talk

Generally, I've stayed neutral on this issue, but it is near ignorance to think that the choices that we make (cars, cleaning products, food, clothing, construction, fuels, etc.) have zero impact on the environment. The events of this past week have not necessarily changed my opinion or even my immediate actions, but it has given power to Al Gore, Global Warming 101, and all of the other individuals and organizations advocating a more "climate neutral lifestyle". On February 2nd, the International Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), issued only their fourth assessment on the climate change in the last seventeen years. Their last report was issued in 2001, and according to the New York Times, they were 66 to 90% percent certain that humans activity had an effect on the climate. With this latest report, the IPCC have now stated that it is "very likely" (better then 90%) that human activities have been the main cause of warming over the last century. The report gives you a lot of scientific terminology to throw around, but it also can be boiled down to two key points. First, "the global climate is likely to warm 3.5 to 8 degrees Fahrenheit if carbon dioxide concentrations in the atmosphere reach twice the levels of 1750, before the Industrial Revolution". Second, "It forecasts a rise of 7 to 23 inches by 2100 and concludes that seas will continue to rise for at least 1,000 years to come. By comparison, seas rose about 6 to 9 inches in the 20th century". These are two forecasts that we have heard many times before, but this is the first time that the name of science has been attached to these claims. Will this change the ways of American's ("The United States, with about 5 percent of the world’s population, contributes about a quarter of greenhouse gas emissions, more than any other country")? Will you be doing anything different because of the IPCC's report? Talk Amongst Yourselves...

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

I think it's a bunch of crap. I've said it before and I'll say it again, you can find statistics to prove anything you want. In this case, global warming. Here's an article I found w/ Bill Gray, the so-called top meteorologist in the country.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/05/23/AR2006052301305_pf.html

This article has many good points about what the global warming community claim and why it is not accurate.

Here's the bigger picture of what I think is going on w/ global warming...yes they want to limit capitalistic enterprises and limit the economy like many skeptics claim, but the one thing that I always see is the connection of global warming to environmentalism to socialism/communism. Then also to a new age religious movement, and "end of the world," Book of Revelation type movement that causes people to:

1.) Panic
2.) Re-evaluate their materialistic view point
3.) Re-evaluate their religious beliefs
4.) Re-evaluate their economic beliefs
5.) Re-evaluate their political beliefs

When you fit a global warming crisis with other natural disasters, war, poverty, etc to the point where you feel trapped and have no control over what happens to you or the global population, where do you turn?

The answer is...to those with the power and wealth.

The same people who protect you from terroists, feed, clothe, and house you when you are poor and weak, give you entertainment, education, loans, etc. What do you have to give them...freedom, personal property, interest, labor, etc.

At some point, people need to take a look at history and say, these things have happened before, but this time it isn't a full frontal assault, it's ideological. If you chose to accept the conclusions presented to you without research, this is where you will be. You will be told who, what, when, where, why and how to live your life. If you don't accept them, you are free to make up your own mind w/ your own research, live your own life and create your own ideas. You also will keep the power with the people and not the powerful and wealthy.

Rich Uncle Moneybags said...

I have two questions for everyone. The first is, how many people trust the weather predictions for 2 weeks out?

I would assume, like everybody you would say, you really can not trust it.

So the second question is, if you can't trust weather prediction a week or two away, how can you trust weather predictions decades or a centuries away??

Anonymous said...

Hey, there is a broken link in this article, under the anchor text - latest report

Here is the correct, working link so you can replace it - https://selectra.co.uk/sites/selectra.co.uk/files/pdf/SPM2feb07.pdf