The Human Contribution To Atmosphere Circulation Changes
Ok, you idiots who don't believe that humans have anything to do with global warming (and would rather just drive your SUV's, leave the tv on all night and otherwise expend your excess) - listen up...
A new study published in this week's issue of Nature is the first to show that human activity is altering the circulation of the tropical atmosphere and ocean through global warming.
Scientists widely agree that the climate has warmed over the past century and that human activities, such as burning fossil fuels, have significantly contributed to this global warming.
posted by Cosmic Bob @ 2:40 PM
2 comments
2 Comments:
Hmmm. Before you jump on that bandwagon you might want to consider that there really is "no consensus" at least according to the Richard P. Sloan Professor of Atmospheric Science at MIT.
http://www.opinionjournal.com/extra/?id=110008597
Given that so very few of the people "closing the book" on the global warming debate are NOT atmospheric scientists, I think I will choose to ignore their so called "consensus".
Although I'm an engineer, I'm not a mechanical engineer so I'm not qualified to build a bridge or determine whether to condemn one. The real work should be left to those who understand the science of the causes (atmospheric scientists) and not to the shrill voices of those who only document the "effects".
You may want to remove that hook, line and sinker and return it to Mr. Gore. There will be plenty of time to point fingers if any real science shows up.
SMJ aka "The Voice of Reason"
How many scientists does it take to make a concensus?
First, I suggest that sources such as the Wall Street Journal are poor for any type of academic arguement - especially one as complex as this. Perhaps you should do a google scholar search on global warming and read the first 500 papers - or perhaps attend a scientific conference on the topic and take some notes and talk with the people doing the work...
Second, he obviously had a political agenda.
Those two points aside, lets look at his statements...
"...He concludes that the scientific community now agrees that significant warming is occurring, and that there is clear evidence of human influences on the climate system. This is still a most peculiar claim. At some level, it has never been widely contested..."
So - he is saying it is true.
"There is also little disagreement that levels of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere have risen from about 280 parts per million by volume in the 19th century to about 387 ppmv today. Finally, there has been no question whatever that carbon dioxide is an infrared absorber (i.e., a greenhouse gas--albeit a minor one), and its increase should theoretically contribute to warming."
Ever take a look at Venus? - Again, he is just admitting it is true.
"Even more recently, the Climate Change Science Program, the Bush administration's coordinating agency for global-warming research, declared it had found "clear evidence of human influences on the climate system." "
God help me, even the Bush supporting environmental bulldozers agree that the evidence is clear...
"Given that we do not understand the natural internal variability of climate change, this task is currently impossible."
Of course he's right - we'll just never know - why even try - and who gives a shit anyway? We'll all be dead then... It is no wonder that I don't have children - With logic like that, they wouldn't have a planet to live on anyway...
It's the same arguement I hear for intelligent design - it's just to difficult and we'll never figure it out... If Sir Newton had felt that way, there would be no engineers at all...
You state that there will be plenty of time to point fingers when the real science shows up... Are you sure about that? Scientists on both sides of the debate admit that they do not know if there is a 'point of no return' beyond which there can be no recovery. Are you willing to chance the only planet we have on a maybe? This isn't about you or me, this is about 500 years from now.
You once said to me, the only way people will do the right thing is if someone makes them do it...
If there is even a chance, isn't it worth making the small sacrifices in your every day life to ensure your species survival? It's not like they are hard. It's not like we cannot afford it.
Lastly, for the record, I haven't seen Mr. Gore's movie or heard him speak. I've been studying under and working with planetary scientists for the past four years...I get my info from them.
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