Global Warming

I certainly don't deny it exists, but I choose not to worry about it because of my faith. I believe that Global Warming may or may not be part of the Overall Scheme of Everything, but what ever it is, it's in God's hands.

That said, I am disgusted at people's disregard for the Earth. Even if Global Warming is a bunch of nonsense (which I wouldn't bet on by the way), it doesn't give us an excuse to stop caring about the Earth.

So, yeah, I'm not saying it isn't true (in fact I think it is), but I choose not to worry about it and keep taking care of the Earth.
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Where sky and water meet,
Where the waves grow sweet,
Doubt not, Reepicheep,
To find all you seek,
There is the utter east.

Master Joined: 15 May 2008 Posts: 602 Location: boston

Well mine isn't a faith based opinion, but I think there is some truth to global warming. However, I don't beleive it has a heckuva lot to do with us. We are little peons on the lifespan of this planet. Was the ice age a problem brought on by mankind? No. Is global warming? I don't think so. This planet has before, and will again, change over time. It may wipe us all out and we start back again at caveman status. Or we may be able to adapt along with it. But I don't think "going green" will do much to change the outcome.

That being said, I think the pollution of our environment sucks and people(large companies mostly) ought to take better care of their waste.

Since I'm still slightly sick and have a massive headache, I'm not gonna go in-depth at the moment. Let me just say that I don't believe in "global warming" the way the media portrays it. The earth goes through cycles of warm and cool over years and decades. I doubt that it has much to do with mankind. I'll expound more later when thinking doesn't hurt so much. Wink

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All things die, Anakin Skywalker, even stars burn out.

So this is how liberty dies....with thunderous applause.

Those without swords can still die upon them

The world is a mess and I just need to rule it.

Master Joined: 22 Mar 2008 Posts: 599

Earth does go through cycles of cool and warm in long timescales - Milankovitch cycles and also just because of simple geological reasons, as it is easier to form glaciers on poles if there is land instead of water in them - but this is more serious and even a "little ice age" like about the one in 1550-1715 would be a big problem.

What the so called "climate sceptics" forget is that even if the climate change wouldn't be caused by human activity - like I believe it is - but by the Sun or increased cloud cover caused by cosmic rays we would still have to deal with the consequences and try to do what we can - to lower the greenhouse gases we ourselves produce, because we can't do anything about the Sun or distant black holes that power the cosmic rays.

The only thing we can change is our own behaviour. And what would be the worst thing to happen if we would reduce the pollution we release and invest heavily in less polluting technology and it would turn out that the "climate sceptics" were right?

We would have spent huge amounts of money, yes, but to make the environment still better and we would have helped new industries to grow and produce jobs and income both to people and governments through taxes.

And if the "climate sceptics" are not right, if the average temperature rises by 6 degrees in the next century like a just released study claims, then hundreds of millions of people if not billions will die and the world will be changed utterly. So, in this case the consequences will be devastating - unlike in the case of if the 9 out of 10 scientists who think that climate change is true are not correct.

Personally, I am terribly pessimistic. It's just in human nature that people tend to believe the most positive scenarios and listen to the Cassandras - even if they are a legion - only when it's too late.

For once I'm with Rouge77, at least partly. I do think Earth's damage is caused by us.

Hope you're feeling better Padme.
_________________

Where sky and water meet,
Where the waves grow sweet,
Doubt not, Reepicheep,
To find all you seek,
There is the utter east.

Thanks, Reep. I'm starting to get over all the sinus stuff I've been dealing with. Smile

I'll agree that the pollution of the oceans and such is humans' fault. It's awful the way that some people treat the Earth. My main gripe is the environmentalists like Al Gore making us feel guilty for the melting ice in the Arctic. I believe the earth is simply going through a warmer period right now and will cool on its own. I recall something about such a period in the Middle Ages where it was warm enough in England to grow tropical fruit. Don't quote me on that, though, don't remember where I got it. Wink

But if it's true, then the warmer temperatures back then certainly weren't caused by factories and the like.
_________________
All things die, Anakin Skywalker, even stars burn out.

So this is how liberty dies....with thunderous applause.

Those without swords can still die upon them

The world is a mess and I just need to rule it.

Master Joined: 22 Mar 2008 Posts: 599

There was the warm period in high middle ages about 900-1300 when wine grew higher north than before or after but it was probably caused by the shifting of Atlantic winds and currents and influenced only Europe, North Africa, Greenland, Iceland etc. There wasn't really much in the way of melting glaciers (although some Alpine glaciers did retreat). Average temperatures were probably less than a degree higher than pre-900 or post-1300. The end of the period coincided with the decline and eventual end of Norse colonies in Greenland and the great famine of 1315 in Europe which brought an end to the population increase that had gone on for centuries.

But, allmost all evidence (and everything against this is disputed by other studies) points that the increase in temperatures and the melting of glaciers is caused by human activity. And even if it wouldn't be, changing human behaviour and perhaps doing large scale, very expensive and risky geo-engineering is the only way of fighting this change. And still we would have to adapt also, as it is already too late to stop the climate change fully.

Yeah- and we shouldn't feel guilty- it was damaged before we were even born, we're just not making it any "better" well not much in the grand scheme anyway.

See it'll get hot, which we've seen(not so much were people live, but at the poles)- and it just slowly keeps doing that until enough Glaciers melt and disrupt the saltwater and the ocean currents that's when things will shift (who knows how long till it gets to a point that we'll be able to say that too has happened? If ever) once the warm currents stop, then things will get cold- ice age style- until something knocks it back around again. Life's about circles- we (Mankind/ technology) just sped it up a little.
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WHY does everyone assume Global warming means it's warming globally? Perhaps it's the name they used?

It should have been "globally adding to the Poles Warming." It's not like anywhere else is going to warm up. Just the holes in the atmo over the glaciers. The only thing on earth that should fear the warming is those icebergs. Once enough of them have melted we go into the big freeze- so global warming = cold, not hot.

Yet people always laugh "It's cold! What happened to global warming?"

Smile

You're feeling it Wink

Just wasn't what you thought it'd be Wink

_________________

-Bring on your thousands, one at a time or all in a rush. I don't give a damn. None shall pass.
-
-To become a Jedi, it is not the Force one must learn to control but oneself.
-
-Podcasts: Star Wars Beyond the Films, The Star Wars Report, & EUCast

Notice that the term "global warming" isn't used as much anymore. Its "climate change" now. Confused

_________________
All things die, Anakin Skywalker, even stars burn out.

So this is how liberty dies....with thunderous applause.

Those without swords can still die upon them

The world is a mess and I just need to rule it.

Master Joined: 11 Jun 2009 Posts: 1346

I prefer climate change, personally. It is a better description of it, methinks.
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So what's the new term for when the freshwater flushes the warm undersea current in the Atlantic enough to stop it? Or have they just considered that must be how all ice ages happened and just call it an Ice Age?
_________________

-Bring on your thousands, one at a time or all in a rush. I don't give a damn. None shall pass.
-
-To become a Jedi, it is not the Force one must learn to control but oneself.
-
-Podcasts: Star Wars Beyond the Films, The Star Wars Report, & EUCast

Master Joined: 11 Jun 2009 Posts: 1346