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applepie

Global Warming: A myth

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by
applepie
, 08-08-2007 at 11:46 AM (1176 Views)
Hello again,

I don't know about everyone else, but it is a horrible morning here. The sun isn't shining, and it is cloudy, rainy, and cold. I keep wondering where it is that summer has gone. The other years that I've spent up here, the summer has been full of warmth and sunshine for two to three months. The rest of the year isn't much fun, because it will rain for most of it, but the summers are normally great. This year has been a poor showing, and I'm a little blue since I wont have another summer here.

I guess the easy thing would be to blame it on global warming and move on, but I generally think that global warming is a myth. I don't think it is a lie that the planet is getting warmer. To deny that the Earth is gradually increasing in temperature would be to deny basic scientific facts. What I think is that the overall increase in temperature is being blown entirely out of proportion. What people are so commonly calling "Global Warming" has been an increase in the average surface temperature of the planet by only 1 degree farenheit in the last hundred years. That would barely register on the Celsius scale used in many parts of the world. Why is it that we feel the need to blame this almost nonexistant change for all of the bad in the world's weather? It was a worse hurricane season than normal so it must have been because of Global Warming, right? Less than average rain, more than average rain, they are all because of Global Warming.

Global Warming has turned into a myth that we use to pressure others to become more environmentally safe. It is generally threatened that it is people who are causing this "drastic" increase in temperature, and that if we don't change now it will mean dire consequences for our children and grandchildren. Global warmining is said to be caused by the burning of fossil fuels which are leading to a build up of gasses. These gasses are leading to increased temperatures on the earth because heat is unable to escape as readily as it once did.

Why is it so hard to believe that a 1 degree increase in temperature over the course of 100 years may just be a normal occurance. History has shown that the earth is capable of drastic climate shifts. All we have to do is look at the evidence of the last ice age to be made aware of this. It stands to reason that the earth will move through a cyclical climate change. It is unrealistic of humans to assume that the Earth should simply remain in stasis because it would suit us better. Why, instead of planning on how to adapt to the coming changes, are we then planning ways to stop a natural process. I'm not saying that the increase in temperature may not have some to do with the changes in weather. I'm just saying that it seems to be a pretty natural process. It is up to us to adapt to the changes rather than attempt to put a stop to them.

I still support the development of cleaner fuels for vehicles, and higher efficiency in the use of energy. We will eventually run out of fossil fuels to burn, and when that day comes we must be prepared to use some alternate fuel source. I guess we could just go back to horses and carriages, but most people will not consent to this. When choosing our new fuel source, however, we need to pay close attention to what the implications will be. Corn is a popular option, but if we start to use it for fuel there will be a large gap in the world's food supply. If we are using corn for fuel as well as food, the price is going to raise drastically. Many people who are relying on corn for food will no longer be able to afford it. Then we have the much larger problem of people who are starving.

Take Care,
Meg

P.S. There is now a poll on the thread with my story. It should make things a little easier. It is private, so no names are shown, but you can easily leave feedback about what you think of the story without having to write a reply.
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Comments

  1. kiz_paws's Avatar
    Where I live, we have six to seven months of cold and snow. The remaining five to six months can be anything from monsoon rains (hmmm, I use the term loosely, but you get the point) to extremely arid (much to our farmer's chagrin). This year, after the winter thaw, we had TWO solid months of RAIN. No kidding. Then, magically, in July (just as people were thinking that it might be time to start building an Ark?) it got hot and dry. It is still hot and somewhat dry (we had a bit of much needed rain relief), so I cannot complain about the weather. But I hear you, Meg. Hang in there, and maybe buy a funky umbrella? (That is what I did to make light of the torrents of rain that disabled a few walks with my pup!)
  2. mtpspur's Avatar
    Trade you the cold. No air conditioning here--rented house and the electric bill is high enough. Been about 95 degrees past several days. Worse my son-in-law cut a treen down that eventually would have fallen over into the driveway but he left the tree limbs for me to clear out. I'm not the man I never was for this job adn it's been miserable getting the yard picked up--with the lawnmower of doom gloating in the background--waiting.
  3. GrayFoxDown's Avatar
    Maybe it's because New York City is heavily surrounded by both land and sea, that weather patterns become bogged-down here. NYC is bordered by upper-New York State along its northern border, New Jersey on the west which also curves out towards the Atlantic and borders it in the south, and Long Island which borders it to the east. Together with the Hudson River flowing from the north which meets and swirls with the Atlantic coming up through the Lower Bay and Narrows, NYC has a kind of self-contained seasonal cycle. Global warming cannot be taken seriously when you oftentimes have five months of winter, until summer arrives with almost five months of summer; then we reconsider global warming's possibility until winter arrives again. In short, global warming may simply be a matter of geography and/or politics. Take care, Michael
  4. Virgil's Avatar
    Hock that is a great post. I agree with almost every thing you say, You said this:
    Why is it so hard to believe that a 1 degree increase in temperature over the course of 100 years may just be a normal occurance.
    It's actually less than a degree. The temperature change in the history of the earth has been I'm told is over 5 degrees. That less than one degree is in engineering terms within the tolerance band. Plus how do you know we are measuring accurately. We have to measure the planet and average it out and be accurate to a fraction of a degree. And how do we know how accurate we were 100 years ago in measuring? Remember the change is withing a fraction of a degree so the measurement accuracy has to be to the second decimal place. I frankly don't think it can be done. One thing I disagree with. You say we are running out of oil. Well it has been estimated that since man has been drilling for oil, about a 100-150 years, we have used only 18% of the oil in the ground. And that's just based on what we know. They are always stumbling on oil all the time. The planet is saturated in it. Oil is a blessing to humanity. It has made the modern life possible. I keep challenging all these environmentalist to start living like cave men like they want us all to.
  5. applepie's Avatar
    That is why I say we will eventually run out Virgil:D I don't really think it will happen in my lifetime, or even my kids and grand kids (considering my youngest isn't a year yet I'm sure you get my picture). I find it funny that people are so hypocrytical that they want to stop the use of oil, but if you suggest that they don't use a car or cell phone. If you tell them they shouldn't use a refrigerator or electricity, then they blanche at the idea. If they can find a cleaner, more efficient energy source, I'll support it, but I'm not willing to undo a few hundred years of technological advancement if they don't.