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Global warming is a topic we hear much of in the news. Yet much of what we hear is just hype.I've seen many debates on the subject and read much material on the topic myself. I've found most of the material fell into an odd yet revealing pattern. The pattern I found is that material that came from or was related to the media fell most often into the category of global warming=problem. Most of the stuff that wasn't related to the mass media fell into the category of global warming=myth. Interesting eh?
I'll share some of the interesting facts I've found through out my readings. The first thing I find interesting is that a large portion of scientist don't even believe global warming is a problem. I forget the exact numbers but they were around 60% not believing it a problem, 25% believing it a problem, 15% saying there isn't enough data to draw a conclusion. (I guess we know which group has the loudest mouths.) What I find weird is that they can manipulate the government into stupid things! I read in Readers Digest an article about the challenge the government took on to "reduce" our greenhouse gas emissions. The basic facts it pointed out was that even if we stopped all our greenhouse gas emissions we still wouldn't meet the challenge. Now why would our government agree to do something it couldn't do? I don't really understand the political brain, but I think I can tell it's overdue for a check up.
Another fact the media hides is that study's show that the earth was actually warmer in the past. I saw a chart which showed the average temperature increase over a 20 year period (1978-1998). The first 5 years showed an average increase in temperature of 0.1 degrees. Don’t be alarmed though because the next 15 years showed an average decrease of 0.1 degrees. It sounds like it was warmer in
Food for thought.
3 comments:
Hi Ben,
It’s good to think about these things and to always keep in mind where the information is coming from. The current scientific consensus on climate change is:
- That recent warming indicates a fairly stable long-term trend
- That the trend is largely human-caused
- And that serious damage may result at some future date if steps are not taken to halt the trend.
We both know that scientific consensus is not, by itself, a scientific argument but when you look at the organizations supporting this theory it can be hard to dismiss.
Scientific organizations worldwide (American Geophysical Union, Joint Science Academies, Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, American Meteorological Society, and American Association for the Advancement of Science) agree with the assessment that “most of the observed warming over the last 50 years is likely to have been due to the [human caused] increase in greenhouse gas concentrations”.
However, you are correct that there is also a small but vocal number of scientists in climate and climate-related fields that disagree with the consensus view.
Also, many (but not all) of the voices crying foul over global climate change have a vested monetary interest in global climate change not being true.
Keep up the good work!
Your cantankerous Uncle Rod.
Both your uncle Rod and I appreciate your willingness to challenge conventional wisdom.
Not that this stops us from respectfully disagreeing. ; )
You might also want to consider the following:
1. Even if global warming is partly a natural phenomenon, we are not helping matters any with our unsustainable behaviours.
2. Even if we can't stop global warming entirely, stopping our polluting habits is better stewardship of Earth than ignoring our impact on the natural world. And you know Whom we're responsible to for how we manage the world. Not sure we're going to be proud of the global domination we've already achieved.
3. Even more worrisome than the global warming and other pollution we're experiencing now is the fact that one billion Chinese and one billion Indian (and other South Asian) people are ramping up unsustainable development of their far more massive economies. If they start consuming resources like North Americans, we're in for even wilder climate extremes....
Hi Ben
I understand there are two sides, and I we both know there is a worldview driving many in the environment position. It's not all politics. World view effects their sight, as much as ours.
However,remember this. Though we many be convinced the earth will survive as long as God has intended for his purposes, and that in most monotheistic views, man is the pinnacle not the parasite of creation. There is this element to keep in mind. Genesis 2:15 (NIV) "The LORD God took the man and put him in the Garden of Eden to work it and take care of it."
Dad.
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