Global Warming
- Thread starter robinson
- Start date
I think it's complicated... 
Funny you should ask this though, as I have thought about writing an essay on my thoughts, but it would likely be 10,000 words or more as there are so many tangents I would like to cover as well, so I just never have sat down to do it.
So to spare us all the 10,000+ word rant, here are my main bullet points:
* The climate is changing, but that is nothing new. We live on a planet that is not static, it is dynamic (always changing) and that includes the weather and climate. There is almost concrete evidence that the climate of the world has been changing on scales of not just 1000's of years, but also on the scale of decades and centuries. All without the influence of humans.
* Humans are changing the composition of the atmosphere, especially gases like CO2, methane and other hydrocarbons. To what degree this change is happening is somewhat debatable and the impact these changes will have on the worlds climate is even more debatable.
* Humans are pretty arrogant animals. We tend to think we are way smarter than we really are and I believe that a good analogy of our current understanding of how the earths atmosphere works on a climate scale would be like us sitting at a table with all the pieces of a 1500 piece puzzle spread out in a random fashion in front of us on the table. We do not have the box top, so we have no clue what the puzzle will look like when finished. Yet, through trial and error, we have been able to put some pieces together and have some small sections of the edges pieced together, but about 90-95% of the puzzle remains in scattered pieces and so we still have no clue what the puzzle will look like when finished. Climatologists may argue against this analogy strongly and that would be expected. After all, it would be against their better interests to agree (sort of like an insurance salesman telling you that you do not, and will never, need to carry any kind of insurance- ever).
* The media is EXTREMELY BIASED in their reporting of anything climate related, to the point it is laughable. I am willing to bet that 99.9% of the population of the developed world do not know that the ice sheet in Greenland is gaining ice mass, yet I bet 90% of the developed world all know about how the edges are losing ice mass.
* My opinions are based purely on science and the fact that I think the scientific process should be respected more than it is when it comes to this topic. I have seen a ton of untruthful (and at times really stupid) things said both for and against human induced climate change. If I could wave a magic wand, I would wish for all politics and 98% of the media to be removed from the topic. Allow for more (lots more) study of the climate so that we can get to the point where we know what the puzzle on the table is a picture of and can act accordingly.
* I am all for measured and responsible actions to try and curb any way that we could be changing the composition of the atmosphere, which I think most are. The main argument is usually what is "measured and responsible".
-John
Funny you should ask this though, as I have thought about writing an essay on my thoughts, but it would likely be 10,000 words or more as there are so many tangents I would like to cover as well, so I just never have sat down to do it.
So to spare us all the 10,000+ word rant, here are my main bullet points:
* The climate is changing, but that is nothing new. We live on a planet that is not static, it is dynamic (always changing) and that includes the weather and climate. There is almost concrete evidence that the climate of the world has been changing on scales of not just 1000's of years, but also on the scale of decades and centuries. All without the influence of humans.
* Humans are changing the composition of the atmosphere, especially gases like CO2, methane and other hydrocarbons. To what degree this change is happening is somewhat debatable and the impact these changes will have on the worlds climate is even more debatable.
* Humans are pretty arrogant animals. We tend to think we are way smarter than we really are and I believe that a good analogy of our current understanding of how the earths atmosphere works on a climate scale would be like us sitting at a table with all the pieces of a 1500 piece puzzle spread out in a random fashion in front of us on the table. We do not have the box top, so we have no clue what the puzzle will look like when finished. Yet, through trial and error, we have been able to put some pieces together and have some small sections of the edges pieced together, but about 90-95% of the puzzle remains in scattered pieces and so we still have no clue what the puzzle will look like when finished. Climatologists may argue against this analogy strongly and that would be expected. After all, it would be against their better interests to agree (sort of like an insurance salesman telling you that you do not, and will never, need to carry any kind of insurance- ever).
* The media is EXTREMELY BIASED in their reporting of anything climate related, to the point it is laughable. I am willing to bet that 99.9% of the population of the developed world do not know that the ice sheet in Greenland is gaining ice mass, yet I bet 90% of the developed world all know about how the edges are losing ice mass.
* My opinions are based purely on science and the fact that I think the scientific process should be respected more than it is when it comes to this topic. I have seen a ton of untruthful (and at times really stupid) things said both for and against human induced climate change. If I could wave a magic wand, I would wish for all politics and 98% of the media to be removed from the topic. Allow for more (lots more) study of the climate so that we can get to the point where we know what the puzzle on the table is a picture of and can act accordingly.
* I am all for measured and responsible actions to try and curb any way that we could be changing the composition of the atmosphere, which I think most are. The main argument is usually what is "measured and responsible".
-John
misty_pines
Member
John - Thanks for replying to this topic. Your response was very well articulated and makes great sense.
St. Charles SnowGoer
New member
I would love to see more Private and Public funding of research on this topic. Something is going on outside, and we need to look at what is causing these changes. Sure the results may not be seen today or in the next fifty years, but what kind of environment, and climate will we be leaving our children, and grandchildren? I am all for more money going into research!