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Climate Change
Global Warming
Applied Science
Ride a bike, Save a life
WxNW.org Web-Wise Links
This piece was written as a personal message to a Quaker peace
listserve. I asked Kevin to share it with WxNW.org readers. He kindly agreed. He
wrote this piece to challenge readers to check out statements that people make with
good web research. OK?
Global Warming Is Real
Useful Web Links with Comments
by kevin
OK now, let's get real. ...there is no reasonable scientific
debate over this any longer. The only questions are - "How fast is it happening?"
and "How can we affect those changes in some way?" Remember, there are
always "scientists" that prostitute themselves out to the interests of
industry. Look at the history of "science" and smoking as an addictive
cause of cancer for one little example:( http://www.motherjones.com/mother_jones/MJ96/intro.html). In that case there was only the tobacco industry pushing this false science
and propaganda- in the case of global warming and causative fossil fuel consumption,
the forces that are pushing this false science are of course much !MUCH! more powerful.)
For a couple looks at these efforts by industry:
http://www.uow.edu.au/arts/sts/sbeder/agents.html
http://www.earthisland.org/eijournal/spring98/sp98a_fe.htm
http://www.uow.edu.au/arts/sts/sbeder/ecologist.html
http://www.unamich.org/Main/Advocacy/Articles/globalwarm.htm
http://www.onlinejournal.com/Special_Reports/Binion042501/binion042501.html
http://www.greenpeace.org/~climate/industry/reports/sceptics.html
The vast majority of serious scientists and climatologists are of the consensus that
this is a issue of considerable magnitude -- hence their outcry (and Kyoto et al).
The Bush White House commissioned a climate report before going to Kyoto (I hope
you'll are actually paying attention to this stuff) and even though he wanted it
to say what he wanted - like, that more trees will save us-- it didn't happen. His
own people even told him this stuff was serious. Of course he backed out
of Kyoto anyway.
Now there is a whole other side to this. When scientists first discovered the ozone
hole some 20 years ago, they were concerned, watched it grow, and started making
predictions. Of course lot's of naysayers and chemical industry whores said "nonsense
and rubbish" and "let's all go get a tan!"
The ozone hole kept growing much faster than their predictions so they revised
their predictions upwards to match the actual data concerning the hole size; they
revised it by double, triple, then a factor of ten and then they had to do it again
by a factor of ten. (Please pay attention kids.)
Believe it or not (all those with their heads in their air conditioned SUV's), the
same thing is happening with global warming. At first studies were saying
.25 of a degree, then maybe a half..Ok maybe a full degree a century. Now we have
seen eight of the hottest years on record in the last ten years, October and November
of 2001, the hottest months on record. The ice over the North Pole melted two of
the last three summers. By all estimates, that ice had been there for at least 65,000
yrs. Barn swallows have been seen by some Inuit communities where they have never
ever seen them before. They have also experienced thunderstorms for the first time
ever. Sixty-four words for snow, but not a one for thunder!..and then of course
there is Tuvalu..
So, what are the latest estimates based on current warming patterns you may well
ask? 6 DEGREES in the next century. Now of course if we warm up faster before 2010,
they will just have to revise it upwards again, no problem.
What many observers are saying is not that these scientist are being pressured into
a hysterical global warming orthodoxy, not at all... But that these scientists,(they
are only human) are actually afraid of looking at what is actually in front of them.
That they are actually underestimating the consequences, because the alternative
is too frightening to seriously contemplate.
I am not even going to put references for this stuff...look it up for yourself. -
or not... we are all entitled to our own opinions, no matter how uninformed.
(ok, ok, a few references)
http://whyfiles.org/updates/091beach/
http://www.tuvalu.f2s.com/warming-index.htm
http://www.solcomhouse.com/Ozone2000.htm
http://www.brighton73.freeserve.co.uk/gw/globalwarmingfaq.htm
http://www.solcomhouse.com/globalwarming.htm
http://www.fao.org/docrep/003/y0900e/y0900e06.htm
Anyway, we will all find out soon enough...So whadaya going to say to your grandkids
when they ask? Meanwhile, ride a bike, get on the train, get out of your car (even
make some f*@king noise why don'tcha)..save some oil..and save a life. It might be
your own, but more likely that of a child in Afghanistan, or Iraq, or Sudan, or Colombia
...
peace,
kevin
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