Thursday, February 28, 2008

Global Cooling?

Wow...here we go. Everyone has been running around saying global warming is going crazy. We are all going to die in the next 50 to 100 years if we don’t do something. Al Gore, I remind you is a politician, wins the Nobel Peace prize on his research about human made global warming.

I have always and well always believe our earth goes through cycles. I don’t care how much pollution we claim to put into the air the earth, sun, and space is sooooooo much more powerful than humans. It’s actually an insult to Mother Nature, God, or other higher power beliefs you may have to claim humans can alter weather and temperature on a global level. It will do what it wants, when it wants. Now… to keep the hate mail from coming I do believe in responsible recycling and limiting your impact in your area when you can. But you should be doing these things because you believe in it and it makes you feel good. Not because some politician tells you to. I personally think the man made global warming could end up being one of the biggest political hoaxes in the history of America.

Here’s an article with lots of links for your reading.

http://www.dailytech.com/Temperature+Monitors+Report+Worldwide+Global+Cooling/article10866.htm

9 comments:

Shelley said...

I usually avoid these hot topics...but being a Meteorologist/Climatologist I couldn't agree with you more! Well put!

The Fun Park said...

Thank you Shelley! I'm so glad you responded. When you take politics out of issues it’s amazing how clear things can become.

Anonymous said...

Send Al Gore to Nebraska! Mom

The Fun Park said...

no kidding

Anonymous said...

Wow. One slightly colder winter than one of the warmest years on record? Cherry pick data much?

Still warmer than the 20 year average, and as of the last week or so temperatures are back to where they were last year:

http://discover.itsc.uah.edu/amsutemps/execute.csh?amsutemps+001

Then let's not forget that snowpack in areas that normally drop below freezing doesn't tell us about temperatures getting colder - it tells us there's more moisture in the air (which comes from higher temperatures and greater evaporation.

And then there's the antarctic sea ice dodge - there isn't more sea ice because more is freezing - there's more coverage because of circulation patterns spreading the sea ice out. Antarctica however is still losing mass.

We heard this already two winters ago when conservatives breathlessly declared GW to be a hoax because it snowed in South Africa. Of course, they have ski resorts in South Africa so that shouldn't come as big surprise. But for those with a political chip on their shoulders (and a certain amount of geographic ignorance), it was all they needed. And here it is again, backed up with the same innumeracy and strawmen.

The Fun Park said...

Now Welby I never cherry picked anything. I’m simply stating there is evidence and data to debunk or challenge anyone’s finding or beliefs in global warming or cooling. My post is actually nothing about real data towards global warming, but about my belief in a higher power. I guess its ok for me to assume you believe this is all caused by man? I never denied the fact that the earth goes through cycles and changes (warming and cooling). I simply stated if you believe humans have the power to cause all of this I beg to differ and that’s where we can agree to disagree. Obviously my post revels I believe in a high power and I feel it will show itself whenever it wants, and it doesn’t matter what car I drive, what paper I buy, or what organic food I eat, or how many carbon credits I buy or sell.

Thank you for helping make my point. No one knows what's going to happen. So how can we say the things we do with such authority and confidence? They have also found tropical plants in ice cover areas so wouldn’t that make us all believe the earth has been down this road before? Why, it’s not for me to decide or say.

My other point is I believe in doing what I think is right and I will not be a mind numb robot following the latest and coolest fad and push my friends, family, or other people to do it because I saw a movie or heard a speech. I have a higher respect for my surroundings and I know I’m about as insignificant as a speck of dust in the big picture. I do recycle and try my best to be a good person during my life. But I do it because I want to and I feel its right. Not because someone scientist or politician told me to.

I believe tomorrow we could all be gone. An earthquake can take out major cities in minutes. Hurricanes can level and flood cities before we know it, tornadoes can whip out homes people spent years building in seconds, mud slides will take our communities, and the list will go on. It doesn’t matter what we as humans due because there is a force bigger then one can imagine at work. The earth temperature might be rising but I’m not going to say it’s because of humans. I would never entitle myself to having that much power.

Anonymous said...

"The earth temperature might be rising but I’m not going to say it’s because of humans. I would never entitle myself to having that much power."

Sure you do.

Carbon dioxide is a greenhouse gas. It's one of several gases that have the ability to store heat. These gases act as a "blanket" and trap solar radiation and keep the earth warm and habitable. Without them it would as cold and barren as the moon.

Us humans have increased the amount of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere from 280 ppm to 380 ppm over the last 100 years. We've done this by burning fossil fuels, which are essentially big stockpiles of carbon that had been locked away in the earth's crust until we released them back into the atmosphere. And we know that's where the increase came from by analyzing the carbon isotopes, which are essentially a "tag" as to where the carbon came from.

Adding more carbon dioxide to the atmosphere is just like adding more blankets to your bed or down filler to your sleeping bag. It stores more heat.

Now, if you increased the stuffing in your sleeping bag by 30%, you'd expect it to be warmer, wouldn't you?

Well, we've done the same with our atmosphere, by adding more carbon dioxide. Man not only can change climate, man has changed the climate. It's simple physics.

The Fun Park said...

I still believe this is all normal in the big picture. The earth is doing what it does and what it has done for millions of years. We might help accelerate something a little but I don’t believe we create it (warming or cooling) by living on earth. I still believe the earth will warm and cool no matter what we do. Its normal cycles and once again more powerful then one can actually imagine. You can read a report everyday that has some new find about climate, cancer, weight loss, green house gasses, and so on. It proves to me there are no answers, only good educated guess. History will tell us more then science in my mind. History has shown the earth has done this before factories, cars, humans, and so on.

I’m sorry but I cannot agree with man having the ability to stop global warming or cooling. That doesn't fall into my beliefs. It will happen no matter what we do. I know there is data out there to backup what we both believe. I think there are forces at work that can erase all that data in a blink of an eye when the time comes. I believe in things beyond science and data from the last 400 years. This is an area you and I will have to agree to disagree

Anonymous said...

Welby seems to be ignorant of the fact that the whole basis of the global warming caused by man hypothesis is based on at best, 50 years of reasonably accurate data. On a geological level, estimates are that the earth is probably in the middle of its long term temperature range. Why the qualifiers, well, because there is only 50 years reasonably accurate data available. The geological record, however, is the only data we have pre-18th century and so it will have to do. I do know that if we have another volcanic eruption on the magnitude of Krakatoa, there will be more carbon dioxide and sulphur dioxide dumped in the atmosphere than will be by all the cars in all the world in three years. Yet, that would be most likely to cause a cooling event.

By the way, I am all for all this global warming caused by man nonsense. Being the cynic that I am I stand to make quite a lot of money should the successor to the Kyoto agreement be signed by the next Prez.