From: James Rogers (jamesr@best.com)
Date: Mon Feb 04 2002 - 11:11:11 MST
On 2/4/02 6:22 AM, "Webb, Steve" <swebb@asce.org> wrote:
> The Post article stated that Antarctica is the only continent that is
> cooling. As far as empirical data go the jury's in: in the last 100
> years average land surface temperatures have increased by about 1 degree
> Fahrenheit. The most advanced climatic models indicate an anthropogenic
> cause, but given the complexity of the subject it's always possible that
> the current models are wrong.
After doing much research into the topic myself, I've basically come to the
conclusion that the 1 degree of movement in a century falls below the noise
floor and that nothing useful can be construed from it. Even if some of the
minor temperature increase is anthropogenic, it does not follow that people
are dramatically changing the climate.
What IS annoying is that even working under the assumption that the climate
is warming slightly, the vast majority of the people yammering on about it
have not the slightest clue as to what the consequences of that assumption
actually are. The problem is that there is a very vocal group of people who
fall into this latter category who want the world to conform to their
"solution", which conveniently fulfills their political objectives but for
which their is a scientific disconnect with the assumption those solutions
are based upon. Thanks, but no thanks; I don't feel like handing the reins
of the economy over to extreme ideologues with a demonstrated lack of
scientific integrity. (Better the devil you know...)
I think a lot of the backlash against global warming, particularly in more
educated circles (where I've seen a lot of it), is less an argument against
the premise of global warming than it is an argument against those that have
hijacked the issue and are using it to construe all sorts of idiotic
conclusions that conveniently fit their political ideologies. I think it is
arguable many of the groups that have hijacked the issue could potentially
be more harmful to the future of the human race than global warming will
ever be.
-James Rogers
jamesr@best.com
This archive was generated by hypermail 2.1.5 : Fri Nov 01 2002 - 13:37:37 MST