Global Warming

[PointyHairedJedi]

Originally Posted by Mighty Jalapeno

They've known. They've known for a LONG time, and it's a natural occurrence. However, that same ministry (now people with marketing and business degrees) are blaming global warming for the eventual death of BC industry, and raising as much panic as they can.

So you know what global warming makes me think of? The greatest scapegoat of all time.

Part of the problem with credibilty is that people hear things like that, and assume that the rest is a crock too. I think, in general, treating ecology as an ideology is entirely the wrong way to go about things - you might convince a few people, but the rest will just see the dogma and be put off by it. The pragmatic approch is by far the best approach if enough people are to be convinced that there really are sound reasons for thinking that sudden climate change really is something to be worried about.

[Mighty Jalapeno]

Well, to be honest, this PARTICULAR dramatic climate change is not really affected by the weather. Other changes, like in Europe:

Spring coming 9 days earlier,
Summer ending 3 days later, and
Winters averaging 4 degrees colder,

are DIRECTLY linked to the reduction in the Atlantic Gulf Stream current. Warm water, and thus warm air, is not making it to Europe, and this means in the summer there is less convenient humidity and this results in lower pressure zones, sucking in hotter air from surrounding areas, and in Winter it just means less warm air outright. Now, there's a couple causes for the Atlantic Gulf Stream reduction, but a significant portion of it? Water use along the Carribbean, by Mexico and the United States. And do you think they'll stop? They NEED that water for irrigation... without it, billions of tons of food just don't get grown. But with it, in about ten years, Europe will be in serious trouble, and there's talk that if the current is shifted, it will be PERMANENT... and new ocean currents will form, and it's believed this will heat up the East Coast of the US and Canada, and bring warmer water up into the Canadian Arctic, and FUCK if THAT won't melt a little ice cap!

So, in short... goodbye, Earth!

[Nate the Great]

How hot does it get down in Arizona these days, anyway? Has it been ninety-plus all summer, or what?

That's a lot of beetles. I've seen the insides of many good trees get sawdusted by insects, but even I haven't seen anything like that.

As a deviation, is there still oil in Alaska? Just wondering.

[PointyHairedJedi]

Ernesto happening along (sort of) has made me think - give it decade or two, and nobody will be able to live in Florida anymore. Quite apart from anything else, no bugger will insure them.