I'm Just Sayin'

Well, here we go...ace reporter A C Slim has been hard at it..taking an unbiased look at the evidence about global warming. I've uncovered the cold hard facts. Not really...I just wanted to use the words "cold hard". These are no cold hard facts to support the position that the warming trend we are experiencing right now is even a warming trend. Our earth has been warming and cooling for thousands  or millions of years. Sorry all you creationists...the planet is well over 6000 years old. It's such a complex issue and while I don't really believe there is a conspiracy in place in order to further economic development or stifle economic development in one part of the world or the other, I think we need to avoid mass hysteria and we so love mass hysteria.

Ice core records from the past 650,000 years show that temperature increases have preceded...not resulted from increases in CO2 in our atmosphere. The fluctuations of CO2 are a result of many variables, but the single largest producer of CO2 are the oceans. Our atmosphere is mostly water vapor..about 95% with CO2 making up only 0.054% ...that's a little more than one half of 1%. As our oceans cool, they absorb CO2 and as they warm, they release CO2.  So, while the oceans are by far the biggest producers of CO2...decaying vegetable matter and animals are second. Man made emissions are a very small part of the total...less than 1%. This may be surprising, it certainly was to me especially when visions of coal fired electric generating plants with  black smoke billowing from 20 story smoke stacks pop into memory. But think about it. One volcano can release more CO2 in a single eruption than all the coal burning in the world releases in a year. One California forest fire...more than all the cars and trucks in the state. But the warming and cooling of the oceans  is why CO2 levels follow rather than predeed temperature fluctuations. OK then...what causes the oceans to warm and cool? It's the sun of course, but the amount of sun that penetrates the atmosphere and the amount of heat that is trapped between the earth's surface and the atmosphere varies wildly due to several other factors. The amount of cloud cover is probably the biggest factor but there are a whole bunch of other factors involved. Solar activity is one. In fact, solar variations are the biggest factors in the amount of cloud cover we have at any given moment. All these variables, and I've noted only a few, contribute to the temperature of our planet. It gets even more complex. The temperature fluctuations do not occur evenly around the earth. As the Arctic polar ice cap melts, the Antarctic polar ice is increasing. We had a Medieval Warm Period about 1100 A.D. and the Little Ice Age from about 1400 to 1850 A.D. .During the Warm Period, the temperatures were warmer than they are now and during the Little Ice Period, they were cooler. We didn't cause those variances. Why must we claim our current cycle is unusual and will lead to mass destruction of our way of life? The Earth has always been changing and will always continue to change. Why do we think it should stand still...remain static or stationary for us now?

I've spent alot of time talking about things we have no control over as far as the earth's temperature goes, because the point I want to make is if we aren't really affecting climate change as much as natural forces are... why should we try to change the direction the temperature of the earth is going? We shouldn't...but it should be apparent to everybody that we need to treat the planet as gently as possible. The fewer fossil fuels we burn, the better...but the reason may be that we are damaging our planet in other ways...not the contribution to global warming, but the pollution and the damage by acid rain for example. Smog...smog, smog, smog, smog. I'm about 40 miles from Atlanta. I get smog alerts every day in the summer. Water pollution...it's not necessary to elaborate about unsafe, contaminated water. Even esthetically...we are making our planet a cess pool on which to lay our eyes.

I will continue this commentary...I've more thoughts on the matter. All those folks who are embattled in this debate about our impact on the temperature of the earth and all who are interested should read  NOTES FROM THE HOLOCENE by Dorion Sagen. Any thinking person should read this book. The Holocene is the geological period in which we now live. It began about 9600 BC. With thought provoking style and in a light hearted manner, Sagan explores our history and our future in terms of our relationship to our planet and our universe. The book gave me a totally different slant on reality. The most interesting part of the book, for me...is the examination of the living nature of our planet...how our planet behaves like a giant, self regulating organism.

More to follow....