Originally posted by McFarland
It doesn't matter aboot the political behind the scenes show, I don't really care for Al Gore meself, but global warming is occuring, and we are impacting it. It used to snow here, but not anymore. Forget the politics, something needs to be done aboot this. Global warming is no longer a theory, it's a fact. And it's a fact that we are impacting it. Burning rainforests, clearing land, factories putting out CO2, SO3, SO2, and other harmfull chemicals. If you don't beleive we are impacting the global climate, open your eyes. It's all around us now. You can practically see the smog in some cities, and yet for years the big factories said it wouldn't hurt you. It's been proven that the smog made by those factories can cause headaches, can errode metal and stone structures, and can even affect our long term health. We did something aboot those. Now it's time to do something aboot the rest. If you don't do it to save this planet for future generations, then do it to save yourself some money. That was the reason a lot of the people were there, not for some political reason. Even if there was a political reason behind it, ignore it and look at the rest. Environmental alarms have been sounding for years, it's time to fix the problem. Many species of plants and animals have become endangered or extict due to these factors. If that isn't enough proof something is dead wrong, I don't know what is.
"Global warming is no longer a theory, its a fact"...well no kidding, it's been warming since the end of the Little Ice Age 700 years ago you think no one noticed? The question remains what, if any, impact man is having on average temperatures. There are plenty of theories around that argue that man's net effect on global temperature is 0 or that we're actually causing it to be cooler than it would otherwise be. We've been told we have 10 years before it's "too late"....first heard that one more than 5 years ago and we still have 10 years before it's "too late". What about 10 years from now...another 10 years?
Your observation about YOUR local weather is meaningless. Sorry it hasn't snowed at your house in a while but, while it may be consistent with natural warming or changes in local climate both of which have nothing to do with man and it in no way has any relationship to man's alleged contribution and doesn't prove a thing.
One of the biggest problems with the "man-made global warming" stuff is that proponents have succeeded in a propaganda victory by making global warming synonymous with "man-made" global warming in the eyes of the generally poorly informed public. Besides that Orwellian bit, how is it exactly that "experts" can say that having a little warming isn't actually of benefit? Most of man's great advances have occured during warming periods including the Roman Empire and the Renaissance. The Little Ice Age is commonly called the "Dark Ages" for a very good reason.
Besides the inherent dishonesty and hysteria in the "man-made" global warming movement and their inevitable point of view that man is "bad" for the Earth, you have to consider what exactly it is they are trying to achieve. Essentially, it boils down to one thing and that's that we must do everything possible to keep the Earth exactly as it is (or as they "remember" it in their Polyannish way). The "good old days" when man was not yet a "virus", people lived off the land, respected "Mother Earth", and worshipped "nature" convienently forgets the shorter life spans, poorer health, lack of progress, and death from living relatively unprotected in "nature". Have you ever seen the anti-human diatribe by the founder of one of the environmental wack job organizations (believe it was Sea Shepard)? He thinks we should let most of humanity (i.e., the "virus") die off so we have less impact on good old "Mother Earth". What good is "Mother Earth" if we're not around to enjoy it?
These are the same types who are against euthanizing or hunting animals because it's cruel while convieniently forgetting that animals kill each other, most of the time by ripping and tearing each other apart. This isn't the "Wonderful World of Disney". Global climate changes, the Earth changes, and the number and types of species changes, these changes have always occurred and always will. I, and everyone I know (conservative and liberal) agree that pollution needs to be eliminated or at least controlled to the maximum extent economically feasible, not only because of health reasons but because it doesn't make sense to "shxt where you sleep" but no one has proven carbon dioxide is a "pollutant" other than in the most general sense (i.e., it's something that we're producing that's increasing the naturally occuring amounts) but there are no proven negative aspects to it (except in the most extreme cases), just theories. What if we started producing more water (actually make it vice purification)? Would it then be classified as pollutants? This isn't any different when the cause dejour' was global cooling, nuclear winter or the eradication of mankind by Aides. A lot of hype, hysteria and hypocracy with little or no facts to support them.
When someone can prove that man is causing, or even significantly contributing to warming then I'll be willing to re-look at the issue but for now I'll drive the car (or truck) I want, use as much energy as I need and can afford, buy the things I need or want, and pay as little tax as is legally feasible. For all you members of the Church of the Environment; until someone actually proves the man-made global warming theory (which they won't) keep your hands off my economy and my rights.
