Americans respond with a shrug to climate, energy crises

"Five massive extinctions in the geologic record demonstrate that life’s foothold on Earth is tenuous."

I would say that even though global history may record 5 events of massive extinctions, the existence and renewal of life on the planet demonstrates that lifes foothold on earth is actually incredibly robust and durable. It just might not be the same life that was there before the extinction event.

I would speculate that even if mankind "global warms" itself right out of existence, the planet and life will endure. And with the passage of time, something similar or different will come along that becomes just clever enough to destroy itself again.

 

been pretty nice around these parts lately...

 

People are just stupid.
Always have been and always will be.

 

I vote with Electric Me on this. Species with complex body plans (like ours) have a typical duration of a million years. In a broader sense, life on Earth so far has proven unstoppable. Several of the mega extinction were really intense as far as can now be discerned. Way more than +6 oC and moving rainfall to somewhere else.

Now, boiling the ocean would probably mean the end of biology, but I only can think of one person who even thinks that is possible by rendering the atmosphere much more opaque to infrared.

In 2 billion years (more or less), solar output will much increase and that'll be it. In the meantime, expect continued Biology. Continued humans? Could take that as a goal, and talk about ways to get there.

 

Shouldn't the sea level be a lot higher by now? I don't remember hearing about any real estate being lost yet.

 

I may be labeled a denier for saying this, but I live in the north, and I have worked with the environment for over 40 years, and I'm not sure I see any evidence whatsoever of the "climate moving north."

Farmers up here choose their crops based on the number of growing-degree days they require to ripen. In the 80s and 90s, those numbers went up for a few years, but they have been going down ever since. They also keep track of the day they can seed their crops and the day they get them harvested. Every year, it's becoming a greater struggle to raise a crop.

I work in the environmental field, and we take careful inventory of plant and animal species in a given area. Small variations in climate affect their populations, sometimes in dramatic ways. We're not seeing the effects of a warmer climate; quite the reverse. In the spring, there's a date when the leaves appear on the trees, That date has been generally getting later and later for the last 20 years. I realize that this is all local data, but I'm not seeing any real evidence of global warming, just a lot of rhetoric.

The shrinking Arctic ice cap is undeniable. So is the 1975-1998 warming spell. The two are undoubtedly linked, but the oceans are vast reservoirs of heat energy, and their temperatures lag behind that of air temperature by many years. Long after the warm spell is over, the oceans release their heat into colder regions, particularly the Arctic for many years afterward. The Arctic warmed dramatically throughout the late 90s and early 2000s, but that appears now to be over. Ice caps are growing dramatically, and that makes sense, as the reservoir of stored heat in the ocean is depleted.

The rise in CO2 is also undeniable, and that is often cited as "proof" of global warming. Also undeniable, is evidence from ice cores and other sources, which shows that CO2 and temperatures have fluctuated much more in the past than at present. it's also clear that the rise in CO2 doesn't precede temperature rise, it follows it. That in itself is very significant.

When I earned my science degrees, both at the undergrad and graduate levels, the scientific method was clearly understood to mean that any claim must be backed up by evidence, and that any challenge to a claim using evidence is welcomed, and even encouraged. Disagreement among scientists is considered the strength of science, as it is intended to keep everyone honest about the data, and it encourages further discussion, which leads to further knowledge. Nowhere in the scientific method is it mentioned that one could claim that the "debate is settled" and anyone who disagrees should be labeled a "denier."

As an environmental professional, I'm not saying humankind doing everything right, far from it, but if we want to protect our earth, we should be dealing with actual facts and data, not calling each other names in some sort of never-ending partisan, political battle of ideologies. That is the recipe for gridlock. That's what we have now; science is being forgotten.

 

If you lived in Virginia or North Carolina, you'd hear lots of discussion in the news of sea levels rising.
We are losing real estate in coastal Virginia and Outer Banks North Carolina, but it's hard to say it's due to global warming.

In that region, shore land is sinking slowly due to loss of weight of the ice-age glaciers which bulged the shore upwards. This is compounded by the natural rise of sea levels (sea levels have been rising 8-10 inches per hundred years). So if you have a cottage on the ocean, you are looking at maybe 1-2 feet sea level rise in the next 50-100 years...that's before we add-on anything extra due to CO2 rising. You're looking at add'l 3-feet sea level rise (total 5-feet) according to the climate change activists.

This gets into the news because it potentially impacts value of investments in shore properties. Real estate companies are trying to put a number on sea level rise to expect, and of course the climate change activists are critiquing the estimates.

The US Navy bases (Norfolk etc) have a design plan which assumes a certain sea level rise, which makes sense since sea levels are rising in that area "naturally".

 

Long on discussion, short on evidence. Sea levels won't rise unless the ice caps melt. There's your answer.

 

Fair enough, the climate doesn't care, much less know what "Americans" are. Climate works by other means than American opinion.

Bob Wilson

 

Just stop please.
Your lack of information is appalling.
The ice caps ARE melting, along with every other glacier on the planet.
Sea levels ARE rising. Changes that previously took a millennium are now happening in a decade.
If you are going to comment on a subject, please at least read up on it a LITTLE bit.
And from recognized scientists, not blow hard politicians.

 

Opinions, planning, discussions etc... what part of that is evidence?

 

That's a good example of the current dysfunctional state of the climate debate. If you can't refute with evidence, just call resort to name-calling. Unfortunately there are too many people involved in the movement who use your deplorable tactic.

What you call a "lack of information" is over 40 years of education and direct experience in the field.

 

If that is true, then I can not say what conclusion it leads me to.......because it would REALLY not be nice.
Have a good day.

 

Sea level should be exactly where it is from a scientific point of view ;-)

It takes a long time for sea level to rise, centuries from now we can expect at least anouther 5 meters. That means NYC and Miami either get dykes or are under water.

 

i can't wait that long for waterfront property.