“The debate is over.”
Al Gore said that about man-made climate change. A lot of other people have said it, too. But it isn’t true. If the debate were over, then no one would be debating it anymore. There was a time when it was widely believed that there were canals on Mars and bathing was unhealthy, and just a few decades ago doctors said cigarettes were good for us. Those debates are over.
When you announce that the conversation has ended while someone is still disagreeing with you, it does nothing to lure them over to your side. In fact, it accomplishes the opposite. We don’t like to be told we’re wrong, but we really don’t like to be told that we aren’t intelligent enough to recognize the facts. Such an assertion causes us to dig in and cling more fiercely to our position.
That’s easy to do in a discussion about climate change, because there are more than enough facts to go around. The processes involved are complex, interconnected, and slow. If we heard that the Leaning Tower of Pisa had fallen over, we could fly to Italy and see for ourselves. But when it comes to the weather, and human influences on it, many of the facts seem contradictory. There are experts who say the earth is getting warmer, but others claim we’re going through a cooling period. Books and magazines tell us that islands in the Pacific have become uninhabitable because of rising seas, while the islands themselves maintain tourism boards with websites that beckon us to come there on our next vacation. Scientists on one side insist that elevated levels of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere cause higher temperatures, but scientists on the other side say that if the two factors are related, it’s the higher temperatures that cause increased levels of carbon dioxide.
As with many complicated questions, there is a correct answer to this one. But in order to determine what that answer is — beyond any doubt — we’d have to shut down all gasoline-powered engines, eliminate almost all manufacturing, halt the production of electricity, and stop burning coal. And then we’d have to wait about a century to see if carbon dioxide levels in the atmosphere had dropped, average temperatures had leveled off, and ice sheets had begun to grow. Meanwhile, everyone would be dead, because despite Earth’s position in the so-called “Goldilocks Zone” (not too hot, and not too cold), nearly everyone on the planet needs some sort of shelter that includes heat or air conditioning.
Obviously, none of that is going to happen. And that takes us back to the debate. How do we settle it? I’m pretty sure we aren’t going to settle it. Both sides would have to walk away from personal gain and do what’s best for humanity. How often does that happen? Both sides would have to begin telling the truth, and stop bending and distorting information in order to bolster their own arguments. Does that ever happen? And both sides would have to actually behave in ways that reflect their words. If celebrities – especially those whose gift consists of pretending to be somebody else – want to assume the role of environmental spokesperson, they’re going to have to give up their forty-thousand-square-foot mansions and private jets. And if politicians – especially those who say one thing in front of the television cameras while stuffing their own pockets in the privacy of their offices – want to be seen as true leaders, they’re going to have to look beyond what’s best for their party and their own personal chances for re-election.
The world’s population is growing by a billion people every fifteen years or so. The city of Calgary has a million people. A population increase of a billion is like adding a thousand more cities the size of Calgary. Most of those people are going to want to own a home and drive a car and travel to other places and use whatever technology will be around then. Do we intend to tell them that they can’t? And what exactly are we willing to give up right now?
There are very few scientists in the world, and even they can’t agree on the most basic issues involved in climate change. We hear the word consensus thrown around, but we also hear claims of blackmail, death threats, lost funding, secret emails, fudged data, ruined careers, and professional ostracism. The rest of us are stuck in that huge middle chasm. We have neither the time nor the expertise to investigate and verify information, including the credentials of people who claim to be experts. We also live in a time when photographs and video can be altered and even completely fabricated, making it impossible to believe our own eyes and ears.
Is the Earth getting warmer? Probably. There isn’t a lot of stability in the universe, so I’m not sure why we would expect our climate to be any different. Are we contributing to that change? Probably. We’re here, and doing a lot of things. Can we reverse the trend? I doubt it. I’m not even convinced that things were better before. It’s true that we’re slobs, and there’s a continent of garbage floating around in the ocean. But we’ve begun to clean up our act. For example, a relatively large fraction of the world’s land has been designated as national parks, which indicates that we at least have some idea what we should be doing. Still, I wonder if we’ve over-estimated the effects of our activity. Maybe our coastal cities will be destroyed by flooding while we’re at home recycling beer cans and installing low-energy light bulbs.
Mainly, I worry that there will be rioting, and even a war, over the issue of climate change. If tempers continue to flare and each side continues to rage against the other, people will likely die and property will be ravaged. And it’s the future generations – those we all claim to be so concerned about – who will suffer the most.
Andrew
September 29, 2014
The issue of population growth is the one that will start the riots – just wait till people find out that planet earth can only support at finite number of humans before running out of fresh water, land to grow food and trees to cut down to make it all better.
LikeLiked by 2 people
bronxboy55
September 30, 2014
I think there’s still plenty of fresh water and trees, Andrew. The real problem may be that more and more of us are choosing to live in cities. When there are too many people in too little space, things tend to get unpleasant.
LikeLike
Andrew
September 30, 2014
you haven’t been to my home town – Here in California, we’re in our third year of drought, the reservoirs are empty and if we don’t get rain this winter – we’ll be getting water rationing cards by April. If that happens, I’ll need to move north to find snow and rain.
LikeLiked by 1 person
bronxboy55
September 30, 2014
So many places struggle with chronic flooding. Why can’t someone figure out a way to send some of that water where it’s needed?
LikeLike
Deb Weyrich-Cody
October 10, 2014
As a child, I recall my grandfather telling me about population studies on over-crowding done with rats, back in the sixties… In response, they turned to cannibalism and all sorts of aggressive, (normally) abhorrent/abherrent behaviours.
Is this the origin of the dreaded Zombie Apocalypse? To be brought about by cannibalistic, Mad Cow prion-eating humans in over-crowded cities? *Much eye rolling here, but I’m certain you get my drift…*
LikeLike
hassang66
September 29, 2014
Thanks for this article.
I wonder in this age of digital media why are we still in delusions about truth and reality. Like you said every one has a bias and everyone distorts and tempers the information. Once someone told me, true change will be universal and it won’t require any media to propagate, humans will themselves be the carrier. I hope to see that day.
LikeLiked by 2 people
bronxboy55
September 30, 2014
It seems as though a lot of people have become reliant on the media to tell them what to think, like, and believe. I wonder if it’s somehow related to the growing tendency to eat in restaurants or get take-out, rather than cook meals at home.
LikeLiked by 2 people
Doug Bittinger
September 29, 2014
This whole thing reminds me of a sign I once saw in one of those trendy tourist towns, it said, “Genuine antique rocking chairs,,, made while you wait.” There seem to be an awful lot of manufactured facts getting into this. Especially for studying a phenomena that exceeds recorded history. Thanks for bringing clarity and sanity to the issue, Charles.
LikeLike
bronxboy55
September 30, 2014
Clarity and sanity? You’re always exaggerating.
LikeLike
Jac
September 29, 2014
I don’t understand much about science, and I’m sure both sides of the debate have their truths, but I honestly don’t feel the need to panic about climate. The possibility that it could be a major issue has caused it to take on a life of its own, but most of have enough common sense to understand that day to day life is what we need to focus on. No one knows what will happen in the future, so the best we can do is clean up what we can (which many nations have done) and to live as if each life matters, in the present. If you ask me, there are other things going on, that left unchecked, will cause the destruction of life and our planet much faster than any possible long-term climate change. My gut tells me that those trying to make us panic about this issue are either exploiting it to make money or trying to distract us from greater dangers, or both. Life sure is interesting, and I think we can all agree on that.
PS – Saying “the debate is over” is a gentlemanly way of saying “shut up.”
LikeLiked by 1 person
bronxboy55
September 30, 2014
I suspect that both sides include a lot of sincere people who believe what they’re doing is right, as well as a lot of short-term thinkers who see nothing but dollar signs.
LikeLike
Stacie Chadwick
September 29, 2014
I find this an incredibly interesting topic. I think one of the biggest problems is that industrialized society is its own worst enemy, and that the creature comforts we’ve become accustomed to are in some ways our own worst enemies. Take me, as an example. I have 6 recycling bins in my garage but I drive a Yukon XL. I bring my own grocery bags to the store but don’t think twice about driving there (in my Yukon XL) for a couple of ingredients. The list goes on and on…one step forward and, unfortunately, one step back.
LikeLiked by 1 person
bronxboy55
September 30, 2014
In a strange way, it reminds me of the Cold War, when kids went to sleep worrying about the end of the world. Only now, they’re being told that the enemy is everyone, including their own parents.
LikeLike
subodai213
September 29, 2014
You have summed up the entire situation precisely. We are the cause of climate change. Nothing will be done because of the very things you say. There isn’t much we CAN do, really, People are still making more people, still consuming things like water, food, gasoline, room, and the resulting garbage/emissions/ consumption of resources.
The term “environmental refugee” will become common…you already see it in Bangledesh, when millions of people swarm out of the lowlands when the monsoons flood that country. Remember the Sahel? I bet most don’t. That was oh, back in the 70’s? when millions of Somalis fled their country after a long bout of drought and famine. Famine was brought on by farming on land that was never meant to be farmed, and was farmland only because it’d been overgrazed to the point where cattle could no longer survive.
Environmental refugees are going to be the norm, my friend. Even here in North America…when Miami floods, the residents are going to be headed the only way possible-north. And it’s not as if N.Florida and South Carolina are uninhabited. South Carolinians who own land and houses aren’t going to be willing to have strangers from Miami camp on their front lawn.
The problem lies in us. We keep making babies. That, is the base of the whole thing. If,starting today, no one would be allowed to have children, it still would take a darned long time for things to change. Like a pig in a python, the current population of the earth would take 80 years (average, considering the children conceived that day) to stop consuming resources like water, land, and food.
A man named Malthus wrote a frightening book about the growth of human populations, and Paul Ehrlich expanded on it in “The Population Bomb”. And just yesterday I read something on the net about the estimates about future population level being off. “They” used to say that the population would level off at “only” 9 billion by the end of the century. Now it’s ELEVEN billion in less than fifty years.
It infuriates me that there are people who make it their business to attack the scientists who are proving over and over that things ARE changing, and human activities are the cause. Talk about shooting the messenger! But money talks, and bullshit walks. Those folks are more interested in protecting their income.
There is no way we are going to stop this train. People are going to continue to have babies. People are going to continue trying to make a living. It’s awfully easy for the rich guy to say, you little man in where the hell am I Amazonia, you need to stop cutting down those big trees that breathe for the planet. But he doesn’t help the little man by giving him a job that doesn’t involve cutting down those trees.
I am very very glad to be 60. I’ll be dead in 15 years. I feel so very badly for the baby born today. The world he or she inherits is not going to be a nice place to live.
LikeLiked by 1 person
bronxboy55
October 1, 2014
When I went looking for a city that had a population of one million, or something close to that figure, I found a list — and at least half of them were places I’d never heard of. The numbers are almost incomprehensible, and are growing exponentially. I’m not worried about what the climate is doing, because I believe there are too many factors affecting it. Of course our activities have an impact, but there’s no reliable way to measure it, or to predict those other factors. What we can measure and predict is the amount of food, water, housing, and energy we’ll need for the multitudes of people who are on the way. And when I consider the level of war and violence we’ve reached with seven billion, I shudder to think.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Elyse
September 29, 2014
I would really like to smack whoever came up with the term “Global Warming.” Climate change is really what we need to use, because the planet is warming and cooling and storming and droughting. It’s doing everything to greater extremes than before.
My reading makes me think that the majority of scientists have agreed that man’s industry has adversely affected the planet’s atmosphere, along with population-non-control and other issues.
But it doesn’t matter. Because the things we need to do to improve our atmosphere produce the same jobs, incomes, etc. as the things we’ve done to dirty it. People don’t have to agree. They just need to be industrious in a different direction.
LikeLiked by 1 person
bronxboy55
September 30, 2014
But the problem with the term climate change is that it’s so fuzzy. To a skeptic, it sounds as though the scientists have no idea what they’re talking about, and that whatever happens anywhere, it’s going to be labeled as an issue. This is complicated stuff.
LikeLike
vgfoster
September 29, 2014
Thanks for another thought-provoking post. This is certainly a heated topic, and I agree with your assessment, one that will probably never be settled. I’m just glad that we are doing some things right (finally). I watched “Divergent” last night which got me to thinking about what might have caused the ‘war’ they alluded to that led to the post-apocalyptic faction lifestyle depicted. Maybe the author envisioned a war about the causes and effects of climate change…
LikeLiked by 1 person
bronxboy55
October 1, 2014
Is Divergent a movie or a television show? I’ll have to check it out.
Thanks, Vanessa.
LikeLike
Jac
October 1, 2014
Divergent is both a book and a movie. I believe it’s part of a trilogy.
LikeLiked by 1 person
vgfoster
October 1, 2014
Divergent is a book and a now a movie.
http://divergentthemovie.com/
It’s not for everyone, but I enjoy dystopian, post-apocalyptic books/movies/stories. Maybe I’m a time traveler and watching makes me feel at home.
LikeLike
gliderpilotlee
September 29, 2014
Great again Charles, nearly everyone remembers times when (a window/a year/several years) were different. Soo, something over 1000 words here, and I have opportunity to pick two to comment on – distorted and pretend.
We look at something distorted and apparently (sometimes) neglect to search for the real — “that’s funny looking, I gotta find out why it’s distorted”
What is so important about some actor or actress pretending? Hmm, does the best used car salesman — insert – best liar — always have the perfect gem lady, the one that’s truly devoted, “Picasso sexy, toned and agile”? It’s just a comment, of course there are fine people who happen to be used car salespersons.
LikeLiked by 1 person
bronxboy55
October 1, 2014
Lee, I think with most complex issues, we tend to start out with a belief, then sift through the available evidence and accept what fits. It’s called confirmation bias. Much less work that way.
LikeLiked by 1 person
gliderpilotlee
October 1, 2014
I wondered what it was labeled, thanks. Start with belief instead of some facts, or better, all the information if possible, then add time and cycles. tipping point? I think it was 2006 the moons orbit was at an 18 year cycle highly irregular orbit (wobble) wow– slosh a bunch of hot water under the polar ice cap, what do we think is going to happen? Wish I was better educated, but the last time I put ice cream in hot coffee – it melted.
LikeLike
ranu802
September 29, 2014
I truly agree with what you have written in your post, but are we really facing global warming, if so why are our winters getting colder?
LikeLiked by 1 person
bronxboy55
October 1, 2014
There are two teams: the Alarmists and the Deniers. The Alarmists blame every bad thing that happens on human activity, which is ridiculous. And the Deniers refuse to take responsibility or accept blame for anything. In the process, both sides of the argument continually fumble the ball in a game of confusion that may never end.
LikeLike
Deb Weyrich-Cody
October 10, 2014
I’m SO sick of people who don’t even know (observe & acknowledge) what’s going on outside their own front door. Turn off the air conditioning, go outside, walk around and start to really PAY ATTENTION over time… Is this what you recall as being “normal” as a child?
Seriously, how difficult is that?
Being your own Weatherman isn’t rocket science – just ask anyone who depends on the weather for their livelihood – Farmers have been doing it for millennia…
LikeLike
bronxboy55
October 10, 2014
If we’re going to base our concept of normal on what we’re used to, it won’t ever be possible to agree on what it means. And if we really want to reduce carbon emissions, then we should turn off our televisions as well as our air conditioners, and our computers, too. Hollywood should stop making movies and cars should (and could) get 100 miles per gallon. With another billion people every decade and a half, we’ll have to come up with some pretty extreme sacrifices, and everyone will have to stick to them. I don’t see any sign of that happening — especially from the people who are sounding the alarm.
LikeLike
itmayormaynotrhyme
October 2, 2014
Make no mistake, the average surface temperature of the Earth is rising, but global warming is a pointless name for it. The average rise doesn’t manifest as hotter temperatures everywhere. What it does is mess with the ocean currents by adding fresh water from the poles, screw with the atmospheric cycles and generally shake up equilibria in our weather systems. And that manifests as some parts getting hotter, colder, drier, wetter, depending on global position.
LikeLike
ranu802
October 2, 2014
Thank you for your detailed info,I appreciate it very much.
LikeLike
bronxboy55
October 2, 2014
One of the things I’d like a qualified scientist to explain is why a slight increase in temperature necessarily causes the polar ice to melt. If the temperature at the South Pole were -100 and it warmed up by two or three degrees, it would still be well below the melting point of water. And if it takes many decades to change the heat content of huge masses, such as the polar ice caps and the oceans, how do we know that we aren’t seeing the effects of things we were doing a century ago?
LikeLike
thecontentedcrafter
September 29, 2014
Charles, I wasn’t going to comment until you published ‘part the last’ on this subject – but……. I just can’t help myself. BRAVO!!!
LikeLiked by 1 person
bronxboy55
October 2, 2014
Thanks, Pauline, but there won’t be a Part 3. I don’t know what else to say.
LikeLike
kerbey
September 29, 2014
All I know is thank God Al invented the internet, so you could write this. Climates change. Oh, well.
LikeLike
bronxboy55
October 2, 2014
To be fair, Mr. Gore never said he invented the Internet. He did appear to take credit for creating the Internet, when he should have said that he was one of its early supporters. Given the resulting ridicule, you’d think he would have been more careful with the claims he made in his documentary.
LikeLike
dianasschwenk
September 29, 2014
And then there’s that whole planetary history of cycles of ice ages and warmings etc.
It would be nice though, that while we are fracking and contaminating clean water that equal amounts of money is also allotted to finding renewable energy sources. We can’t prove climate change but we can prove that pesticides and toxins are an issue and are poisoning us.
Truth is, everything always boils down to money… Thanks for writing this thought-provoking post!
Diana xo
LikeLiked by 1 person
bronxboy55
October 2, 2014
I agree with you, Diana. If we just treated the outside environment in a way that resembles how we treat the inside of our homes, we’d be immediately better off.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Deb Weyrich-Cody
October 10, 2014
Hi Diana! Speaking of “poisoning ourselves (and the rest of the planet): with pesticides”… Did you happen to catch Health Canada’s “announcement” yesterday about Neonics?
LikeLike
dianasschwenk
October 10, 2014
No, I don’t even know what Neonics are. I’m still trying to wrap my head around GMOs Deb!
LikeLiked by 1 person
D Holcomb
September 30, 2014
I don’t think we need experts to tell us what’s happening outside our own doors. California is in a terrible drought. Sea levels are rising. This I’ve experienced. And yes, humans are polluting planet earth. Whether it causes climate change or not, we’re making a mess of our home. I’d hate to think that because we were all dickering about climate change and doing nothing to stop our polluting ways, that it was later found out that whooops…we did cause climate change.
A brave and thought-provoking post.
LikeLike
bronxboy55
October 2, 2014
We need to stop dump dangerous things onto the land, and into the water and air. But if the climate is going to change no matter what we do or don’t do, then we also need to address those possibilities now. As I said near the end of the post, our coastal cities may be flooded while we’re at home, patting ourselves on the back for replacing light bulbs.
LikeLike
D Holcomb
October 4, 2014
“If.” That’s the important word.We don’t know if our activities are causing the climate to change or not, although many scientists believe they have evidence to prove yay or nay. My concern is that the climate change debate is used as an excuse to either change our polluting ways, or not, depending on which side of the debate you are on. Meanwhile, this organisim that is planet earth is being affected by what we as humans do.
We are starting to address the possibilities of climate change. California is rationing water in many cities, and looking at alternate means of getting water. There was talk at some point of desalinization of ocean water, but dollars always come into play. It’s becoming more doable, tho, as technology changes.
LikeLike
Choosing
September 30, 2014
“Walking away from personal gain” and “begin telling the truth”…. that are the real biggies here, I think. We could accomplish a lot with that. We could probably save the world with that, whatever that might mean. But as longs as the big goals in politics are
1) get re-elected,
2) make sure that you have a nice cushion in case number 1 does not work out
we are in trouble.
And the future generations will be very cross with us, and rightly so.
LikeLike
bronxboy55
October 2, 2014
The hypocrisy of the spokespeople in this issue does real damage to their cause. You can’t be jetting all over the globe for weddings and private parties, and then tell everyone else they should turn down their thermostats at home. I’m stunned by how often they get away with that.
LikeLike
morristownmemos by Ronnie Hammer
September 30, 2014
I would much rather spend my time reading about climate change than about ISIS.
LikeLiked by 1 person
bronxboy55
October 2, 2014
I don’t think either conversation will be going away any time soon.
LikeLiked by 1 person
pegoleg
October 2, 2014
I can’t wait until climate change causes all the ISIS terrorists to be killed by gigantic, falling icicles.
LikeLike
bronxboy55
October 3, 2014
Peg, you’ve proven we can find hope in anything.
LikeLike
jeanjames
September 30, 2014
I don’t know…I’m kinda hot and cold over this whole issue. Great post though!
LikeLike
bronxboy55
October 2, 2014
Thanks, Jean. I can see both sides, too.
LikeLike
Patti Kuche
September 30, 2014
I always feel so sorry for the poor Colorado River and the demands on its water, most of which goes to California. Then I feel sorry for Al Gore, who couldn’t win against George Bush because of hanging chads in Florida where the highest point above sea level is supposed to be 345 ft . . . .
LikeLike
bronxboy55
October 3, 2014
I feel sorrier for the river, Patti. Mr. Gore has done all right for himself.
LikeLike
silkpurseproductions
October 1, 2014
Well, you have managed to scare the heck out of me. This two parter was really thought out and obviously has set a lot of people thinking. Maybe even for themselves.
It still surprises me how many people take what they see on TV or hear on the radio or read in the paper as gospel. Every “report” is a story. Manufactured by a Producer/Reporter/Writer. My Broadcast Journalism Professor tackled this issue head on and he scared me too. The reality is, news is simply manufactured by people who all have their take on an issue and their own influences. “Trust no one.”
LikeLike
bronxboy55
October 3, 2014
That’s probably a wise approach, Michelle. The truth is out there somewhere, but it’s getting harder all the time to figure out who’s telling it — if anyone.
LikeLiked by 1 person
icedteawithlemon
October 1, 2014
Very sharp writing–in both parts. Are you sure you can’t write a Part 3 and settle this debate once and for all? I would trust your judgment on this one–so much better than believing anything the media has to report and so much easier than having to figure it out for myself. I want to be a good global citizen, but my efforts as such are minimal, and you have succeeded in making me feel just a little bit guilty about that–but not so guilty that I’m willing to give up my everyday conveniences or my occasional flights to new places to visit with new friends. And therein lies the problem, as you have so eloquently pointed out . . .
LikeLike
bronxboy55
October 3, 2014
You have no need to feel guilty, Karen. Just do a quick search of celebrity environmentalists and their lifestyles.
LikeLike
pegoleg
October 2, 2014
You’re spot on. The debate is NOT over, the issue is NOT settled and I don’t see that it is going to be any time soon. I suspect that we the people have a definite impact on the earth, while at the same time I suspect we don’t have that much of an impact. Look at all the deadly poison that the earth herself is throwing into the air with the volcanic eruption in Japan.
I guess all we can do is try to be good stewards within the reality of 21st century life, and calm down about it all before heads get bashed.
LikeLike
bronxboy55
October 3, 2014
I read somewhere that volcanoes produce most of the carbon dioxide that ends up in the atmosphere. But I read somewhere else that volcanoes account for a very small percentage of atmospheric CO2. And that’s the problem right there. Most people have no way to determine which is true, so they begin with an opinion, then believe the claim that supports it.
LikeLike
earthriderjudyberman
October 4, 2014
Charles … You’ve raised some thought-provoking questions. This is why I choose not to engage in a debate on this issue. The “facts” are confusing. To me, it’s a game of ‘who do you trust?’ An expert might have funding from a source who has vested interest in how things should play out. We don’t always know who or what is behind the logic or rationale.
If we do our part by being conscientious consumers, will other emerging countries do the same? I, for one, will not buy the curly light bulbs because they contain a hazardous chemical that has to be disposed of properly. Right! How many, who have bought that product, are doing so?
LikeLike
bronxboy55
October 10, 2014
Spoken like a true journalist, Judy. Things are almost always much more complicated than they seem.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Deb Weyrich-Cody
October 10, 2014
CFLs have to be one of the biggest “environmentally friendly” farces ever! How on earth are they to be “disposed of properly” when they’re so fragile that the toxic Mercury vapour (enclosed within glass tubing) escapes as soon as they break?
LikeLiked by 1 person
rangewriter
October 6, 2014
I have to agree with you that, no the conversation is not over. And also that yes all that bad stuff is probably happening but there’s a slim possibility that our actions will slow the progress of whatever is going on with our planet and its climate. After all, our planet has withstood climate change before. We know that. The planet endures. What changes are the living inhabitants, which either evolve or die off. And that is what will happen to us. We will evolve or die out. Would that be such a bad thing? It’s surely a scary idea. But individually we know we are only here temporarily, so why should we have so much hubris about the longevity of our species? Pandemics may be the first wave of real change to come.
LikeLike
bronxboy55
October 10, 2014
As hard as it is to imagine the world going on without us, as individuals, it’s nearly impossible to imagine it without the entire species. But if we step back and really look at it objectively, that outcome seems inevitable.
LikeLike
rangewriter
October 10, 2014
Humans in general are plagued by FOMO.
LikeLike
Deb Weyrich-Cody
October 10, 2014
Hudson’s Bay has always been considered the Bell-Weather as far as climate change goes. A sort of insurance to hold things steady-as-she-goes for the planet and, as long as it stayed frozen all year, things would be (some what) okay…
Well, this Summer, Hudson’s Bay HAS started to thaw for the first time ever, and now we shall see if the thawing of the formerly Perma-frozen Cold Sink actually is a harbinger of Bad Things to come, or not…
This has most definitely been a cooler, wetter, more delayed-onset Summer here in Central Ontario and we shall see about the Fall.
Here in Canada, the Inuit have been reporting problems in their Arctic for years now: never before seen species that they have no name for in Inuktitut; freeze-up coming later and later, with less thickness of ice making it unsafe to go “out on the land” to hunt traditional foods and ice roads melting ahead of schedule with the Spring thaw coming earlier than ever…
When people say that there’s “no proof” of climate change, it makes me wonder if they ever go outside and truly pay attention to the world they inhabit -the world they will pass to their children and grandchildren… Isn’t it time to do what we know is right just because we know we should?
LikeLike
bronxboy55
October 10, 2014
It seems silly to expect that the climate wouldn’t change. We live in a universe in which entire galaxies collide, and stars explode in unimaginable supernovas. Is a temperature swing really unusual? We’re obviously affecting our environment. But how much, and are we capable of reversing the process? And if we can turn it around, is that necessarily a good idea? Do we even know what we’re doing? (I don’t think we do.)
LikeLike
kamihikuoki098
October 14, 2014
Reblogged this on Life of a Pessimistic Optimist and commented:
The argument isn’t over yet.
LikeLike
marymtf
November 18, 2014
I’m sure that politicians haven’t made the connection between human beings and global warming. Our pollies certainly don’t worry about what they predict is a tripling in our population in the near future. They’ve got it covered. The buzzword this century is infrastructure. This means ignoring or not acknowledging our finite resources and shafting our farmers. The positive in all this is that we are being promised better roads.
LikeLike
swamiyesudas
May 1, 2015
Reblogged this on lovehappinessandpeace and commented:
When I was a Youth I too had been much worried about Comets and what not, my Dear Charles. To tell the Truth, had been worried about the Y2K bug too. But I had been a Babe as far as computers were concerned, and so had been extremely worried about mine.
As You say, much of our Fears is due to lack of Scientific knowledge, and also, there are very few scientists, and lesser one who are not for sale! Also, Very true about those who stand up for causes while lining their pockets.
For all that, You have mentioned Climate Change many times without really seeming to take a Strong stand on that.
In my opinion, — I am No Scientist, just a Philosopher, — putting ‘Time Tables’ to calamities seems to be the problem.
As I have mentioned elsewhere, Many People in India, particularly in the cities, even in towns, are having to Buy their Drinking Water. I have heard of Water Rationing in California. California in the US! So Ok, if You say that is Not because of the Climate Change, …do Reasons need a Name and Category? Are we going to act Only If the name is correct? If low lying areas are getting flooded now, is it normal?
Water Scarcity, the Looting of Natural resources by the dirty elements in collusion with the politicos and the judges, Corruption, …Have to be Fought.
LikeLike
Autumn Cote (@WriterBeat)
July 20, 2017
Would it be OK if I cross-posted this article to WriterBeat.com? There is no fee; I’m simply trying to add more content diversity for our community and I enjoyed reading your work. I’ll be sure to give you complete credit as the author. If “OK” please let me know via email, which can be found under my profile.
LikeLike
bronxboy55
July 23, 2017
Autumn, I sent you an email, but I’m not sure it went through. Yes, feel free to post. And thanks for letting me know.
LikeLike