At 11:38 AM 3/16/10 -0500, Maryetta Campbell wrote:
Jim Muth wrote:
After watching one manmade-global-warming-doomsday program after another on Sunday, I am fast becoming convinced that the whole warming thing is more politics than fact.
Then you should read some of the statistics on "Glacier Melting Rate", or watch some better shows.
Glaciers are shrinking not only in area but also in thickness. Some are losing as much ice in one week as they used to surrender in a whole year. And some are no longer there at all, because they have completely melted over the past few decades, even though they had been around for hundreds/thousands of years.
The glaciers in the Himalayas are receding quicker than those in other parts of the world and could disappear altogether by 2035. The Himalayan rivers support a _VERY_ large portion of humanity. The rate of retreat for the Gangotri glacier, which feeds the River Ganges (India's holiest river), over the last three decades was more than three times the rate during the preceding 200 years.
. . . Etc. Etc. Etc. I have heard, seen and read all this stuff a hundred or more times. And I agree, it is true. But why do the warming alarmists continue repeating that glaciers and ice caps are melting when it is common knowledge? This melting has been known by climatologists for many years. The questions are how much of the melting is 'man-made' and how much is natural, what if anything can we do about it, and how much are we willing to sacrifice to reduce the part we are responsible for. For example, how many are ready to park their cars, the biggest greenhouse gas emitters, permanently and turn to public transportation? Do I hear replies about living too far to walk and public transportation not being available? It appears to me that these climate doomsday programs are trying to instill fear among the general public so that they will support legislation (cap and trade?) to fight the hyped-up dangers of the warming. Such legislation will surely bring great profits to some big corporations. Luckily, the public is starting to see through the big scare. You appear to be a liberal thinker. I'm sure you can see how the so-called dangers of a 'public option' in health care -- rationing, death squads, etc. -- are little more than political hyperbole stirred up by the right to frighten the public. Why is it so hard to see that the coming 'climate catastrophe' is similar hyperbole from the left based on misrepresented and questionable science. In my opinion, the most amazing thing in all of this is how easily the general public can be led like a flock of sheep to believe anything those who are actually running things (most likely the big corporations) want us to believe. If you care to debate, please include a workable solution to the so-called climate catastrophe that is looming just ahead of us. I would start by saying that if the Himalayan glaciers disappear, we would find a way to use some of that heavy monsoon rainfall to supply water to the subcontinent -- that is if the alarmists do not start claiming that the monsoon will disappear also. Remember that a warmer planet earth means a faster water cycle -- faster ocean evaporation and heavier rainfall, and not a global desert. As for spreading reflective sheets of foil over the glaciers, it would not work. The sheets would soon be covered by new snow and become ineffective. Fanally, to keep things a tiny bit on topic, perhaps we can use fractals in some way to solve the dilemma. Fractal Jim (politically questionable)