Global Warming.... do you believe?
Are you one of the "liberal left" who believe that the sky is falling, or perhaps one of the far right, one of the "global warming deniers" or greenhouse doubters, as they prefer being called?
According to a Newsweek article, "just last year, polls found that 64 percent of Americans thought there was "a lot" of scientific disagreement on climate change; only one third thought planetary warming was "mainly caused by things people do." In contrast, majorities in Europe and Japan recognize a broad consensus among climate experts that greenhouse gases—mostly from the burning of coal, oil and natural gas to power the world's economies—are altering climate."
How many polar bears must drown before we wise up, jump off the political bandwagons, and START TAKING CARE OF OUR PLANET?
A new Newsweek Poll finds that the influence of the denial machine is running at full throttle—and continuing to shape both government policy and public opinion. Since the late 1980s, this well-coordinated, well-funded campaign by contrarian scientists, free-market think tanks and industry has created a paralyzing fog of doubt around climate change. Through advertisements, op-eds, lobbying and media attention, greenhouse doubters argued first that the world is not warming; measurements indicating otherwise are flawed, they said. Then they claimed that any warming is natural, not caused by human activities. Now they contend that the looming warming will be minuscule and harmless. "They patterned what they did after the tobacco industry," says former senator Tim Wirth, who spearheaded environmental issues as an under secretary of State in the Clinton administration. "Both figured, sow enough doubt, call the science uncertain and in dispute. That's had a huge impact on both the public and Congress."
And who is funding this campaign? Can you say ExxonMobile? (And why have conservative talk-show hosts jumped on this denial bandwagon? Is caring for the earth a socialist thing? Will destroying our plant ensure a fast forward trip to the End of Times?)
This undermining of science is nothing new. Polls taken in the late 1400s, for example, would have found that 99% of the population believed the earth to be flat. And polls taken today at the Wasilla Assembly of God Church in Alaska would likely find near 100% to believe the earth to be only 8000 years old.
According to the Union of Concerned Scientists, global warming is one of the most serious challenges facing us today. To protect the health and economic well-being of current and future generations, we must reduce our emissions of heat-trapping gases by using the technology, know-how, and practical solutions already at our disposal.
How hard is that?
For a list of 51 things you can do to save the environment, click here.
9 comments:
Global warming is the biggest scam since acid rain. Al Gore is making a bundle on this lie.
Then according to your post, you belong into the left wing.
I agree with James here.
I do think that climate changes from time to time. Maybe human activities is part of the cause for the current global trend. But I find American (I am American myself) to be all talk and not walk the walk when it comes to doing something about it.
Our country remains a energy hog. And Al Gore's lifestyle as a lead environmentalist is a joke. He probably consumes more energy in a day than most villages around the world.
So it's one thing to complain about it ... let's see America do something about it. I mean let's see every person reduce energy consumption by half. It should still be plenty to have a pretty good lifestyle.
I believe GW is a construct designed to get us to pay more tax and to move us away from fossil fuels which we tend to obtain from dangerous parts of the world - whose people don't like us very much.
thank you for posting the link to the Time website. the suggestions are pretty practical and bite-size-enough to be not too daunting for households and individuals to do.
regardless of the "truth" about global warming and regardless of who's the preacher shouting in the wilderness, prudence dictates wise use of scarce resources. maybe in the USA many are insulated from the impending effects of climate change but Americans are not the only humans on the planet. you guys are looked up to as well. whatever trend you begin, the world will follow (think Henry Ford and George W. Bush). so if you start a trend of healthy, environment-friendly living, your influence can tip the balance and our species might just survive beyond this century.
Global warming is the biggest issue now even bigger than terrorism. Scientists even found dead polar bears who were searching for the land,and died because they couldn't find it.
Algore is doing Great job and you too. I too would like to write about environment on my blog.
warm regards
What I don't understand is that even if Global Warming was not true, we are already destroying the planet and sitting around going "Nothing is wrong" is simply not going to cut it if you want your grandchildren to have a good life.
We have "plastic islands" forming in the ocean from all the junk that flows into the sea. Sadly no bacteria has yet evolved to break it down, but as it is eroded by the sea the small bits of plastic will enter OUR food chain. Mmm... tasty!
We are losing animal species at an depressing rate. Whilst this is not an immediate threat to our way of life, it is a threat to our quality of life and one day when all the megafauna on the planet is destroyed we may well look back with regret (especially as predators who kept other creatures in check may not be around to keep the number of pests down).
And worst of all even if pollution wasn't destroying our planet (and when I say that I don't mean the whole planet, something will survive but probably NOT us) it's still a deeply unpleasant blight that we all could well do without.
I simply cannot fathom what is in it for the global warming deniers. What are they trying to prove? If it turns out they are right, they will have spent years campaigning against good environmental guidance for no reason than their own pointless self satisfaction.
Can you tell this subject annoys me? LOL. Great post.
And for those Young Earth Creationists out there: If you believe in God, then it truly is selfish to look to your eternal salvation and leave your offspring to deal with your mess. And I doubt that any God worth his salt would let someone like that into Heaven
I think global warming is real. I believe the ecological situation confronting us are of enormous importance. But in order to truly tackle them we need to reliquinish the idea of nature that we are harming. Nature isn't real. Its a constance state of disturbance. Public Intellectual Slavoj Zizek often reference the underreported fact that if humans could somehow at once undue the pollution they have created we would destroy most ecosystems on earth. In fact there are ecosystems that exist merely because of pollution. My point is that there is no original state we need to go back to. We need to deal with the inevitably of climate by minimizing its destructive effects.
global warming is primarily caused by solar activity
Post a Comment