Top NASA scientist James Hansen told congress on Monday that the earth is passing the point of no return with regards to the amount of greenhouse gasses in the atmosphere.
Without any changes we could expect (within a couple decades) a collapse of the ecosystem, mass extinction among animals, and a dramatic rising in sea levels.
The main culprit? The burning of fossil fuels.
Is he right?
Well, certainly we have seen our fair share of scientist step forward saying we on a dangerous path (no, Al Gore does not count).
Sen. James Inhofe said in a statement “Hanson, Gore and the media have been trumpeting man-made climate doom since the 1980’s. But Americans are not buying it.”
My thought… If we don’t believe in it does that mean is still won’t happen?
Fine, I suppose this is where you look for some witty insights to my mind. A "bio" of sorts. Here is the deal... I ride motorcycles, smoke cigars, golf, kayak, fly, race my car through the mountains, write (a lot), and travel extensively. I am almost old enough not to care what other people think about me...almost. ~Godfadr
Well, when a guy like Freeman Dyson, a man who earned a bachelors in mathematics, and is still regarded as higher up the food chain than a lot of PhD’s says its a concept full of crap, and you have a lot of the same scientists who made the argument about global warming that made it about global ice ages back in the 70′s, and you start looking at mounting contradictory evidence in regards to global warming…
I won’t say it won’t happen, but I’m putting al my money that says Hanson’s conclusion is politically motivated at best. The only other conclusion I can come to is, if he isn’t having his strings pulled, is that NASA might want to look into people who could advance science in a much better way.
I’ve always heard you have to believe it in order for it to happen.
Question is who stands to make money from this.
I don’t think it will happen in a couple of decades.
If that were true I think we would have to declare a National emergency.
Final thought is it will happen eventually, believe it or not.
Adam
Nope, belief won’t change the fact. Belief will determine what we do about the situation…well, maybe not. Consider Al Gore’s expanding use of electricity in his own home. Hmm…He must not believe what he says…or he doesn’t care about the future…or he’s just selfish and is demanding adjustment from us peons.
Whatever….
Presuming for a second that “climate change” (I wonder why it went from global warming to climate change)is real, and presuming for a moment that it is caused by what man is doing (I don’t believe that to be the case) what dent could we really make, unless we are willing to begin living life as it were before the industrial revolution.
Even if we did that, if India, China, all of Europe didn’t stop it would all be for not.
Hmm. All this because the temperature has risen one half of one degree in the last 200 years. If of course the accuracy of thermometers can be trusted for accuracy 200 years ago.
Shirley – I always find the Gore electricity argument interesting. Is his behavior justified in that he brings more attention to global issue or should he not travel around the world, etc, etc. It is along the same lines as are the few dolphins and whales in captivity worth the awareness (and consequent donations) to help save more?
Jay – I think it is safe to say we are bit more accurate at this point. Pretty sure the new iPhone is better at figuring the temp than anything pre 1900.
You know I’m also struck that areas that are now vast deserts at one time were lush river beds with trees and much vegitation. I wonder who is to blame for that climate change?
Jay, are you suggesting that Las Vegas is not really a rain forest?! Seems like a lot of green around there!
It is actually a river of green. Flowing from the pockets of Americans who recently received an economic stimulous check into the pockets of casino owners.
In the first place, I do not believe global warming is caused by human activity, but is a reflection of the natural ebb and flow of our planet. Having that opinion it is a little hard for me to answer whether or not Al Gore does more for the highlighting the problem by his continuing with his normal activities…since I don’t believe in the first place he is responsible for global warming.
But he seems to think he is, and I am, and I find it hypocritical of him that his usage of electricity in his home–disregarding travel etc–has increased this year over last. Doesn’t compute well for me.
Enjoy your site.
Thanks Shirley, as an author I am late to the blog stuff but loving the interaction and I am always learning from others!
I’ve been blogging for a bit over a couple of years and find it highly fascinating–almost addicting. I started as a lark, but now write almost every day.