Climate Change...

While I respect your opinion (and it is an opinion, not fact), I think that those people who have done the work to investigate this are best suited to reply. I have not.

But I do believe this: If we keep living on this planet as if there is no tomorrow, there may just be no tomorrow.

The "status quo" has been proven ineffective time and time again, and generations later, the new generation is amazed at once was widely considered "normal." (This statement can be said of scientific topics like bleeding to cure people, leeches, use of vaccinations, to social issues like slavery and separate but equal."

I think the excess in this country is alarming and ridiculous.

Do I want to knowingly contribute to that excess? No.
Will I willingly be a part of it? No.
Do I respect businesses with a poor environmental policy? No.

In today's society, all too often there is the group think of "pay me now, worry about the consequences later" and I don't feel that's responsible.

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I am depressed by your question and some of these answers. Where is our American ingenuity? Where are those good old American values of frugality, resourcefulness & innovation? Why do they not apply to protecting our single most important asset, this planet we all live on? Where is the pride in our country and it's ability to acheive amazing, seemingly impossible things, that will make us a stronger and a more powerful world leader?
The challenge at hand is not just about climate change it's about the entire way we are interacting with our world, the way we eat, farm, use water, create waste, dispose of that waste & consume resources. The path we are on is quite simply not sustainable over the long run, no one can argue with that and most of us (i hope) are NOT waiting around to be beamed up in the rapture.
There are a million reasons to become energy independent, stop wasting so much of our precious resources and reduce the emissions that to SOME degree are warming our climate.
Why do we cling to oil and other polluting, limited energy sources instead of developing renewable, clean ways to run this country? As a kid I was taught if we all work towards a positive common goal there was nothing we couldn't do as Americans. What happened to that type of commitment to future generations? It sounds like lots of you are saying "Whatever, can't do much about it so why try". How very sad, if we fail to look ahead, plan for a better tomorrow what do you think we're going to get?
Our children, their children are depending on us not to blow it. Don't your great, great grandkids deserve better?

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Hi--
Whether it is man-made or a part of the natural phenomenon or both seems to me to be the wrong focus. Yes, coal mining pollutes the air, contributes CO2 to the atmosphere which in turn helps heat the planet. But the real issue is that it makes it hard for us to breathe, ruins water sources, ruins the habitat from which it is mined, is hard on the people who mine it, and, while we have healthier ways to use the ash, we usually don't. I could go on with examples of oil, natural gas, car emissions, etc. The bottom line is, whether global warming is our "fault" or not is hardly the point. The point is that we are creating an environment that hurts us and our children---increased allergies, increased asthma, increased cancer, increased diabetes, etc. You can argue about the cause or lack there of of global warming until your blue in the face without getting very far--people are stuck in their ideas whether science supports their claims or not. However, no one can argue about a sick child. The biggest reason to clean up our act is for our health and our children's health. What difference will rising shorelines make if we're all too sick to live anyway?

Incidentally, science has proven that climate change is real. It has also proven that man's activities have in fact contributed to it---whether we're the sole cause or not is up for discussion, but there isn't any doubt at all that we've got a hand in it. I agree with you that there is probably some combination of natural variations in earth's temperature and man's contribution through releasing carbon (as well as other heavy metals) from a solid state into a gaseous one.

But, really , the reason to "be green" should focus more on our health and the health of our environment rather than on global warming. Even animals don't defecate where they sleep.

J.

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Science is not a matter of opinion. Yes, there are cycles. This warming cycle that we are in has rapidly sped up in the last 100 yrs, since the age of modernization. What is a natural process has been sped up by our own consumption. So, ok we were walking toward a cliff and now we are running.

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I don't really study the nuts and bolts of the science behind it so I really don't feel comfortable giving an opinion on the science.

I do get the feel it is a bit of column A a bit of column B.

I also think there is a bit of chicken v egg going on here. Are CO2 levels rising because China produces too much or because we deforested so much of the Amazon? Both sides effect it why do we focus on one.

Sorry this is kind of all over the place but as I said I don't have a well formed opinion on this subject.

Theresa, Al Gore lives in a freaking mansion!! Just him, maybe a servant and a dog. He should not have a say in this matter! :p

Oh and yes, I hug my trees. The only thing I do that is questionable is my ignorance of speed laws. :(

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Just so you know, Al Gore is no friend of mine!

:)

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My Husband is a Nuclear Physicist, I trust his judgement that Al Gore, Michael Moore, Bill Clinton & all the others, are making millions on all this hoopla. For every scientist that pushes the Global Warming agenda, you can find another scientist that says it isn't so.

Not to long ago there were quite a bit of emails going back & forth with some scientists that were intentionally 'fixing' scientific data to make their case look better for the Global Warming pushers....hmm i wonder what the incentive is to *fix* data.

eta: every single one of us are have a *willing* hand in pollution, if you drive a car, use any type of energy, throw away garbage, smoke cigarettes, travel by plane, etc......so long as you are living you are contributing

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I agree with you. While I too believe that we all need to try to limit wastefulness and all, I don't think there is anything at all that we can do to completely stop it. The earth has been changing since creation. There is nothing MAN can do about it.

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I think its a sign of the End Times.

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It DOES NOT MATTER what my (or your) opinion on climate change is, any more than it matters what my opinion on gravity is. That is not exactly true, because I guess it is more difficult to do the work we need to do to lessen our impact on the planet if we somehow do not actually believe we have an impact.

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i think the world goes through these ebbs and flows. There is nothing wrong with doing things that are better for the earth, there are so many other reasons to do so, but imo climate changes are not a sign that we are doomed but merely a natural progression that weve seen many times in history.

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Hey C., I'm with you. It's just part of 'life' and evolution. We are where we are because of how we have chosen to advance our place in the food chain of life. The U.S does get it, but it's the U.S. Not China where female babies are frowned upon or Germany where it is acceptable for teens to drink. WE are just a different country. Sorry to change topics (kinda) but as far as global warming, the Earth's temp has on risen .8 degrees in the last 100 YEARS, really, that isn't sh*t. We as a planet aren't facing impending doom, not for 100's of years, not in my opinion.

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Well, just kidding here but I call it Globull Warming.

My husband, who has a master's in science, does give some credence to it -- he says that it is causing the extremes in temps, extreme cold as well as heat. Not warming by itself.

I think the jury is still out. I'm all for being a good steward of the planet but then, I'm no fan of Gore either. I also believe we are in the End Times -- the other signs are all there/lining up with prophecy.

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It's one of those issues that I just don't have time to delve into too deeply. My gut says that it's somewhat cyclical. On the other hand, I do believe fossil fuels (the way we use them) and natural gas (think fracking) can be destructive to our environment and our health.

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I agree that some (a very small part) of it is contributed to by man. But is is contributed to by other species, too. Not just man. MAN is not the evil ruin-er (is that a word) of the earth! (Well, technically, we are, since man's sin is what made it a fallen world, lol---but that isn't going to be fixed by what we do or don't do NOW).

I think that on ALL of these regulations that the EPA and every other organization comes out with, that we need to take a big picture look at it. Not in terms of "what does it do to the earth?" But in terms of "what are the costs/benefits of implementing this or that plan?" We are all so busy looking at and adding up the costs to the planet, that we don't look at any OTHER costs... It's warped.

It's kind of like organic fruit. Sure, I can pay 3 times as much for the banana that is organic, but since I peel the peel off and throw it away, is that really any benefit? At 3 times the price? What if the cost of buying that organic banana (or whatever) prevents me from buying something else that has more actual value for my family?
There is more to it than doing things "green". There is a cost to all that as well, but everyone seems so willing to pay it without bothering to ask what it is...... :(

I saw an ad recently for "family cloths"---reusable cloths as a substitute for toilet tissue. I have a septic system, so it's not going in a landfill or into the city wastewater plant. It is made from paper and trees are grown to make it from. Trees re-grow. How much clean water and chemicals is the average family going to use getting these silly things clean (aside from the gross factor)? Wouldn't using a replaceable resource (trees) to make tissue that will decompose in my septic system be better for "the environment" than using these cloths (that are either made from cotton--so no different than using a tree really-- or some artificial chemical formula of stuffs--modal-polyester or whatever and then have to use chemicals and clean water wasted to get them clean)??
Yes, you can take reasonable steps. Recycle glass containers and plastic containers. Try not to waste in general. Take REASONABLE steps to reduce pollutants. But to impose regulations or fines for non-compliance on businesses to the point that it is better for the business to move its operations overseas (where the regulations are less stringent--so creating MORE pollution) which not only contributes MORE pollution to the world environment, but reduces American jobs..... uh.... why do we do things like that? JUST to be green?? Seems just dumb to me.

Kinda like the U.S. not allowing offshore oil drilling in certain areas off our coastline. When a bit further out the Chinese (or whoever else) can drill away. And they aren't taking the same precautions to keep things safe (physical safety and environmentally). So we increase the risk of a bad environmental situation by letting the less environmentally careful companies/countries explore/drill there, AND they get the benefit for doing so. WE get nothing. What sense does any of that make? Wouldn't it be smarter for us fiscally and more responsible environmentally, to have the SAFEST most environmentally friendly companies/countries do that work?

ETA: Does anyone think that the folks with the intellect to figure out new forms of energy aren't doing everything they CAN to figure out something that works? They would be unfathomably rich beyond imagining! The fact is, that Wishing that we could create a "sustainable" energy source doesn't make it possible. I'm not saying it is NOT possible, at all. But throughout history, advances of this type are not uniform. There are very long periods sometimes between each advance. The remarkable innovations that came about in the end of the 19th and early part of the 20th century were phenomenal. It only took us several thousand years to get there. Why do the masses think that it is sheerly a matter of "Will" to figure out the next great energy source. It isn't that simple. It's like education---throw every dime we have at it if you want to, but there is only so much you can do to affect the outcome. There are tons of factors as play, not all of them under our control. Science isn't just having enough money and enough willpower to figure something out.

So, what do you guys think of the theory of the earth's axis shifting having something to do with ice ages and global warming/cooling?

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I wish we were not focused on whether Climate change is real or not. I think we all agree toxins in our water and air are impacting all of us and changes need to be made. I like what Kari had to say.

I believe there are some people with great power who have absolutely no thought or care for the future, only profits now.

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There was a warming period during the medieval era as well. The vikings were able to colonize Greenland and other places because of the lack of ice in the ocean.
To assume that we are responsible for so much on this vast planet of ours is laughable. 'Ant's moving the picnic basket' is a great was to put it. One little hiccup in the ocean kills tend of thousands of us, and we think that we control the fate of the planet?
That being said, I am like many other on here that think we should be good stewards of what we have been blessed with. I grew up in a very conservative family that recycled, grew our own gardens, walked instead of drove, 'made do or did without', etc. If everyone did as much in small ways it would make a difference in the long run.

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I know too many scientists in the field to have an opinion, other than when something is proposed as an either/or situation, the answer is usually "yes". As in both are correct.

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I agree with you, it is something to be monitored and studied. But goodness, lots of snow in October doesn't seem like global warming....and even if the earth is warming, man did not end the Ice Age - - it is cyclical, like most things.

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