Global Warming...

[H_T_]

it's pretty much useless trying to deny the fact that the planet is becoming warmer. i haven't had the need for a winter coat in years. but i had heard something the other day that might make a good topic of discussion here:
IF the polar ice caps are melting, will that provide more fresh water to the world? and could much of the unusable land in Northern Canada be used for agricultural purposes?

 

[anthrax]

yep, Russia and Canada would benefit from Global warming while the south of the US would turn in a Sahara like desert

 

[H_T_]

yep, Russia and Canada would benefit from Global warming while the south of the US would turn in a Sahara like desert

we're turning more towards cattle, but when the cattle have nothing to eat, well, they'll be fed by-products of themselves.

 

[blueta2]

Last Friday was 64 F up here in Montreal (Canada), warm for Nov. I am all for global warming ;-)

 

[H_T_]

Last Friday was 64 F up here in Montreal (Canada), warm for Nov. I am all for global warming ;-)

not good. cold weather is a necessity. it kills many strains of viruses and bacteria. it sets things right. plus, where do you think that water is going to go?

 

[blueta2]

not good. cold weather is a necessity. it kills many strains of viruses and bacteria. it sets things right. plus, where do you think that water is going to go?

I agree with the bacteria and viruses, but when the water gets here, I will be dead and buried!

 

[H_T_]

I agree with the bacteria and viruses, but when the water gets here, I will be dead and buried!

don't be so sure. and what good is an ocean covered world with no fish? people need to find something else to eat.

 

[blueta2]

don't be so sure. and what good is an ocean covered world with no fish? people need to find something else to eat.

we have McDonalds here ;-)

I hear ya, but I won't be on this planet when all this happens and not that I don't care cause I do, but I cannot stop evolution.

 

[H_T_]

we have McDonalds here ;-)

I hear ya, but I won't be on this planet when all this happens and not that I don't care cause I do, but I cannot stop evolution.

well, like oil & many other things taken for granted, it will be gone one day.

 

[fortunatesun]

From what I understand, getting fresh water from the melting pole isn't a viable economic option as there are enough resources available, even in the forseeable future, to keep the costs down. You never know what might happen, though, apocalyptically speaking.
Also, Russia is much better positioned to gain benefits, if any, than Canada in the event of massive warming for reasons I don't exactly remember. It has mainly to due with the geological structure of N. Canada and the effect warming would have on underground water sources, present soil conditions, runoff, existing weather patterns,and.... I could look it up if anyone absolutely wants to know.

 

[mikefear]

I don't blame man that much. It's a pretty natural cycle of the world overheating and then getting cold (ice ages).. tends to just keep things on track.

 

[silver_shadow]

I don't blame man that much. It's a pretty natural cycle of the world overheating and then getting cold (ice ages).. tends to just keep things on track.

from what i have heard recently, this is quite true despite the fact that man has certainly caused lots of other major problems. in fact we are still in an ice age - so say some scientists... the fact that the poles are largely frozen. we are in fact still coming out of the most recent ice age so to speak. it is a repeating cycle as mike mentions. however the general trend is for the earth to get warmer - one of the reasons for this (probably the major reason) is that the sun is becoming hotter as it ages.

you are right HT, winters have been warmer each year, not nice when you stay in india like i do, where winter doesn't mean cold, it means a slight respite from almost year round heat.

BTW, there are islands in the indian ocean - maldives, seychelles, mauritius if i'm not mistaken which are already being submerged. the maldives especially doesn't rise very high above sea level.

another side not - the moon is spiralling away from the earth! this doesn't have anything to do directly with global warming, but with increases in ocean levels, this is an important factor in relation to tides.

 

[anthrax]

Denying the human factor is like denying the relation between smoking and cancer 10-20 years ago

 

[silver_shadow]

i'm saying the human factor was overstated a few years ago, when there were (are) already bigger causes at play - or so it would seem anyway.

 

[H_T_]

and it really is that big of a deal. when natural processes such as the growth of vegetation is thrown off timing wise, it interupts and creates an imbalance in the food chain. animals are able to eat things that aren't typically available that time of year, the plants vegetation begins to grow & is killed before reproduction/germination.....

 

[silver_shadow]

sure it is - whatever the causes, the implications are huge... as with any massive climatic change.

 

[H_T_]

sure it is - whatever the causes, the implications are huge... as with any massive climatic change.

here's another fact: there are more people alive today, than have ever existed.

 

[silver_shadow]

i'm a cynic, people are almost like cockroaches these days - multiply fast and plus after any disaster there will always be plenty of hardy survivors

EDIT: i don't mean to sound insensitive, but what i'm trying to get at is that there are too many people to begin with. that's a whole different story anyway.

 

[musclemom]

No question about it being warmer. I'm in the mid Atlantic and I haven't turned the furnace on yet. My cut off is when the house starts dropping below 59 and I can remember needing to turn it on in October.

Cycles are a natural state, the planet has had virtual global ice ages and the ice has gone back many times, just like the magnetic poles have swapped how many times??? I seem to recall hearing something about the ozone layer having gone through different phases, too, and even the gravity waxing and waning (which is the only way I think something as large as some of the dinosaurs could have lived anyway), but in the whole scheme of things humans are just a blip on the radar.

 

[H_T_]

i want a pet peguin. if it comes to that. i'll start a penguin rescue. i'll make mine wear a hat, like Chilly Willy.

 

[H_T_]

what's the status of the ozone layer now?

 

[silver_shadow]

last i heard there were holes in a few places - somewhere around antarctica and greenland... perfect places to have holes...

 

[T-Matt]

last i heard there were holes in a few places - somewhere around antarctica and greenland... perfect places to have holes...

Yeah, I downloaded the movie "An Inconvenient Truth" and although it was a political movie, it brought up some great points. (The best way to download it is through torrent files). There is more CO in the air now than there has ever been, by exponential amounts!

The way I look at it, mother nature creates natural disaster because the earth is hurting and suffering. Natural disasters are supposed to kill off people and lessen the damage. Our technology is far too superior to allow a vast majority of humans to be killed by a natural disaster and we are destroying our earth at a rapid pace. Check out the movie and you'll see what I mean..

T-Matt

 

[wakefib]

i'm a cynic, people are almost like cockroaches these days - multiply fast and plus after any disaster there will always be plenty of hardy survivors

EDIT: i don't mean to sound insensitive, but what i'm trying to get at is that there are too many people to begin with. that's a whole different story anyway.

my anthro prof. compared the human population growth to the growth of cancer.

 

[T-Matt]

my anthro prof. compared the human population growth to the growth of cancer.

The human population growth is a cancer. We are all too stubborn and too busy flexing our muscles to try to persuade other people to believe what we believe....

What does cancer do??

hmm...

T-Matt

 

[musclemom]

my anthro prof. compared the human population growth to the growth of cancer.

Yep, we overrun and consume resources, and eventually we'll kill what we're living on, good analogy.

The problem is our technology. Yes, it's put us at the top, but nothing is reducing our numbers naturally. That is an UN-natural state for anything that lives on this planet. The state of affairs for any species is natural control, either through environment (droughts, floods, tornadoes, etc.) or another species eating them. Being on the upper level of the food chain, we have less things that kill us to begin with, and thanks to our technology, we're MUCH better at killing them faster. Technology is enabling us to be better and better at surviving (or avoiding) natural disasters, and technology improves the number of people who survive birth. Nothing slows our growth down.

 

[bluepeter]

lol at people still believing human beings are not a major factor in global warming.

 

[anthrax]

Neo-Malthusianism

 

[wakefib]

Yep, we overrun and consume resources, and eventually we'll kill what we're living on, good analogy.

The problem is our technology. Yes, it's put us at the top, but nothing is reducing our numbers naturally. That is an UN-natural state for anything that lives on this planet. The state of affairs for any species is natural control, either through environment (droughts, floods, tornadoes, etc.) or another species eating them. Being on the upper level of the food chain, we have less things that kill us to begin with, and thanks to our technology, we're MUCH better at killing them faster. Technology is enabling us to be better and better at surviving (or avoiding) natural disasters, and technology improves the number of people who survive birth. Nothing slows our growth down.

we are over due for an epidemic that technology wont be able to help us.

it is obviouse that humans are a major factor in global warming, but i have heard that we can't stop the cycle, just maybe slow it down.

 

[silver_shadow]

we are over due for an epidemic that technology wont be able to help us.

it is obviouse that humans are a major factor in global warming, but i have heard that we can't stop the cycle, just maybe slow it down.

good point