"... if you believe in God, then intellectually you cannot believe in man-made global warming ... You must be either agnostic or atheistic to believe than man controls something he can't create." -- Rush Limbaugh
Oh, if it were only that easy. Rush Limbaugh is a toxic, unreasonable and terrible human being. His black and white view of the world (skewed mostly to the White) fails to recognize the intricate complexities of life and science coupled with religion and belief. I take exception to his assertion that I have to be agnostic or atheistic to believe that we control the climate. We don't control climate, but we most certainly have an effect on it. And thats my opinion, as a believer in God.
Having an affect on the Climate and controlling it are drastically different. Not one time has any well intentioned educated person even so much as attempted to suggest we could "control" the climate. But we could can change the activities that are having countless, known and unknown effects on the planet. Algae blooms have a drastic effect on their environment, but they are not aware of it nor do they control it. Bark beetles have laid waste to thousands of acres of forests on the western slopes of the Rockies, but they do not know control, they just eat what they like and are unaware of the consequences. We see the effects and have the ability to counteract them to make the word a better place.
Rush Limbaugh is the prime example of a present day Sith Lord, dealing in absolutes and passing judgement based on fundamentalist ideology. To compare him to Darth Vader is an insult to Darth Vader. Having him weigh in on Climate Change is like having my seven year old niece explain to me how quantum mechanics works. Mr. Limbaugh shows his ignorance with statements like the one above and is part of the anti-science crowd who uses faith and God to spew false information and drive a wedge between the people who want to stop damaging the world and those who want to profit from it.
To quote Al Franken, "Rush Limbaugh is a Big Fat Idiot", and I for one am amazed that his archaic and mean spirited bullshit still gets air time.
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Weather is climate and climate is weather. I have not observed any great changes in either climate or weather. Summer is hot, autumn is pleasant, winter is cold and spring is windy.
ReplyDelete100 years from now our grandchildren will look back and ask "how could this generation be so stupid".
I appreciate your comment, Wally. But you are mistaken. Weather is not Climate. Weather is (as defined by Merriam Webster) "the state of the atmosphere with respect to heat or cold, wetness or dryness, calm or storm, clearness or cloudiness". Climate is defined by Merriam Webster as "the average course or condition of the weather at a place usually over a period of years as exhibited by temperature, wind velocity, and precipitation." It is the pattern of Weather of a period of time. So your generalization that both are one in the same is incorrect. Climate Change is the process in which the extreme weather events increase in frequency and strength, due to a warming planet. Stronger storms, more water vapor and heat in the atmosphere to fuel those storms, melting ice and rising seas. Its all connected. I don't agree with your assessment of the seasons, either. It is not as cut and dry as it was 40 years ago. The seasons are changing from year to year, with wilder swings between what we observe as "normal" and what is extreme. This is happening world wide. So when the USA had its brutally cold inter last year, Southern Europe had its warmest and driest Winter on record. (don't forget to factor in the Southern hemisphere...people live there too, and they have seen record high temps every year). I hope this encourages you to learn more about the changes occurring on our planet and what you can do that prevent further damage to our society. Thanks for following!
DeleteGlobal warming has become a religon for many of its most ardent apologists. Sorry Al Gore but almost all of the predictive models have been shown to wrong. For the past 15 years, meterological data has shown that the earth has been in a cooling phase, not warming. From satellite data there has been a net terrestrial heat loss vs. heat gain from the planet surface.
ReplyDeleteWe do not fully understand or are able to quantify the planets interaction with increased CO2 levels. This is a water planet primarily. CO2 is absorbed more by cold water and less by warm water, that's about the extent of present understanding. More CO2 in the atmosphere also means more plant growth which removes CO2 and releases O2. A few years ago the volcanic eruption of Mt. Pinatabo in the Philipines released such enormise quantities of ash, ozone destroying gases such as bromine, fluorine etc., that there was a unusual cooling of the planet for several several years afterward, The summers were mostly hazy due to ash in the atmosphere. Larger ozone layer holes were observed. Just one large out of control forest fire releases untold amounts of particulate, greenhouse gases into the atmosphere.
The Polar ice cap is receding wheras the Antarctic Ice has a net increase. Polar bear habitat and subsequent population is diminishing in Canada, however the the polar bear population in the Arctic Archaepeligo of Russia has been steadily increasing. Glaciers are receding in many areas, ie., Canada, Himalayas and increasing in other areas.
Vast quantities of hot superheated water are being released from undersea springs every year. The magnetic poles are currently shifting. The earths magnetic field has reorientated from its previous configuration. Solar flare activity is at an all time high. Sesmic and volcanic activity is increasing in the Ring of Fire region. What does it all mean?
The earths climate has changed many times in recorded history and before the industrial revolution. Long term meterological data does not support the idea of wilder swings from year to year. It all falls within statistical probability ,ie.the dust bowl of the 1930's, heat waves of the 1950's, etc. There are many forces that interact to influence the earths climate, man's activity is just one of them.
The climate alarmists tell us that farting cows are causing increased methane levels and that we should stop eating meat and eat beans and other legumes. We in the west should give up our cars and energy intensive homes. We should ride bicycles and live in energy efficient highrises or tree houses. Large sectors of western economies should be shutdown such as oil, gas and other fossil fuel sectors. Tax payer dollars are already being spent on nearly useless windmills, etc.Carbon taxes should be implemented. In other words transfering western wealth to third world countries for no usefull purpose. If the leftists have their way millions of people will be thrown out of work.
The leftist extreme envoirnmental agenda is control of populations. They promote a one world government, ostensibly to save the planet and manage resources and populations more equitably. Seems like the same agenda as the Communists............ Just listen to comments and views espoused by George Bush Sr., Nelson Rockafeller, Al Gore, Barauch Obama, United Nations, the Clintons, Henry Kissenger,Club of Rome, Trilateral Comission, leftist parties to name but a few.
Saner heads need to prevail. Oh, by the way Rush Limbaugh is generally correct in his characterization of the liberal left movement and exposes their outright lies, deceptions and fabrications on a daily basis.
Alec, thanks for checking out the blog. I am sorry that you and I are on the opposite sides of what, in my opinion, should be a pretty easy issue to find common ground on. A few of the things in your comment are incorrect or incomplete.
DeleteFirst of all, the oceans are warming as they have absorbed more CO2 and more heat from a warming atmosphere (which the models and data support, counter to your statements). Warmer oceans with higher acidity bleach corral reefs and reduce the amount of plant life in the oceans, which has a direct impact on the amount of CO2 the oceans are able to absorb. (I'll give you a hint, its less.)
Secondly, did you know that since the Industrial Revolution began about 200 years ago, that we have effectively cut down about 50% of the worlds forests? That really limits the worlds natural ability to deal with the regular sources of CO2 that exist (animals, volcanic activity--that you pointed out--and decomposition of organic material). Add to those sources the large amounts of CO2 we pump into the atmosphere as we dig up the oil and coal (full of carbon) and burn it, producing CO2 that we just dump into the air. Is it so hard to see that with less forests and the added CO2 emissions from our activities that we have thrown the Earth's natural ability to self regulate out of whack?
As for the Arctic Ice Cap, I am glad you recognize that it is shrinking. Many just outright deny that. But, your assertion that the Antarctic Ice Cap is growing is a bit misguided, with all due respect. Land ice is melting in Antarctica and flowing into the sea, where it is refreezing and increasing the levels of Sea Ice in the Southern Ocean. This means rising seas, which isn't good for any of the people who live in low lying areas.
You also stated that glaciers are increasing in some places. Where exactly is this occurring? I would love to know so I can read up on this and be better informed.
As for your conspiracy theory that the leftist liberals are trying to control populations and are Communists, I see it differently. I see a group of people open to new ideas, who see the world for what is really happening instead of putting blinders on and ignoring the warning signs. You believe in Rush Limbaugh and is conservative fluff? Well, every person is entitled to their own opinion. I disagree with Mr. Limbaugh. I think anyone who promotes an exclusive way of life and ignores those in need just to keep as much of the wealth for themselves is a fool. God didn't make the Earth to be so intertwined and connected, with vast eco-systems working in cycles to reuse the necessities of life within it so as not to waste anything, just so humans could step in and lay waste to the entire planet. You and Mr. Limbaugh thinks its a conspiracy to control people, which sounds more then a little paranoid to me. But the realty it is about the survival of our way of life. Our species. God, I believe, wants us to learn how to live at one with nature, sustainably, to mimic the natural cycles that Earth has utilized for billions of years in order to live. You and others like you want to ruin and plunder the Earth and ignore the warning signs that we have gone to far. How you cannot see that disturbs me. How to help you understand what i have learned and see it as not a conspiracy but sound fundamental science research and observation is the challenge I face everyday.