Hey, I’m reading State of Fear by Michael Crichton. Did you know that most of the major scientists in Australia don’t believe in global warming? They think our weather patterns change from time to time and man has little impact.
Some say that one volcano eruption will produce more greenhouse gases than all the cars on the planet ever did or ever will. So, should we torture our businesses, car manufacturers, lawn mower makers, and bike shops? Why can’t we find balance? Is it all about control or money? Can the government even control the agencies they create?—Keith R. Ball
Common Sense and Global Warming
I am not a scientist but neither am I an idiot. We live in an age where it is almost rare to question anything that has been termed “science,” and I find this a bit scary because it is a mistake to think science is pure and free of personal and political motivation. Scientist and non-scientist alike should maintain healthy dose of cynicism and the application of common sense. What can “common sense” help us discern about Global Warming? A lot actually.
Taking the temperature of the Earth
1. How many places do we have to measure the temperature on the earth to know the temperature of the earth? Everyone who has ridden a motorcycle has felt drastic temperature changes in locations relatively close to each other. Some areas might vary consistently, like when you go under a certain bridge or it is cooler by a stream, but sometimes it just varies from day to day. An area that was warmer than your front yard yesterday might be cooler today. So what? Well, if we are trying to measure the temperature of the earth we have to ask how many points do we need to measure? Can they be ten miles apart and give us an accurate result? No, they can’t. We need to measure millions of points all over the earth. By the way, coverage of the Artic and Antarctic is still sketchy.
2. How frequently do we need to measure at those points to know the temperature of the earth? We need to measure millions of points and not just once a day because temperatures can vary wildly. The sun coming up and going down has a huge impact so obviously we need to correlate when the measurement is taken with the results. So; to be accurate we need to measure millions of points at relatively close, consistent time intervals and correlate the data based on the time of day.
3. How accurate does the measurement have to be? Could we round off to the nearest degree? No. Can 1/100 of degree errors cumulate to make our finding inaccurate? Sure.
4. About 71% of the earth surface is covered in water. A small change in water temperature can offset a huge change of temperature in the atmosphere. So it is really important to know the temperature of the water at millions of points to have an accurate temperature reading of the earth. However, we need to measure not just the surface of the water, of course. Water temperature can vary dramatically at various thermoclines.
So we need to be able to measure water temperature at various depths. I listened to a radio program where scientist explained an El Niño is so hard to predict because they really don’t have enough accurate information about the water temperature, widths of various currents and such. Huh. Interesting. We now have “Argo floats” which sink down in ocean water, take measurements and then come back up to transmit data and go back down to measure again. However, how many do we need? I have heard we do not have the capability to go below 2,000 meters yet. Additionally, the atmosphere above the earth is three-dimensional. We would have to measure the temperature at various heights above the surface of the earth. Of course we also have to measure below the surface of the earth to be accurate.
5. So it is pretty hard to know the “temperature of the earth” with all of our modern day, sophisticated equipment, including our satellites. Can we accurately measure the temperature of the earth today? The answer depends on which scientist you ask. If you want to believe we can then, you still have to ask the next huge question.
6. How much historical data do we have? The answer is really… none. Zero. Nada. If we can get accurate temperature readings now (and that is “if”) we certainly couldn’t fifty years ago. Anyone with common sense understands we have to know what the temperature is first in order to know if it has been changing.
7. Next, is temperature change cyclical? So many things in nature are cyclical that it is very reasonable to imagine that the temperature of the earth might go up and down in a reoccurring pattern. However, we won’t know until we have long-term accurate historical data.
8. OK, once we get to the point where we can measure and determine if there are natural patterns then we can ask, “Do the activities of mankind affect our climate?” This is a radically different question than determining if the climate is even changing and just as challenging to answer. We do know there were a few ice ages a while back that were not caused by men in big trucks. Some landmasses underwater were above water at one time and vice–versa. The earth has a long history of change that we should not dismiss.
9. Perhaps, we might not need to be able to answer all the questions scientifically to understand there could be ulterior motivations at work. Let’s be cynical for just a second and realize that if someone can convince you; that the world will end if you don’t do something then you can be manipulated. People will be willing donate money to individuals, organizations, political parties, vote for socialist and concede Constitutional Rights in order to save the planet.
10. So, now have we had decades and decades of politicians profiting on this issue. It is very important to understand it was global cooling in 1924, warming in 1935, cooling in 1975 and then back to warming. Do some research; don’t just believe what they say on CNN. The United Nation’s IPCC scientists were caught red handed falsifying data to support a global warming theory that could not be supported by the data they collected (2007). The Goddard institute falsified data. How many of Al Gore’s predictions have to be wrong for the average person to wake up?
11. Ethanol is evil. The EPA is evil. For example, take a little time and really look into ethanol. Follow the money trail. It is all about politics and money. Real humans starve in the world while Americans burn food in their gas tanks. Are we saving the world from “climate change” or just greasing the right palms?
12. After decades of bad predictions the people behind the environmentalist movement are still the same people, only the terminology has changed. After pro-global warming scientists were caught falsifying data, the environmentalist movement started to switch the term from “Global Warming” to “Global Climate Change.” In a way it makes sense because the weather is always changing, therefore how can they can ever be wrong? Problem solved.
The bigger question is how stupid does the average American have to be to accept this terminology? Of course we are going to have climate change, that is what weather does.
I deduct IQ points from every idiot who would accept this terminology. I say, “OK, how is it changing? Show me the evidence or get lost.” I will be ostracized as a “Climate Change Denier” now… but only if you let me.
This Just In from the Week Magazine Jan. 30, 2015
“So, it’s official,” said Phil Plait in Slate.com: “2014 was the hottest year on record.” Scientists from NASA and the National Oceanic and Atmosperic Administration said last week that while the eastern U.S. was cooler than usual last year, average global temperatures were the highest since record keeping began back in 1880.
What bullshit, get this:
That’s not clear at all, said Rovert Tracinski in TheFederalist.com. When climate scientist say 2014 was the hottest on record, they’re talking about just 135 years of data–not the 6,000 years of human civilization. During that time, there were periods much warmer than today, with wine grapes growing in northern England and Newfoundland.
On a geological time scale, the Earth has gone through “a series of freezing and warming cycles on a scale of tens of thousands to hundreds of thousand of years.” And just how large was the climb in 2014’s temperatures? A mere 0.02 Centigrade. The climate scientists’ margin for error was five times as much, at 0.1C. If only the environmental evangelists could admit what their data actually show: Global temperatures have essentially been on a plateau since 1998.