Are these the three choices for Global Climate Change (or, if you prefer...Global Warming)?
1. Cease all usage of fossil fuels and risk economic collapse.
2. Adjust to Climate Change by adopting technological innovations.
3. Do nothing and suffer the consequences.
I believe that we should all do our part to keep our Earth safe and clean.
However, to believe that we have, or ever will have any sort of an effect on the Earth's natural climate is just ridiculous.
Our earth has cooled and warmed itself for many more years than humans have been here. Why now do we act as if we have anything to do with it, or that we can somehow become the solution? We're giving ourselves too much credit.
The fact is, our Earth is not doomed. It's doing what it has done for billions of years, and that is sustain itself. We're not going to change that, not for the better or worse.
I encourage you to do real research on this subject and not let the media spoon-feed you the information. The media has long been in bed with liberals, and the liberals want you to believe this is true, especially the politicians. They want to scare you and then claim to know the solution, all you need to do is vote for them.
I hope you'll educate yourself and form a real opinion about this.
We could definitely work toward reducing emissions on the pathway to relaxing our dependency on fossil fuels. Even if the global warming claims are a hoax, what could it hurt to put a little less strain on our environment?
I've heard that livestock farming annually puts more greenhouse gasses into the atmosphere than all the cars on Earth combined. True or not, these problem should be addressed along with more reforestation projects.
Adapt to the natural order of things, which includes a constantly changing climate.
We are just now coming out of an ice age and things will continue to become warmer probably until the mean temp is near that of the Middle Ages warm period.
Global warming is one-half of the climatic cycle of warming and cooling.
The earth's mean temperature cycles around the freezing point of water.
This is a completely natural phenomenon which has been going on since there has been water on this planet. It is driven by the sun.
Our planet is currently emerging from a 'mini ice age', so is becoming warmer and may return to the point at which Greenland is again usable as farmland (as it has been in recorded history).
As the polar ice caps decrease, the amount of fresh water mixing with oceanic water will slow and perhaps stop the thermohaline cycle (the oceanic heat 'conveyor' which, among other things, keeps the U.S. east coast warm).
When this cycle slows/stops, the planet will cool again and begin to enter another ice age.
It's been happening for millions of years.
Humans did not cause it.
I pick #2. But it isn't really so black and white. A combination of all 3 are going on right now.
Make the environmentalists happy and drink the kool-aid and then you won't be part of the problem.
If anything the use of coal is the highest pollutant. It is shown plants recycle bad air for clean air.
This whole global warming thing was made to gain political vantage. In reality its like the other person said, we came out of an ice age. Its world order and nature. Sure we may be polluting today but nowhere near the industrial age where we used nothing but coal.
#2 is imperfected and costly, blame those who dont want to help the initial cost for the much more benificial outcome. I have a solution to once and for all rid of any type of fuel but of course once i go public after I get financial help I'll be bribed or threatened like the guy in some eastern country who made the 500mpg. car engine, he was never heard from again so likely he was bribed.
Either way people dont realize, sure we let things out but plants recycle it, ever wonder why trees do so well in cities? That and photosynthesis and a bit of water simple as that. Trees and plants in general are natures air filters. look at it that way.
There are also technologies that can clean the air, I mean make it 100% pure oxygen and O3 (atmosphere) but it'd be dangerous to use in a populated area, let alone anyone.
History shows that the planet warms, then it cools, a repetitive cycle (as mentioned by someone else too). But also natural disasters every X amount of years mainly volcanic eruptions so big that is super cools the planet.
Its all natural and yes I agree humans did not start it nor can they stop it.
The economy would not collapse if we stopped using fossil fuels.
Yes, there are other choices in between the ones you offer.
For example, reduce our greenhouse gas emissions by on the order of 80% by 2050 to avoid the worst effects of global warming. This will require us to significantly decrease our use of fossil fuels, but not cease using them outright. For example, we can still burn coal for power as long as the power plants utilize carbon sequestration technology.
1) Within the next decade beging significantly reducing our greenhouse gas emissions on a path to reducing them by at least 50% (and hopefully closer to 80-90%) by 2050.
2) Delay taking action until it's too late and feedback effects make it impossible for us to avoid the worst effects of global climate change, at which point all of our resources will be devoted to survival.
Unfortunately I think #2 is the more realistic scenario, but #1 is still possible.
To make the reductions necessary in carbon dioxide emissions world wide requires that you have the cooperation of every country on this earth.
The Peoples Republic of China alone emits enough carbon dioxide to cause Global Warming. The People's Republic of China is adamant that they will not reduce their use of fossil fuels and in fact they will increase their use of fossil fuels dramatically in the near future.
If you do not have the cooperation of The People's Republic of China you cannot stop Global Warming.
There is no safe level of carbon dioxide emissions that will not cause Global Warming.
According to the best estimates of the best scientists in the field we would need to reduce the production of carbon dioxide world wide to less than one tenth of what it is today.
If you did that you would cause a world wide depression, human misery and starvation on a level that we have never seen.
Fortunately it is much less costly and much less disruptive to fix the problems that will actually be caused by Global Warming as opposed to the ridiculous exaggerations and outright false hoods of Hollywood movies such as"The Day After Tomorrow"
Yes the sea leves will rise by approximately 20 to 30 feet. Fortunately we can protect the coastal areas from flooding with dike systems similar to those used in Holland to hold back the sea.
Hurricanes will become stronger and more frequent. We can upgrade our systems for responding to hurricanes.
Droughts will happen. We can help the affected areas with supplemental water supplies and desalination plants.
A fourth choice would be to to realize that global warming is a made-up concept. The earth cools and warms cyclically, which it has ALWAYS done.
It might be possible to block a significant fraction of the sunlight that reaches the Earth. For example, huge reflectors made of aluminized mylar in orbit. Like the Echo satellites of the early 1960's.
Alternatively, there may be ways to sequester CO2 from the atmosphere artificially. Dumping fine-ground iron oxide in the oceans may, for example, encourage plankton growth that would deposit carbon on the sea floor.
But restricting the use of fossil fuels seems like the best and cheapest solution. This process, with all its expense, will need to be done in the next few hundred years no matter what, because the oil will run out.
This is pretty much the simplest explanation I have seen of the choices available.
There is always a middle ground, which is usually where you find the solution to a problem.
We need to cut back on our use of fossil fuels or we WILL experience economic collapse when they run out, global warming or no global warming.
We also need to work a little more on adapting to climate change, since history shows us that the climate can and will change even without our human influences.
And finally, we could all live a little greener no matter what our feelings on the human-induced global warming theory. We had pollution and dwindling natural resources before global warming was known about so why do we think that global warming is the only reason to be kinder to the planet?
Sure. You've left out the screamingly obvious best answer. Partly reducing greenhouse gases. Coping with the remaining warming.
It's by far the lowest cost solution. Just doing all 1,2, or 3, will lead to economic disaster.
And that investment will be repaid many times over by reducing what we have to cope with.
No-brainer doesn't even begin to describe it. All thoughtful people imagine a solution along those lines.
Any idea how long it has been since the earth was warmer than it is now?
I believe we as humans can't actually STOP climate change from happening, especially not by cutting CO2 emissions, which is like some cuckoo-land fantasy scenario. So the best we can do is properly educate the public and school kids in the above 3 points, plus for governments and business to properly implement the above 3 points into infrastructure.
Sh*t happens... it's happening... doing nothing to start adapting to it a.s.a.p. is insanity.
p.s... Had to add that I've never supported coal due to it's pollution, but there are definite technologies available right now to allow us to keep burning coal while preventing pollution, and that's obviously good for China, etc, that need to clean up.
Finally, just to say we don't NEED technology to be Greener, it takes very simple low-tech measures to live a Greener life.
Is Global Warming a science issue or is it a current event?
Why aren't we pushing for a way to use Corn/Coal/Electricity sources of fuel?
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Can someone tell me about Irelands weather and climate for each season. specifically autumn??