Why Green Matters Now

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Valjean,
What makes you think this melting started recently?
http://www.dailytech.com/Alaskan+Glaciers+Grow+for+First+Time+in+250+years/article13215.htm
http://wattsupwiththat.com/2009/04/26/ice-at-the-north-pole-in-1958-not-so-thick/

Barry of CA 5:53PM April 28, 2009

I am now very close to canceling my subscription after receiving this month's edition. A president's 1st 100 days, visits with world leaders, a multi-Trillion dollar government spending spree in spite of a credit and housing market that remains unfixed and half a dozen other things that keep me up at night . . . these are things I need to be reading about right now. Doing a deep dive on the future of Green when the Climate Jury is still undecided . . . this is an inappropriate use of ink at this time.

James of TX 12:23PM April 26, 2009

If 2008 was cooler than 1988 why have so much of the world's ice melted?

Valjean of OR 11:48AM April 26, 2009

Twenty years ago James Hansen testified before congress trying to scare us about global warming. See his predictions in figures 3(a) & 3(b) on page 7 of this PDF from his published article (journal page 9347):
http://pubs.giss.nasa.gov/docs/1988/1988_Hansen_etal.pdf
The most recent global satellite data published by the University of Alabama at Huntsville proves that this was wrong. This predicted warming never occurred:
http://icecap.us/images/uploads/HANSEN_AND_CONGRESS.jpg
As you can see, 2008 was even colder than 1988. Had he predicted what actually happened, we wouldn't have wasted hundreds of billions of dollars, because no one would have worried about it. Here is more background on this deliberate hoax perpetrated twenty years ago:
http://icecap.us/index.php/go/joes-blog/hansens_anniversary_testimony/
For a list of 31,478 scientists who signed a petition opposing his global warming theory, as well as a peer reviewed journal article detailing the evidence that disproved the theory, please follow this link:
http://www.petitionproject.org/
When someone makes a claim about what may or may not happen in the future, common sense tells you to check his or her track record. Real scientists know that climate trends cannot be accurately predicted, because they are caused by forces far more complicated than anyone's theory, with too many independent variables that cannot be known in advance. This is why long-term climate models cannot work, and never do. Unfortunately, journalists don't seem to be able to tell the difference between real scientists and political activists posing as scientists.
Ironic how people regarding themselves as ‘greener’ than the rest of us regard one the chemicals essential for photosynthesis to be a pollutant (the other chemical is water). Once absorbed by plant-life, combined with water and exposed to sunlight, the CO2 emissions from your car’s tailpipe become green leaves! But of course the fuel in your car’s gas tank is organic. All hydrocarbons are organic (check the dictionary).

Barry of CA 2:23AM April 26, 2009

Do the research. Ask yourselves what scientists really think about climate change. Don't just take someone else (be it Fox News or Pres. Obama)'s word for it. Think on your own.
You could start with the following list of organizations: the National Academy of Science, the American Association for the Advancement of Science, the American Meteorological Society, the Geological Society of America, the American Chemical Society, the American Geophysical Union, and countless others. That sounds like a pretty good list. If you don't trust them, then ask yourself who do you trust?
To know science, it is not recommended to ask a politician or media-wonk.

Dan of WA 4:29PM April 23, 2009

While you are all concerned about global warming, take a look at this web-site and look at the temperature stations used to help monitor the earth’s temperature. http://www.surfacestations.org/odd_sites.htm When we are using monitoring sites next to a trash burning barrel, next to the exhaust of a buildings air conditioner unit and one with a light bulb burning constantly, how can we believe the results? Also, John Stossel took Al Gore’s graphs from his propaganda movie that showed the relationship between CO2 and temperature and guess what? When you put the two separate graphs together, most of the time it was the temperature that went up first and then the CO2 increased.
The argument is not over, but once again the left believes in free speech as long as you agree with them

abl of GA 11:08PM April 19, 2009

Not that I necassarily disagree with RL from CAs.factoids, rather he does not tell where he got this information, if it is accurate and if it has gone through any kind of scientific scrutiny (those who attack all science as if all scientists were on a payroll and grant hunt, are uninformed at best and idiots at worst). They did help take us to the moon, give us the atomic age, that led to MRI and PET Scans etc.
I too can parade all kinds of suppossed 'facts' in front of people-politicians do it all the time. I am certain that acid rain was made up, too. The Erie Canal never caught fire. Oh yea, that's right, they did happen. A regional event that was a warning sign of greater risks involved. Take assertion # 9, does it make apoint or any sense? No. He makes this assertion as if the planet isn't one big biospere, where changes in one place affect the other.
We may not have enough information on our effect on the environment to make knee jerk reactions, but the subject should not be discarded out-of-hand.
I wish we could get more intelligent discourse on these subjects, instead of the emotional jargon like that of RL.

Dave C. of AZ 2:38PM April 17, 2009

Whenever we hear that the debate on something is over we should ask orselves, if the debate is really over why did someone feel the need to say that? The debate on climate change, its causes, and its effects is far from over. So far, efforts to "go green" have been modest, mostly voluntary, and inexpensive. When/if consumers and tax payers are hit with the bills for implementing all the current Administration's climate change initiatives we will see the real debate.

Brad of TX 1:04PM April 13, 2009

A few fun eco-facts that you won't learn in public school or from U.S. News.
1. We are currently in an interglacial period. Have been since the end of the Pleistocene Epoch (most current Ice age ending approx. 11000 year ago). I note that, with wide variations of cooling and heating, global temps have generally risen during that period.
2. Global temps began rising, causing the ice sheets to recede, 11000 years before Suv's and the Industrial age.
3. There have been several mini- Ice Ages in the last 10,000 years - all followed by eras of - yup.... global warming.
4. Sea levels have been rising since the end of the last ice age - with century long pauses during periods of "global cooling. Sea levels have risen over 300 feet in the past 15000 years...
5. For the past two years global temps have fallen... Last winter had record breaking snow levels.
6. All the melting "pole" ice shelves that everyone is panicking about have melted before - and come back.
7. There is absolutely no scientific evidence that man made co2 has anything to do with possible global warming. Human induced co2 accounts for less than 1% of co2 in the atmosphere. If we followed the green banners and marched back to the caves - leaving 99% of our fellows to die - The Co2 meter would barely move.
8. H2o is (water vapor) is the most common green house gas representing 95% of green house gas.
9. More "bio-mass" is present at the middle latitudes and far less as the poles. You may check this out by trying to grow something on a sheet of ice and compare that to your success in a "green house". If that's too much work, look at a National Geographic that has pics of tropical rain forests and compare to pics of frozen tundra. See what I mean?
10. Bonus factoids... More oil spilled into the sea every five weeks during the nearly 6 years of WWII than in the entire 65 years since its end. Guess what? The oceans survived those 3600+ ships, (hundreds were oil tankers - all were full of fuel oil and chemicals) sinking. When Cabrillo explored the west coast of what is now California, in 1542, he sailed through an oil slick more than a hundred miles wide caused by "natural seepage". Oil platforms actually reduce the amount of oil in the sea by reducing "natural seepage" Less than one barrel per day is lost from all the 3800+ oil platforms each day - more than 1500 barrels seeps into U.S. territorial waters from natural, undersea fissures each day - and would increase if we reduced off shore drilling. The worst man made oil spill in history took place in August 1944 when American dive bombers dropped many tons of bombs on 77 Japanese ships in Truk Lagoon. All were sunk. These ships still leak oil to this day. Truck Lagoon is not a "Superfund Site". Rather, it is the most popular dive resort on the planet and has a diverse underwater ecosystem.
"Going Green" has gone too far. Environmentalism has become an intolerant, hysterical religion. Consider this another in a long line of wake- up calls...

R.L. Schaefer of CA 9:04PM April 11, 2009

I have spent my career financing the development of shopping centers, student housing, senior housing, surgical centers, medical office buildings such as cancer research facilities, resort properties and extraordinary facilities. Over the years I have gotten calls from around the country to point extremely interested parties in the direction of financing for almost purely green buildings. LEEDS certified, almost self sustainable in some cases. Everyone of these highly educated well meaning folks find themselves in depression because they find out what many do and that is that "practical" and normal financing to build and hold, is almost impossible to come by in this country.
So, though I applaud your editorial sir, try getting financing for a solar array for student housing for example. You simply cannot, unless it is your own dollar invested. The financial community is years if not decades away from gambling on "Green". They will say they can and will right now, but close the loan. I'd love to see it happen.

Tom in San Diego of CA 1:42PM April 11, 2009