Well, if the Climahysterics want to talk about consensus……
A majority of readers are not convinced that enough evidence exists to support claims that the earth’s temperature is rising and dramatic impacts will follow.
Global warming is “pure theory,” said 138, or 35 percent of the 388 responses to the latest Business Pulse Survey, the newspaper’s nonscientific weekly online poll designed to provide a snapshot of what readers are thinking.
Of the remaining respondents, nearly a third — 113 votes, or 29 percent — said that human impact is warming the plant while 64 voters were “in between.” Another 73 people chose an “other” category suggesting that there is a vast range of opinion and understanding on the issue.
Let me be clear on my position, since so many take it out of context: it has happened. We are warmer now then we were previously. And Man has some impact, mostly through agriculture and our “footprint,” which leads to our landfills, which produce enormous amounts of methane. Man also does things which appear to be warming, such as the Urban Island Effect, and all the roads that cross our world do not help the Earth shed heat.
But, let us not discount the natural effects of the Earth and Sun. It was warmer in the 30’s. It got cool for decades afterwards, then started warming up. Right now, it has been 10 years since the climate temps have changed, and Man is still putting lots of CO2 and Methane into the air, building roads and buildings, and expanding the agricultural base. Are we on the cusp of a change? Only time will tell.
The biggest thing I know is that those who are pushing that it is Man’s fault, either mostly or solely, do very little to nothing themselves to change their behavior.
And that we should not play games with Mother Nature when we do not know what the outcome will be. The Earth is not a laboratory that one can clean if one truly fucks up.
