The Myopia of Global Warming

When I search news stories on global warming, I am curious to find that there are a lot of articles about what on earth (pun kinda intended here) could be causing this change. What is curious is the focus on the root cause, as if there is one as opposed to many contributors. It's as if to say that if we find this one little trouble maker and just get rid of it, all our troubles will pass.

The latest piece to this is a relief that agricultural soil erosion is not a contributor to global warming (cuz I was really worried it might be). Apparently, some pundits were worried, saying that ag soil erosion added 13% to the fossil fuel emission contributions of carbon in the air. This study concludes that contribution is more like 1.5%. Thank god we've put that to rest.

In fact, why worry at all. According to White House spokesperson Dana Perino, global warming can actually be good for us - and fun too! There's humor enough in the article itself, so I'll leave it to you to read it rather than take the obvious jabs.

Finally, it being Friday and all, I thought I should end on an article that talks about a Hollywood power cocktail that gets you drunk and fights global warming, all in the same gulp. Now there's a cause worth taking up.

my own dog food/from theories to realities

When I said Al Gore should spend more time discussing solutions, I didn't think that the very next article I would read suggested that most web sites and blogs don't offer more than information... I guess I too could provide more about the solution, though I have to admit, I'm still learning. This is worth a read, looks at global warming impressions in our society from the time Gore got nominated to the time he won the Nobel Peace Prize

In other global warming news, the change in the climate isn't just causing minor problems, GA is suing over lack of water, (like a lawsuit will end the drought and bring more aqua to all the states that use that watershed).

On the nervous laughter front, Mike Morin writes a editorial stating among other things that NH residents will no be able to participate in late January ski binges - (see? Drastic climatological changes can be funny..)

On an even more positive note, the Wall Street Journal foretells that there really is no hard evidence that global warming will have serious effects on life - so keep investing folks, nothing to worry about! Honestly, the author makes a nice case for the adaptability of species, which isn't a bad angle. However I think articles like these that tell us there's nothing to worry about causes us to lose focus.

Al Gore's nickname: Al Gore

I was fortunate enough to see Al Gore in person last week, the same night he received the Nobel Peace Prize.

It was a tremendous effort and he showed a lot of passion towards the subject of global warming. Whispering at times, bellowing at others like a preacher, he had the audience on their seats which is saying something. Let's face it, for many the subject is either boring, lame or both.

All in all, I have a lot of respect for Al Gore. He's done a tremendous job getting the word out. He's a politician so sure, you're going to see some ghosting of that image as he tries to get the message across, but all in all, I have a lot of respect for the man.

I have to say though, I was more than a bit disappointed with his lecture. In the 90 minutes he talked, 85 minutes were spent getting us to believe there was a problem and in one quick slide, he rattled off a bunch of solutions. Sure, there were a few gasps in the audience when he showed the before and after photos of glaciers, but there was more silence, which told me he was for the most part preaching to the choir.

I was hoping he would give a chapter 2 to his Inconvenient Truth speech. He did a great job of telling us there's a problem and we have to do something!!!! -- and a horrible job of detailing what that something is. (There is a lot more on "the solution" on his web site, but in person, he doesn't talk to it much at all).

In scouring for this blog, there are so many solution theories and thoughts on what will and won't work. Many of them are very good ideas, but they have become lost in the noise of too much choice. It would be awesome to see Mr. Gore pick a handful of solutions and rally folks towards those.

Back when he was Clinton's side kick there was a joke that Al Gore was so boring that his secret service nickname was "Al Gore"... He's come a long way from that time; he is now the de facto voice of global warming. You have to admire that. I think it's time to use that voice to spur folks to action.

Change in the Weather

Causes changes in other areas too:

A virus called Bluetongue is spreading to Europe as a result of warmer temperatures. Not the end of the world, it doesn't affect humans and it can be vaccinated against. Still, its a growing problem, the article states.

There is, however, a fix for global warming, in a can. If only all problems could be solved this way! The solution is compared to a "fad diet" and is "a dangerous delusion". Still a global warming fix in a can? You gotta read that one.



I have a friend that won't like global warming for the following reasons: it's driving up humidity levels. He just doesn't tolerate humidity well at all.

And finally, a game that helps understand global warming effects. Sim City Societies will include impacts to your virtual world based on energy decisions made.

Recent Headlines

• Orangutans take a hit due to rising temps and rainfall

• The Swiss recognize that their Alps are losing ice

• Best read of the day: Lessons on the "Bovine Curtain", eating meat, global warming and you.

Welcome to Easter Island...

When you hear that 3,200 miners were trapped somewhere deep in the bowels of the earth, I can't help but extrapolate this to all the bowels that we are tapping into, dragging out those raw resources and adding an exorbitant amount of order to them to create all the stuff we need to live our lives.

All 6.6 billion of us, consuming. Some of us more, some of us less, but we are all leaving our little impact on the world we live in.

So when I hear that global warming is the Sun's fault.... Yea, maybe the Sun is the major contributor to global warming, why not, its an easy target. It's huge, easy to blame (as it can't fight back) and allows us to point the finger at someone besides ourselves.

At the end of the day though, with all of us doing all those things we do, this is no longer a planet getting trampled on by a few small villages living in scattered valleys. This is a planet getting trampled on by a modern society, using vast amounts of energy and resources to make highly ordered things like iPods and plasma TVs and cars and french fries. Wow.

Have you ever gone out and looked at how fast your electric meter is running when you are actively using your abode? Turn everything you normally turn off and take another look. Even when we aren't around, we are having an impact.

Which leads me to finding charities that aim to minimize or reverse our impact. As I and everyone around me withdraw from the world's resources, I also need to make some deposits as well so that I can make further withdraws down the road. Forget whether it's the sun's fault or it's ours, we do impact the environment, which is fine to a point. I don't want to live in a cave and eat food that's fallen from the trees. I like warmth and wood homes and hell yea, iPods are very cool. But I also would like to feel that I can do something to give back for all those resources it took to keep me warm and allow me to enjoy You Tube wirelessly from Starbucks.

Easter Island is a great example of where we are today. An island, like the planet, with limited resources. Easter Island was once nicely forested, but the villagers took down all the trees. Do you think the guy who chopped down the last tree, sealing the fate of everyone on the island, do you think he asked himself, "hey, maybe this will have a lasting impact, maybe I shouldn't do this"... (BTW: I'm borrowing from Jared Diamond here, credit goes to him). No, he chopped down the freakin tree and everyone either died or fled.

Welcome to the macrocosm of Easter Island, aka Planet Earth - sorry no life rafts.