| Author | Message | ||
     Don Perkins Citizen Username: Cowboy Post Number: 242 Registered: 9-2003  |
According to an international study released Wednesday, global warming over the next half-century could result in the extinction of more than one million species. "A quarter of all species of plants and land animals, or more than a million in all, could be driven to extinction," this according to Chris Thomas, professor of Conservation Biology at England's University of Leeds. The difference with this story is that they're not really calling it "global warming" any more. Now the magic buzz words are "climate change." Why the change? Because more and more people are coming to understand that there is not one single piece of empirical evidence out there that anything that mankind is doing on the face of this globe is leading to any warming of the Earth's atmosphere. We may well be going through a period where the Earth is warming up a degree or two; but we're going through this period at the very same time that the Sun has shown increased activity. To put it into terms a Democrat could understand ... Sun gets hotter, Earth gets hotter. It's been happening since the dinosaurs. Is anyone else getting tired of these ridiculous, often taxpayer-funded "studies?" Here we go with more front-page screaming headlines screaming ultimate catastrophe. When is someone going to do a documentary showing how most of these environmental interest groups have become polluted with a mangy collection of socialists, and other anti-capitalists who have decided that phony environmentalism is as good a way as any to destroy free enterprise and the industrialized West. Brilliant strategy, actually. If you oppose their anti-capitalistic agenda it means you want dirty air, dirty water, and the extinction of millions of species. I'd like to know when we can predict the extinction of bored, anti-capitalist liberals in the science community that are always inventing junk science to prop up their half-baked theories. | ||
| Greatest Straw of all time! Citizen Username: Strawberry Post Number: 1734 Registered: 10-2001  |
GLOBAL WARMING??? Tell that to my poor wife who was forced to wear her mink coat this morning because of the frigid temps. Poor thing, I mean lucky for us we can afford things like Mink coats and beach homes. However our beach home isn't much fun in this weather. I'd actually support global warming because it would add value to beach property I suppose. BUSH/CHENEY IN 2004.. | ||
| Michaela May Citizen Username: Mayquene Post Number: 11 Registered: 1-2004  |
Unless the polar ice caps melt and your beach home is swallowed up by the Atlantic Ocean. | ||
| Greatest Straw of all time! Citizen Username: Strawberry Post Number: 1735 Registered: 10-2001 |
If that happens I'll use TQM when dealing with the insurance companies.  BUSH/CHENEY IN 2004.. | ||
| Michaela May Citizen Username: Mayquene Post Number: 12 Registered: 1-2004 |
Then you should be all set! My bad! It's a shame it's January, or I'd ask Ed to share his holiday quality songs with you ... | ||
| Greatest Straw of all time! Citizen Username: Strawberry Post Number: 1736 Registered: 10-2001 |
Michaela, Do you wear a bow tie like the old man? BUSH/CHENEY IN 2004.. | ||
| Dave Ross Supporter Username: Dave Post Number: 6093 Registered: 4-1998  |
MIchaela 3 Strawberry 1 | ||
| Michaela May Citizen Username: Mayquene Post Number: 13 Registered: 1-2004 |
I think you have him confused with the late Sen. Paul Simon ... | ||
| ML1 Citizen Username: Ml1 Post Number: 1457 Registered: 5-2002  |
anyone who knows Ed recognizes his trademark stars & stripes necktie. | ||
| Dr. Winston O'Boogie Citizen Username: Casey Post Number: 434 Registered: 8-2003  |
I'm not a scientist, and maybe "Don Perkins" is, but until I find out that he has impeccable credentials as a climatoligist, I'm inclined to put more stock in the explanation of those wacky, radical, nut jobs over at the EPA, who have posted this on their website: "An Introduction According to the National Academy of Sciences, the Earth's surface temperature has risen by about 1 degree Fahrenheit in the past century, with accelerated warming during the past two decades. There is new and stronger evidence that most of the warming over the last 50 years is attributable to human activities. Human activities have altered the chemical composition of the atmosphere through the buildup of greenhouse gases primarily carbon dioxide, methane, and nitrous oxide. The heat-trapping property of these gases is undisputed although uncertainties exist about exactly how earth's climate responds to them. Go to the Emissions section for much more on greenhouse gases." I figure they know more than I do. | ||
| Greatest Straw of all time! Citizen Username: Strawberry Post Number: 1737 Registered: 10-2001 |
that's right stars and stripes tie...my bad. BUSH/CHENEY IN 2004.. | ||
| tom Citizen Username: Tom Post Number: 1741 Registered: 5-2001 |
As it's been said, it's very difficult to make someone believe something if his livelihood depends on not believing it. I've heard that certain high officials in our government have close ties to the fossil-fuels industry. | ||
| Michaela May Citizen Username: Mayquene Post Number: 15 Registered: 1-2004 |
"climate change" is a way for journalists to be use balanced language -- like saying "abortion rights advocates and anti-abortion advocates" instead of "pro-choice advocates and pro-life advocates." But climate change still implies the obvious ... change! Oh yes, and EPA has suffered from large funding shortfalls in the past two years is losing enforcment officials left and right, leading to speculation -- mostly from critics of the Bush administration, to be fair -- that EPA isn't able to ensure environmental safety. Also, since EPA falls under the Bush's administrations wing, they are subject to business-oriented scrutiny. We live in an era where people who buy Hummers get tax breaks and drilling in Alaska is as obvious to conservative, business-friendly lawmakers as the sky is blue. Todays's Progress Report by the liberal-leaning Center for American Progress Does a good job on the issue, with lots of links to sources so you can delve a little further. (Note, I *hightly* recommend their mailing list ... www.americanprogress.org) Here's what today's newsletter has to say: ENVIRONMENT Ignoring Global Warming The Financial Times reports, "one million species of plants and animals could be driven to extinction by another 50 years of global warming, according to a study published on Thursday in the British journal Nature." Under the panel's minimum scenario, 18% of species would be lost, while their "middle-of-the-road" prediction found that 24% of species will die. The United Nations said "the prospect is also a threat to the billions of people who rely on Nature for their survival." The study came at the same time researchers released a report showing "global climate change could be pushing a rise in infectious diseases, respiratory illnesses, allergies and malnutrition." That is consistent with a World Health Organization report last month that warned "global warming killed 150,000 people in 2000 and the death toll could double again in the next 30 years if current trends are not reversed." In one example of how dire the situation could become, the Des Moines Register reports a new study by the Union of Concerned Scientists shows Iowa could see a 22 degree increase in just 100 years, wreaking havoc on the state's agricultural economy. THINGS CAN BE FIXED: The news in the report was not all grim. It said efforts by humans to "cut greenhouse gases today could save many species from vanishing." While some conservatives continue to claim that human activities have nothing to do with global warming, the American Geophysical Union, the world's largest organization of earth, ocean, and climate scientists and typically a cautious group - issued a strongly worded statement last month concluding that "human activities are increasingly altering the Earth's climate." OBSTACLES TO FIXING: The problem is that key conservative lawmakers many of whom take huge sums of money from polluters who would be affected by tougher environmental regulations - continue to ignore scientific reality. Rep. Joe Barton (R-TX), chairman of the House Subcommittee on Energy, said on 5/23/01: The whole concept of global warming may be exactly wrong, could be totally 180 degrees wrong. Barton has taken more than $595,000 from the electric/gas industry since 2000. Sen. James Inhofe (R-OK), Chairman of the Environment and Public Works Committee, said on 7/28/03: "The debate is shifting away from those who subscribe to global-warming alarmism. Inhofe has taken $458,669 from the oil/electric/gas industry since 1999. IGNORING INTERNATIONAL EFFORTS: President Bush, who has taken more than $2.8 million from the oil and gas industries which would be affected by tougher global warming regs, continues to undermine efforts to address the issue. As the Christian Science Monitor noted, "Several science-policy experts argue that no presidency has been more calculating and ideological than the Bush administration in setting political parameters for science." Soon after taking office, he withdrew the U.S. from negotiations over the Kyoto Protocol and then last month further insulted the international effort. At a 180-nation meeting in Milan, the Administration denounced "the U.N.'s Kyoto Protocol as an unrealistic 'straitjacket' for curbing global warming." WHITE HOUSE PROPOSES SHAM: Despite 120 nations signing onto the Kyoto accord, the Administration rejected it, saying its voluntary policies for emissions reductions would suffice. But as AP reports, "only a tiny fraction of American companies that pollute have signed up." As the original WP story notes, of the thousands of U.S. companies with pollution problems, only 50 have joined the Climate Leaders program, and "of the companies that have signed up, only 14 have set goals." While the Administration pledged that its program would reduce emissions by 18% over the next decade, "the General Accounting Office concluded that the plan would reduce overall emissions only 2% more than what the nation would achieve with no federal program whatsoever." BURYING THE SCIENCE: Along with the Kyoto rebuke, the Administration has sought to bury as much scientific data on the subject as possible. Earlier this year, the EPA "scrapped a detailed assessment of climate change from an upcoming report on the state of the environment after the White House directed major changes and deletions to emphasize the uncertainties surrounding global warming." The changes prompted an EPA staff memorandum that said the revisions demanded by the White House were so extensive that they would embarrass the agency because the section "no longer accurately represents scientific consensus on climate change.'" | ||
| ajc Citizen Username: Ajc Post Number: 2296 Registered: 9-2001 |
"Todays's Progress Report by the liberal leaning Center for American Progress does a good job on the issue, with lots of links to sources so you can delve a little further." Now I have to ask, how far did this apple fall from the tree?  | ||
| Michaela May Citizen Username: Mayquene Post Number: 18 Registered: 1-2004 |
Are you derailing a disclaimer made for the purposes of honesty and full disclosure? For instance, a reminder to all of you who touted that National Review article, the magazine is *shock* conservative. I believe they advertise for Ann Coulter books and that a recent cover highlighted the sanctity of sex inside marriage. But I maintain that they are a very useful source for two reasons: (1) The text of every newsletter links to sources for all of their reports, including media, government and other groups. (2) It's important to question that powers that be, which are currently Republican. I don't rely very much on conservative groups to delve into the dusty corners of this administration. | ||
| tom Citizen Username: Tom Post Number: 1743 Registered: 5-2001 |
Yeah, but the Financial Times is hardly a left-wing organ. Plus citations from the WHO, Nature and American Geophysical Union, all of whom have a stake in being accurate. In contrast with a number of people who've taken large amounts of money from folks who have a stake in global warming being a fiction. | ||
| notehead Citizen Username: Notehead Post Number: 827 Registered: 5-2001  |
Don... just curious... do you think evolution is a bunch of bunk also? I'm just trying to get a feel for the scope of your denial. You can hold up a giant blue piece of cardboard, and Republicans will swear up and down that it's red if there's a remote chance that they'll lose a dollar if it's blue. One of the reasons there have been so many studies on global warming is because Republicans refuse to accept the findings of the scientific community at large and insist that the matter "needs more study," to quote the Prez. | ||
| greeneyes Citizen Username: Greeneyes Post Number: 450 Registered: 8-2001 |
How old is that May kid anyway?  | ||
| vor Citizen Username: Vor Post Number: 130 Registered: 9-2003 |
Greeneyes I concur. In all sincerity the elder Mays must be proud. | ||
| bobk Supporter Username: Bobk Post Number: 4241 Registered: 5-2001 |
I believe she posted that she was 22. Pride is an interesting concept for Ed, since he is a dyed in the wool Republican and Ms. May would appear to have liberal leanings. Ed, where did you go wrong? There still may be time for reprograming is you act quickly!!  |
