i'm not especially convinced of primarily man-made global warming
The correlation between the sun's cycle and Earth's temperature is strikingly convincing to me that the primary cause of global warming is the sun.
Don't get me wrong, though. I believe, 100%, that we are crapping up the protection we have from the sun. I am all for taking care of and improving the environment.
I'm just not convinced we are the primary cause of global warming.i worry about the taste differences between [gmb] and me
I love, love, love the sculpture on the right.
[GMB] pretty much hates it. His style is much more modern than mine.
He's also pro gay rainbow. I personally think it looks tacky and cheap.
That said, my worry is quite insignificant. I'm pretty sure we'd be able to find common ground were we ever to find ourselves decorating a house together.
For example, I think we'd agree on most things in the kitchen pictured below:
Do you really think that thousands of climate scientists worldwide haven't taken that into consideration?
ReplyDeleteI'm not saying you should believe in anthropogenic climate change just because a lot of smart people believe it, but rather because these are people who've done tons of research and the overwhelming scientific consensus is that the current global warming trend is largely man-made. There is actually a huge amount of evidence. What more would you need to convince you?
Also, correlation does not equal causation.
ReplyDeleteI'm also skeptical about the influence of human activity on climate change. Correlation, after all, doesn't equal causation. :-)
ReplyDeleteI had concerns about matters of taste, as well, with my brief romance, but fortunately, I don't think either of us is too terribly staunch about such things, and the basics of taste lined up well, and I decided the great qualities he had, the effectiveness with which we communicated, etc far outweighed those kinds of concerns for me. It's interesting experiencing a relationship where issues like that even come up as factors to consider, isn't it? :-)
P.S., I also fully support environmental responsibility wherever feasible and don't believe for a moment that even if we didn't "cause" climate change that would give us any license to be wasteful or not continue to seek cleaner, safer energy conservation and waste disposal practices. Just to clarify. :-)
ReplyDeleteWhat I've seen--and, granted, I haven't seen everything--is that the stance that global warming is primarily man-made is also based on correlation.
ReplyDeleteThat is, yes, the evidences show that we are destroying the environment. But I haven't seen any damning, in a matter of speaking, evidence that it is, therefore, mankind who is causing global warming.
If you have such evidence, I'm definitely willing to read it and be wrong.
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What especially makes me skeptical is that the "man-made cause" side seems like a huge social and political trend similar to a religion spouting damnation and hellfire to get people to do the right thing for the wrong reasons (i.e. guilt, shame, promoting a sense of superiority for those who "follow").
(And, yes, I know my feelings toward the fear-mongering atmosphere is not proof one way or the other. It does, however, make me hesitant to believe one correlation over the other.)
My knowledge of the issue is fairly basic, but we just skimmed over this (unfortunately that's my prof's MO) in my biology class and it was striking to see what evidence was presented. Forgive me if I'm preaching to the more in-tuned choir, here. I like regurgitating neat stuff, however primary.
ReplyDeleteWhen one considers basics--which is all i'm given and i've little time to seek veritable outside reports--regarding what affects the ozone layer (CO2) and how human activity affects the amount of CO2 in the atmosphere (fossil fuels, primarily), and how it leads to the heating of the ocean, melting of the ice caps etc., creating a bad cycle that only feeds the monster, it's pretty evident it's us making it an issue beyond the natural cycle of things.
That said and considering the fact that I am largely ignorant on the issue even given the above, I'm always interested in hearing the other side. Even if the overwhelming consensus points to whatever. I just like to hear other points of view. I think it's a function of ever being a member of the church. So I appreciate that.
And I like the statue, too :D
Love the planet...hate the statue, but correlation does not equal causation in matters of love or hate.
ReplyDeleteLisa - I definitely agree that humanic [sic] effects on the ozone create a situation worse than if it were just the sun and the earth. I am just skeptical to the degree that is being... well... preached as:
ReplyDeleterobert: from what I've been able to glean on the subject of global warming, all there is is correlation on both sides of understanding the cause. While correlation doesn't equal causation, it still can be very useful in determining the cause.
After all, while correlation doesn't equal causation, causation does, indeed, correlate.
It's a matter of proving which correlation is the causation... and I haven't seen that on either side. But from what I have seen, it seems most likely that the sun's rising temperature is the most significant cause of Earth's rising temperature.
That's not to say that I'm right. But until I see proof one way or the other, I'm going to stick with what seems to me the most logical explanation.
You might be interested in this: http://climate.nasa.gov/evidence/
ReplyDeleteThanks, Craig. That directed me to some more information that I need to check out.
ReplyDeleteMuch appreciated.