global warming

[sokolnikov]

Yup, there's a lot on my mind today:

http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&cid=570&ncid=753&e=1&u=/nm/20041109/sc_nm/environment_arctic_dc

This is a real issue... it is happening... and it sounds like the Bush administration may be on the verge of accepting reality. Let's keep out fingers crossed.

Comments

Gonna have to roll my eyes on this one ...

[anonymous]

Hey, check it out, Mars is experiencing global warming too!

http://www.denverpost.com/Stories/0,1413,36%7E53%7E2524877,00.html

Must be because their president didn't sign on to Kyoto ...

- Rob

Re: Gonna have to roll my eyes on this one ...

[sokolnikov]

I'm not saying it's unnatural for there to be fluctuation in the global climate or for sea levels to rise or fall... but CO2 levels are rising quite rapidly as a result of current human activities, and if you want I can direct you to Schlesinger (a biogeochemist at Duke) that has made quite a prestigious career out of studying how things are going to change quite drastically due to the unnatural increase in atmospheric CO2. In the long run, it's no big deal for the planet. This warmer climate has existed in the past, and sea levels have been higher in the past. But the current fluctuation we are experiencing, at the projected magnitude, is much faster than changes in the past... and we know the cause is/will be anthropogenic. But thinking on a geologic time scale, it doesn't really matter. But in the short term, it would be nice if we didn't fuck everything up for our kids and what not.

Re: Gonna have to roll my eyes on this one ...

[sokolnikov]

oh yeah... and it's funny how people say... well, most of the greenhouse gas problem will be from developing countries. Sure, the majority of increase in greenhouse gas emissions will be from developing countries, but the vast majority of gross greenhouse gas production in the world has been, is, and will continue to be from the U.S. And as the world leader in everything, we should set a good example by agreeing to curb our emissions. How the fuck are we going to get developing countries to embrace responsible, sustainable development if we are like... "fuck that, no one's gonna tell us what to do"? Oh yeah, and we produce more CO2 than any other country...