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| Subject: And again... | |
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Author: Oropan |
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Date Posted: 12:40:23 03/12/07 Mon In reply to: jw 's message, "interesting point, is the biblical story of noah's flood a prophesy for our civilization?" on 12:36:01 03/12/07 Mon Just a couple weeks ago people on this board were making fun of the belief of Noah's Flood. I guess whatever suits the moment for the agruement! > the scientists have never found evidence of a >global catastrophe to explain noah's flood, although >there were regoinal catastrophes around the time the >bible claims it happened. The description of noah's >civilization is remarkably similar to that of western >civilization, it was a selfish, individualistic, >materialistic society with no central government, and >it was accompanied by major advances in technology. >The civilization of noah went through a period of >denial of noah's prophesy, very similar to the global >warming deniers of our time. There was an incredible >amount of sexual depravity, and eventually slavery, >just as capitalism has done to western civilization. > > In the bible, water is a symbol of materialistic >prosperity, the flood represents the overconsumption >of that generation, and perhaps our generation. Water >vapor is the dominent greenhouse gas, except in the >polar region. The after effects of the flood were >shorter lifespans and increased desease, and that is >exactly what scientists warn us of in our flood. > > the evangelical movement was the largest source of >votes for the republicans, it looks like that support >is starting to crack, just like those huge glaciers >atop greenland. > >>OPINION By PHILIP STOTT >>March 9, 2007 — From the Babylon of Gilgamesh to the >>post-Eden of Noah, every age has viewed climate change >>cataclysmically, as retribution for human greed and >>sinfulness. >> >>In the 1970s, the fear was "global cooling." The >>Christian Science Monitor then declaimed, "Warning: >>Earth's climate is changing faster than even experts >>expect," while The New York Times announced, "A major >>cooling of the climate is widely considered >>inevitable." Sound familiar? Global warming represents >>the latest doom-laden "crisis," one demanding >>sacrifice to Gaia for our wicked fossil-fuel-driven >>ways. >> >>But neither history nor science bolsters such an >>apocalyptic faith. >> >>History and Science >> >>Extreme weather events are ever present, and there is >>no evidence of systematic increases. Outside the >>tropics, variability should decrease in a warmer >>world. If this is a "crisis," then the world is in >>permanent "crisis," but will be less prone to "crisis" >>with warming. >> >> >>Sea levels have been rising since the end of the last >>ice age, most rapidly about 12,000 years ago. In >>recent centuries, the average rate has been relatively >>uniform. The rate was higher during the first half of >>the 20th century than during the second. At around a >>couple of millimeters per year, it is a residual of >>much larger positive and negative changes locally. The >>risk from global warming is less than that from other >>factors (primarily geological). >> >>The impact on agriculture is equivocal. India warmed >>during the second half of the 20th century, yet >>agricultural output increased markedly. The impact on >>disease is dubious. Infectious diseases, like malaria, >>are not so much a matter of temperature as of poverty >>and public health. Malaria remains endemic in Siberia, >>and was once so in Michigan and Europe. Exposure to >>cold is generally more dangerous. >> >>So, does the claim that humans are the primary cause >>of recent warming imply "crisis"? The impact on >>temperature per unit CO2 goes down, not up, with >>increasing CO2. The role of human-induced greenhouse >>gases does not relate directly to emission rate, nor >>even to CO2 levels, but rather to the radiative (or >>greenhouse) impact. Doubling CO2 is a convenient >>benchmark. It is claimed, on the basis of computer >>models, that this should lead to 1.1 - 6.4 C warming. >> >>What is rarely noted is that we are already >>three-quarters of the way into this in terms of >>radiative forcing, but we have only witnessed a 0.6 >>(+/-0.2) C rise, and there is no reason to suppose >>that all of this is due to humans. >> >> >> >> >>Indeed the system requires no external driver to >>fluctuate by a fraction of a degree because of ocean >>disequilibrium with the atmosphere. There are also >>alternative drivers relating to cosmic rays, the sun, >>water vapor and clouds. Moreover, it is worth >>remembering that modelers even find it difficult to >>account for the medieval warm period. >> >> >> >>The Real Crisis >> >> >> >>Our so-called "crisis" is thus neither a product of >>current observations nor of projections. >> >> >> >>But does it matter if global warming is a "crisis" or >>not? Aren't we threatened by a serious temperature >>rise? Shouldn't we act anyway, because we are stewards >>of the environment? >> >> >> >>Herein lies the moral danger behind global warming >>hysteria. Each day, 20,000 people in the world die of >>waterborne diseases. Half a billion people go hungry. >>A child is orphaned by AIDS every seven seconds. This >>does not have to happen. We allow it while fretting >>about "saving the planet." What is wrong with us that >>we downplay this human misery before our eyes and >>focus on events that will probably not happen even a >>hundred years hence? We know that the greatest cause >>of environmental degradation is poverty; on this, we >>can and must act. >> >> >> >>The global warming "crisis" is misguided. In >>hubristically seeking to "control" climate, we >>foolishly abandon age-old adaptations to inexorable >>change. There is no way we can predictably manage this >>most complex of coupled, nonlinear chaotic systems. >>The inconvenient truth is that "doing something" >>(emitting gases) at the margins and "not doing >>something" (not emitting gases) are equally >>unpredictable. >> >> >>Climate change is a norm, not an exception. It is both >>an opportunity and a challenge. The real crises for 4 >>billion people in the world remain poverty, dirty >>water and the lack of a modern energy supply. By >>contrast, global warming represents an ecochondria of >>the pampered rich. >> >>We can no longer afford to cling to the anti-human >>doctrines of outdated environmentalist thinking. The >>"crisis" is the global warming political agenda, not >>climate change. >> >> >> >>Philip Stott is an Emeritus Professor from the >>University of London, UK. For the last 18 years he was >>the editor of the Journal of Biogeography. [ Next Thread | Previous Thread | Next Message | Previous Message ] |