YOU GOT TO BELIEVE
Part II – Survivability
By Dogfish
“Future generations will look back and wonder why we refused to act; why we failed to pass on an environment that was worthy of our inheritance.”
People ask me why do I care about the future of our planet. I don’t have any kids, no grand kids. Well to tell you the truth, I figured I would die before the end of the world. Then as I watched, and studied, using my common sense, my scientific knowledge, my power of observations, I came to the realization that I would probably live to see the end of civilization. And I panicked. Although it has been obvious to me for quite some time that the earth’s environment is on a collision course with mans need to destroy it. I plainly saw that if the road the world was on was not changed, then I, quite possibly, might see it changed by forces, like Pandora’s Box, once released, that mankind cannot recover from within thousands of years. And quite frankly that scared me. Both my parents lived long lives as did most of my ancestors that I knew. My sister and I know we have many years ahead, the big question is does the earth?
Every day some news story tells us about our planet’s environment starting to strike back on us for all the sins we have committed upon the earth. A massive dust storm in Australia, the likes of which has never been seen in 65 years; the North Pole ice cap smallest its been in recorded history, flooding in Georgia when only a few months ago they were whining that they did not have enough water, the evidence is overwhelming that the planet is changing.. Be careful what you wish for, as Mother Nature can play some cruel games
So what are we going to do about it, and by we I mean the whole world. Cause we are all on this spaceship earth and there is not enough lifeboats for all of us. Can it be reversed? Only by believing it can, can we do anything about it. Of course first off, we have to believe it is happening. There are those that don’t believe or don’t care. There are those that feel that it is all in God’s plan. Much the same as in Genesis, when God told Noah that he was going to wipe out the earth’s population, tasking Noah and his family with saving all the innocent species of the earth. Five thousand years later, it seems that God might be planning another wipe out.
Any number of things can wipe out our environment, as scientist s have pointed out from events in our past. A giant meteor hitting the Yucatan ending the dinosaurs reign on earth simply by darkening the skies and changing the environment; super volcanoes blowing their stacks and changing the world environment with ash that covered the sky and brought on another ice age. Some scientists even predict that the caldron of the super volcano that is Yellowstone Valley may in fact erupt in the not too distant future with catastrophic results for the living creatures of the earth.
But enough of all this scary stuff, we need to believe that environmental destruction is a possibility and do what we can to save the earth. I won’t go into all the things you can do, and there are many, not all of which I do yet either.
So would you like your kids and grandkids to live the life you have been living or would you rather have them living a life wondering what you did to save the earth and their future. Let’s start with driving our automobiles. That is driving them less. Driving them more sanely. If we are to see that our grandkids have gasoline to drive with in twenty years, we must start by saving that gasoline now. You don’t have to be the first one in line at the next red light, see a red light ahead, drop off the accelerator. You got cars behind you, great, you’re slowing down their consumption too. Keep your car in good shape, the tires filled, the oil checked, and save money by cutting down on the times you use our car. Heck that’s good old economic sense too. See saving the environment can save you money too.
Saving the environment and our way of life just takes changing the way we think, not as easy as it sounds. You must look at every action, every thing you do, in a different light. Ask yourself, is what I am doing good for me, good for my kids futures, good for the good of the planet. If the answer to any one of those is no, then it is time to make it good.
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“The danger posed by climate change cannot be denied. Our responsibility to meet it must not be deferred. If we continue down our current course, every member of this Assembly will see irreversible changes within their borders. Our efforts to end conflicts will be eclipsed by wars over refugees and resources. Development will be devastated by drought and famine. Land that human beings have lived on for millennia will disappear. Future generations will look back and wonder why we refused to act; why we failed to pass on an environment that was worthy of our inheritance.” – Barack Obama, Speech to the United Nations, September 23, 2009
Climate Change is a given, and a generalization. I suspect many things, and reserve “belief” to those with more vivid imaginations.
Conservation will have the largest impact in the shortest period of time but as the population increases the gains will be negligible. Since the development will be in second and third world countries the need for international agreements will be paramount.
The earth probably won’t die from any of the catastrophes you’ve listed. It has been through these alterations before and resulted in different forms of life developing in the multitude of environments that were created. Our species will most likely not have the last word, manifest destiny aside.
Our species has been cognizant of the stress and strain that we place on the earth since the Dust Bowl, and has done little to curb its appetite for abundance, except when the cost was too high or the laws imposed penalties.
Even with laws in place and citizens working for pollution free environment there is no guaranty that, the laws will not be circumvented by the lawmakers to serve and ulterior motive.
For years I’ve tried to bring St. Pete and Gulfport together on the issue of noise POLUTION on 49th street, but because of the invisible line Gulfport could not or would not addressed the parked cars with boom boxes blaring in the parking lots on the St. Pete side. There was no incentive, or no money in it, or they couldn’t make the connection between the sound level and discomfort of customers patronizing the businesses. One could easily capture the noisemakers on the street when they left the parking lots, sending a signal to the rest of the noisemakers, that 49th street was off limits to this activity, but they choose not to, snuggle behind the invisible DMZ line.
The outcry from Gulfport and others have been heard in Tallahassee and finally laws with teeth and financial incentives will be written. Hopefully the law enforcement agency of Gulfport will address this issue vigorously to capture the culprits and their cash. WE have done our part, now its up to the full service City to do theirs.
Good stuff. Individuals need to believe and then we need to convince our governments–starting with the local level–to also believe and act.
The Volcanoes of North America
California’s Long Valley Caldera.
Yellowstone Caldera
.
The Earth Impact Database
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The Human Impact
Ancient cultures
The forging of metals appears to be a key turning point in the creation of significant air pollution levels. Core samples of glaciers in Greenland indicate increases in air pollution associated with Greek, Roman and Chinese metal production
Official acknowledgement
The earliest known writings concerned with pollution were Arabic medical treatises written between the 9th and 13th centuries.
Drilling for Gas hydrates in the Gulf and around the world.
long-term considerations with respect to hydrate stability, methane (a potent greenhouse gas) release, and global climate change. Leg II went forward this year.
Nitrates as a fertilizer
Contaminating water.
Burning Biomass
Polluting the air
Noise Pollution
Noise health effects are the health consequences of elevated sound levels. Elevated workplace or other noise can cause hearing impairment, hypertension, ischemic heart disease, annoyance, sleep disturbance, and decreased school performance. Changes in the immune system and birth defects have been attributed to noise exposure, but evidence is limited.[1] Although some presbycusis may occur naturally with age,[2] in many developed nations the cumulative impact of noise is sufficient to impair the hearing of a large fraction of the population over the course of a lifetime.[3][4] Noise exposure has also been known to induce tinnitus, hypertension, vasoconstriction and other cardiovascular impacts.[5] Beyond these effects, elevated noise levels can create stress, increase workplace accident rates, and stimulate aggression and other anti-social behaviors.[6] The most significant causes are vehicle and aircraft noise, prolonged exposure to loud music, and industrial noise.
U.S. Chamber of Commerce criticizes Apple for departure
By Neil Hughes
Published: 08:45 PM EST
After Apple resigned from the U.S. Chamber of Commerce in protest of its stance on climate change, the Chamber has fired back at the Mac maker, stating the company “didn’t take the time to understand” its position.
Chamber President Thomas Donohue fired a letter to Apple co-founder Steve Jobs Tuesday in which he chastised the company over its departure from the Chamber, according to The Wall Street Journal.
“It is unfortunate that your company didn’t take the time to understand the Chamber’s position on climate and forfeited the opportunity to advance a 21st century approach to climate change,” Donohue wrote in his letter to Jobs.
On Monday, Apple announced it was leaving the chamber in protest of statements recently made against the Environmental Protection Agency’s efforts to limit greenhouse gases. The chamber recently threatened litigation if the EPA enacts such regulations; it would rather see Congress set policy through legislation…..more…
http://www.appleinsider.com/articles/09/10/06/u_s_chamber_of_commerce_criticizes_apple_for_departure.html
…Still Tasty…
Your Ultimate Shelf Life Guide – Save Money, Eat Better, Help The Environment
http://www.stilltasty.com/
Sorry folks. You really have to see Global Warming for what it is- bunk. Can we and should we be cleaner? You bet. But Global Warming isn’t about that. Don’t you think it’s a little convenient that no matter what happens, it can be twisted into Global Warming? The first clue ought to be the outright lies being told. How disappointing it was to see that celebrity asking for donations because the “polar bears are dying because their ice is melting.” Except that they aren’t. The polar bear population is increasing, and their leading cause of unnatural death? Eskimos/Inuit/Whatever who are ALLOWED to kill them and who sell those allowances to big game hunters. Are power plants killing whales? Not nearly as many as the Northern tribes and the Japanese fleet.
The problem with Global Warming is that the people promoting it don’t care that they are turning people away from environmentalism, as long as they are getting more people on the Global Warming bandwagon in the short run. This is because they believe they have already won the public discussion portion.
These are the same people who want gasoline to cost $20 a gallon so you will stop driving you car. They do not trust that alternative fuels will come of age, the technology will actually improve to the point at which they are viable without making life miserable.
This liberal Democrat is telling you to wake up. The Global Warming crowd are in my camp, and that doesn’t mean they are to be trusted. Idiot followers are to be found everywhere.
Bears: The broken ice makes it harder for the Inuit to hunt. Their bag rate is lower, not higher.
A 22% decline in polar bear numbers in Canada’s Hudson Bay and a drop in weight and reduced cub survival in Alaska’s Southern Beaufort Sea.
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Whales: As the ice melts the saline balance is diluted. Low saline produces less krill, which the whales feed upon. The whale population is threatened by a reduction in food resources caused by dilute salt water, which reduces krill habitat.
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Observation: The only people that I have met who have concluded that the Globe was not warming either had a vested interest in not addressing it, they have not seen the results personally, or they do not have the capacity to comprehend what a Ecological System is. And then there’s my buddy Dan who says there’s no such thing as global warming because it hurts his head to think about it and when he has to think that hard, the issue is a lie. As long as his beer is cold he don’t care.
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Facts: The sea is reclaiming more land, the glaciers that I climbed as a kid are no longer around, and the deserts in the US and across the globe are expanding. The droughts are longer, more frequent and more pervasive around the world, all predicted inaccurately 10 years ago, the scientist number were too low, the warming trend is escalating quicker than predicted.
Bunk would hardly be a descriptive term that most perceptive people would agree upon.
For an issue that is just not true, there sure is alot of compelling research about it. Measurable carbon levels in our atmosphere are higher than in previous decades. For bunk, it sure has lots of support from science. I think science has it right.
The Inuit have no business killing bears. Period. It’s time for them to grow up, the rest of us have. The Inuit are not our pets, they are a modern people living in a modern world, and in the modern world we don’t kill polar bears and whales just because our ancestors did.
2iveiw ” The only people that I have met who have concluded that the Globe was not warming either had a vested interest in not addressing it, they have not seen the results personally, or they do not have the capacity to comprehend what a Ecological System is.”
Yeah, that’s right up there with the claim that you can’t understand the Bible unless you believe in god. What you have seen is what you and some others are willing to attribute to Global Warming or the even bigger catch-all “climate change”. Go back and read those articles like they are a peace treaty with Hamas or a teenager; scrutinize each word and construct. See how many of them are written in concrete terms, ie, “A has happened and is causing B.” You won’t see it, because even college professors whose careers rely on pleasing each other won’t put their reputations in the toilet for this. They write things like “If A happens then B could be as God awful and Earth destroying as this model would prove (except that it doesn’t).
A recent example was the Maldives cry for help due to “rising sea levels associated with Global Warming.” Total BS. It’s all about trying to get some more money from the US and Europe, because that is what the Maldives like to do, take other people’s money, and build artificial beaches and marinas, overpopulate their islands, and grow beyond the sustainable water supply. But just ask anybody, and they’ll tell you that the Maldives are being threatened by sea level rise. They are stewing in their own excess, waste, and garbage.
Did you know that?
David Hearne said:
“”"” The Inuit have no business killing bears. Period. It’s time for them to grow up, the rest of us have. The Inuit are not our pets, they are a modern people living in a modern world, and in the modern world we don’t kill polar bears and whales just because our ancestors did.”"”"
Sure, take away one of their food sources and then complain about the food stamps.
David Hearne said:
“”"” Yeah, that’s right up there with the claim that you can’t understand the Bible unless you believe in god.”"”"
What are you talking about? Oh Never mind
”” In Alaska until 1950, only Inuit hunted polar bears, and they rarely took more than 120 a year. That year sports hunting began, and it soon gained worldwide notoriety because the bears were hunted with planes. The principal requisite for this hunt was money. In 1965, the hunters killed about 300 bears and 400 in 1966.”"”
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David Hearne said:
“”"”" What you have seen is what you and some others are willing to attribute to Global Warming or the even bigger catch-all “climate change”.”"”"”
No doubt there’s a lot of media deception on Fox News, but I mute the program and just watch the clowns.
David Hearne said:
“”"” A recent example was the Maldives cry for help due to “rising sea levels associated with Global Warming.” Total BS.”"”"
Just as I suspected another Fox SNOOZE story.
http://www.foxnews.com/wires/2008Feb02/0,4670,MaldivesUnlovedIsland,00.html
Those manipulative little Maldives can fake a sea level crisis.
“” In 1987, unusually high tides swept over the country and inundated the capital city, Male’. The Asian tsunami of December 26, 2004 killed 82 people, displaced an additional 12,000 and caused extensive damage to the country’s important tourism industry.”"
And they did it because they wanted our money, those tricky little heathens. We should send them bibles to teach them how to rob pension funds.
2iveiw;
I didn’t complain about the Inuit being on food stamps, in the US or Canada.
You stats on bears have no bearing on the discussion. Polar bears are now only killed by alotment and the occasional emergency.
Oh, I see you fancy yourself a smart ass. I don’t watch Fox news, and just because you choose to believe in Global Warming or Leprechauns doesn’t make me a Republican. It just makes you a follower and a dupe.
As for the Maldives –
http://wattsupwiththat.com/2009/03/19/despite-popular-opinion-and-calls-to-action-the-maldives-is-not-being-overrun-by-sea-level-rise/
Anthony Watts became a television meteorologist in 1987 when he joined KHSL-TV, a CBS affiliate based in Chico, California. After working at KHSL for 17 years, he left in 2004 to become the radio meteorologist for KPAY-AM, a Fox News affiliate also based in Chico, California. Watts also operates several companies that make weather graphics systems for use on television broadcasts.
Watts was a Fox TV broadcaster.
It was you sir, that made the Liberal Democrat Crack. So sure, I’ll be your huckleberry.
So your scientific analysis, is that the ice can melt, the glaciers can fall into the sea and the warm expanding water across the globe will not threaten locations with low elevations like Maldives.
Or
That the ice is not melting, the glaciers are not slipping into the sea and that no matter how hot it gets the water will not expand. This is all a hoax, perpetrated by Liberal Democrats to con you out of your money or some such nonsense.
Good luck with that.
If you want to return to a more civil discussion try a different tack.
Hey Dogfish,
here’s something that may interest you.
http://www.aaas.org/news/releases/2009/media/1021climate_letter.pdf
Hey dog-fish…here’s a twist
Toyota has created two flower species that absorb nitrogen oxides and take heat out of the atmosphere.
The flowers, derivatives of the cherry sage plant and the gardenia, were specially developed for the grounds of Toyota’s Prius plant in Toyota City, Japan.
http://www.drive.com.au/Editorial/ArticleDetail.aspx?ArticleID=66761&vf=1
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