Human-Induced Global Warming Now Beyond Rational Doubt

[Vesko]

A report from the American Association for the Advancement of Science:

The debate about whether there is a global warming signal now is over, at least for rational people," said Tim Barnett, of the Scripps Institution of Oceanography in La Jolla, California. "The models got it right. If a politician stands up and says the uncertainty is too great to believe these models, that is no longer tenable.

Read the UK "The Times" / "The Sunday Times" article "Why Global Warming Is Not Natural", http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0, ... 48,00.html

[Leventis]

Nice article Vesko

If you really care about the environment, stop buying things that come in plastic packaging and stop using your car

Here is one for the Kyoto Protocol
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/sci/tech/4267245.stm

Towards the end it says that it will be hard. I bet it will, but it is better than not doing anything about it.

[Vesko]

You are welcome! Thanks for the link you supplied . From it:

The US says the changes would be too costly to introduce and that the agreement is flawed.

I learned that one of the two reasons the US are not joining is because they think it's unfair that economically developing countries are not included. But is it fair that one of the world's most economically developed nations (and also the "world's top polluter", as the article says) refuses to join in the name of an extremely important goal that concerns absolutely everyone?

From Harvard University President Lawrence H. Summers Commencement Address 2004 (http://www.president.harvard.edu/speech ... ement.html):

The evidence is overwhelming that inequality in our nation is increasing. More ominous still, the transmission of inequality from generation to generation may be increasing as well. Median family incomes have increased by 18 percent since 1979 - the incomes of the top one percent of families have increased by 200 percent. Of even greater concern, a child born in the bottom 10 percent of all families by incomes has only a one-third chance of rising above the bottom 20 percent.

More inequality, and more persistence of inequality, mean just this: The American dream is becoming more remote, as the gap between the life prospects of the children of the fortunate and the less fortunate widens.

Instead of battling gross, outrageous inequality, the correction of which can bring about far more improvement to the people than any economic developments in the foreseeable future, Bush finds another reason the US won't sign the protocol -- that current economic development will slow down or reverse. But this is not a sane reason. How many people realize it is possible to slow down or reverse economic development as a whole, and still make the people better off by more evenly distributing economic development results? Then the economy as a whole is going to be worse off, but the people as a whole are going to be better off. If Bush takes this route, and also signs the protocol, both the people and Nature are going to win. But of course, we know why such a scenario is never mentioned -- who cares about Nature, and who cares about ordinary people, if that will harm billionaires (heaven forbid, it may relegate some of them to millionaire status) and if it is possible to delude the ordinary people with misinformation and cheap thrills, so that they work off their *** for a few crumbs, blindly serving the incomparably richer minority in control, the ones laughing all the way to the bank and rolling in billions?

[Marcus]

Thanks Vesko/Leventis for the two articles.

per capita, Perth Western Australia is the WORST polluter on the planet! According to http://wa.greens.org.au/election/joinin/

Why?? People's attitude. For example: I was having a friendly conversation with a neighbor of mine about the removal of my water/electricity guzzling pool. He couldn't understand why I was removing it. According to him, it is a real "shame" and that my house value has now plumetted. Not only that, he complains about his electricity bill, "it's so expensive" that's because you have three fridges running, one of which is industrial strength. Why have 3 fridges for three people? Why have two Four Wheel Drives and another two HUGE engine cars for just 3 family members?

Perth as with most Australian cities is becoming much drier and warmer. We have major water restrictions in place. The state Government really are at a loss as to what to do. It has been proven human induced Global Warming is the culprit. Yet people close their eyes and continue their ways in total disregard.

Besides this forum what are you and I doing to help the Environment, what are we doing to help people see that we have really screwed up in the last 268 years?

[Vesko]

Hi Marcus,

Thank you for the details about the Australian situation. I wonder, what is actually happening in regard to the ozone layer over Australia? Has there been an actual repair in recent years -- I think I've heard something like that?

I don't have a car. Currently, I use mass transportation much less than other people I know (at least 30 times less, considering I do not need public transportation to go to work and come back) -- I love walking and it's one of the mandatory things to do if you want to be fit in town.

Regarding others -- I've tried rationalising with them, but nowadays, at least in my country, there is a big, actually huge boom of automobile and motorcycle use, and the vast majority of people, especially the young, find life unthinkable if they do not drive a luxurious (or whatever they are able to afford) automobile regularly. It's almost impossible to change people's minds on this, I hope I have contributed to someone's understanding that it is bad for the environment, but I unfortunately cannot point and say I've changed a single person's mind about that. As for older people, they are, how to say, inveterate, and I've had even smaller luck with older people, regarding ecology matters or general spiritual ones. People just won't listen, however you rationalise with them. Or they listen, then just wave a hand and go on with the same old.

[Marcus]

Thank you for the details about the Australian situation. I wonder, what is actually happening in regard to the ozone layer over Australia? Has there been an actual repair in recent years -- I think I've heard something like that?

I haven't found any supporting evidence

However if people won't and can't change their ways below is a possible fix if it proves to be true.

Taken from: http://www.betterhumans.com/News/news.a ... 03-01-30-6

Nanotechnology Could Repair the Ozone Layer
Betterhumans Staff
1/30/2003 3:50 PM


Experimenting with tiny structures and a liquid used to produce synthetic blood, nanotechnology researchers have found a possible way to remove ozone-destroying chemicals from the atmosphere.

The researchers, from Germany's University of Ulm, were experimenting with a chemical called perfluorodecalin. Perfluorodecalin has similar properties to chlorofluorocarbons, which are known to destroy Earth's protective ozone layer.

Against expectations, the perfluorodecalin was taken up by a water-based suspension of polystyrene nanospheres. The researchers theorize that the nanospheres could similarly collect up chlorofluorocarbons, then fall harmlessly to Earth as rain, hail or snow.

Researcher Andrei Sommer says that if tests confirm the experiment, it could allow for preventing and repairing ozone destruction. He even suggests that scientists could use space technology to put specially designed nontoxic nanoscale particles directly into the ozone hole.

The study was reported in Nano Letters.