Letters to the Editor
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Hut-Man
To Me:
"Do you think scientists settled on one conclusion many years ago and have been working steadily ever since to find only information that supports that conclusion?"
No, Hutman, I think new agers settled on one conclusion many years ago and have been working steadily ever since to find only information that supports that conclusion". http://www.amazon.co.uk/How-Mumbo-jumbo-Conquered-World-Delusions/dp/0007140975
"My mind translates ["You're an arrogant buffoon"] as meaning, "I realize I am losing the debate."
Funny - because it describes fans of AIT, and some other new age movie, perfectly: "Physics get turned into metaphysics,...shifting from quantum theory to mystical mumbo jumbo in,...hard science,...with Star Trek visuals, and a deadly dull drama. http://www.bbc.co.uk/films/2005/04/14/what_the_bleep_do_we_know_2005_review.shtml
"I think we all can stand to be better educated, both you and me. I do not consider myself an authority in any way on this subject, I just find it interesting and I dislike poor argument tactics enough to respond to them.".
Hutman, for once we can agree. That said (and considering the quote, above, sounds like you might be realizing the ever shakier ground you and GW may be supported by) on terra firma, real skeptics run over new age cats with their karma all the time. I'm kidding. Badly.
Take care,
SSS
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Since you're throwing stones and making judgments willy nilly, Cap'n, why don't you tell us what you've done in your life to help people?
Well, I think I just helped one young man learn an important lesson he will probably carry with him for a long while. Dont' rhapsodize about your self in a public venue - especially on the internet. The details of your personal character that you find so admirably facinating can be utilized by a foe to undermine you in the most shocking and unexpected ways.
I apologize for the corrosive nature of my comments regarding you, but you asked for it.
Your calm and measured response impresses me very much. I was expecting something much different. I hail your goals and wish you a long and successful career. No doubt you will indeed help many.
To all. I did not come into this discussion to make nice. I came in to slap you hard in the face and make you angry. I came in to shatter your self-rightousness and your smug complacency – because I am very worried about the conduct and behavior of your movement. I am worried about the systematic suppression of speech and legitimate skeptical decent that has become the hallmark signature of the New Age Left.
I am a ardent student of history . I will tell you that I have never in my days seen anything more dangerous to the future of freedom than the Left’s RadicalEnviroActivist culture and its obsession with co-opting natural climate change as a means of dismantling its arch enemy - Western Industrial Capitalism.
In my studies I can find only one recent historical analogy to the human induced global warming movement's calculated efforts - that of the Nazi's exploitation, distortion and subversion of science in their vicious propaganda campaign to quantify the Jews as sub-human. The corruption of science by stifling legitimate skepticism and vigorous debate is a very disturbing trend. The Left is the “ends justifies the means” crowd. So great is the true believer’s passion for the physical incarnation of ideology, so heated is the zealotry that the sacrifice of time tested methodologies and scientific processes are an acceptable cost in the course of realizing political paradise on earth.
For the last time Xrandadu Hutman, no one is saying that we are not witnessing a slight warming trend occurring in the earth’s atmosphere. The earth and its atmosphere are not static. Climate change is natural and cycles in ponderous rhythms that are controlled by immense solar and geological processes. How much impact human activity has on climate change will take many years of objective research and study in order to provide a scientifically verifiable answer. The initial results indicate man’s impact as being puny in comparison to peaking activity and energy output of the Sun’s atmosphere. In the meantime, technology will continue in its natural course of evolution to refine ever more efficient and cleaner means of transportation and power generation. The world and all its inhabitants, human and non-human will adapt.
Many concerned people believe that the billions of dollars spent in pursuing the chimera of human induced global warming, will leave little left to invest in the detection of the oncoming approach of near earth orbit impactors. If you want a true global extinction generating environmental catastrophe, the impact of an asteroid or dead comet will definitely do it. Humans need to be lofting space borne search radar platforms now, because the only thing that may have a chance of deflecting the horrendous aftermath of an asteroid impact is time. But we are too busy spending tax dollars on ineffective, feel good solutions such as ethanol production and wind powered generators.
Some day, my Leftist friends, when you have forcefully imposed your Utopian Socialist Dream Society on all the world’s peoples, and you are rooting radishes from the mud in your hemp fiber sack shirt – a four mile wide piece of space debris may impact the other side of the earth at 60,000 miles per hour, incinerating a quarter of a hemisphere. Then you will have your natural catastrophe. A real Inconvenient Truth. Then you will see that the Earth Mother Gaia and Nature in general does not give a rat’s rear end for anything that lives on her surface. And your last thought might be, “Why didn’t our Green hued World Government do anything to stop this?”
My friends Joseph and Sam, I wish I could share a beer with you over crawdads. I would happily buy the first round.
All the Best!
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My understanding of global warming science, part 1 of 2
There’s some data I’d like you to take a look at and respond to. Figure 1 shows atmospheric CO2 concentrations and average global temperatures for the past 650,000 years:
(Figure 1)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Co2-temperature-plot.svg
This data tells an interesting story. First, it gives us some reference values for the range of natural variation in global temperature and CO2 levels. When people talk about climate changes keyed to solar cycles, they’re referring to the ups and downs seen here. I count seven (maybe eight) in this graph. Second, there’s an extremely consistent relationship demonstrated here between temperature and CO2 levels such that the ups and downs of each are quantitatively proportional (they go up and down together). Third, you’ll notice that it appears as though temperature changes tend to occur just before CO2 changes. Fourth, the highest CO2 level on the entire graph is indisputably the present day, and the rate of increase to this level occurred much faster than any of the previous CO2 increases.
If we accept these data, then it is reasonable to conclude that in general, global temperature changes directly affect CO2 levels. If you’re not convinced of this point by looking at this graph, you can download a study here where the authors use more precise analysis to document this temperature-CO2 relationship (however, this article is very dull reading and isn’t central to my argument):
(Figure 2)
http://www.megaupload.com/?d=V6D2SYB8
Returning to figure 1: look at the red arrow is in the upper right hand corner. It shows today’s CO2 levels. Damn, they’re high, especially when you consider that during the past 650,000 years (present day excluded), CO2 levels have not once exceeded 300 parts per million. But today they’re at 385 parts per million. That’s pretty striking. Yes?
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