[cowgirlup]

Mother nature also has ways of "repairing" herself. Climate shifts/changes are a big part of that I believe.

[/quote]


I do believe pollution and other human interference is causing some of this. But, I have also read where tropical vegetation has been found frozen in arctic areas and some animals found frozen due to the "ice age" which seems to have come about suddenly. I have wondered if the planet was perhaps returning to the warmer climate it seems to have once had in the distant past.

Just something i wonder about...

[TheAvatar]

Aye. So many things large and small make a difference...I imagine it would be impossible to make a list of it all. If I had to think about it all the time I'd go crazy tho LOL

[tjwilhelm]

"Global Warming" does not mean that every square inch of the planet is increasing in temperature. It means that the average temperature is increasing. Also, an increase in the average temperature (regardless of the cause) means that "energy" is being accumulated faster than it is being dissipated...or, more precisely, it's being absorbed (from the sun)faster than it's being radiated back into space.

This increase in heat energy in the atmosphere and the oceans is being locally converted into mechanical energy, creating motion of the atmosphere and ocean currents. As the amount of energy involved in these conversions increases, this translates to more intense weather events. When heat energy is converted to mechanical energy, the additional energy is still there, but the temperature at that location will drop. This is why "Global Warming" is a somewhat misleading title. Regardless, it seems pretty obvious that there are changes in the works, and these changes are becoming more and more energetic.

[Celticwarrior]

The end of the last ice age brought about a warming trend that killed off most of the mega-mammals of the Pleistocene age. It required no human intervention, and succeeded in changing the face of the modern world into the recognizable flora and fauna we take for granted today. A so-called "little ice age" occured from around 1650 up to about 1850, and we are coming out of that slump even now, but that caused so many human tragedies such as plagues, famines and political stresses that western society was changed fundamentally as a result. The fact that the world is warming up is hardly news, but it is not necessarily something humans have started, or could control by stopping their carbon-using ways. It might have nothing whatsoever to do with people or their carbon footprint. History has taught us that trying to make connections between humanity and nature is folly at best, and forcing the scientific conclusions simply to make things fit better with our social moors of the times just isn't properly objective. What we know is that the world is warming in some places, cooling in others. There are changes in the atmosphere, and the seas. There are many small changes, including species extinctions, that are occuring with increasing frequency. However, what the catalyst was, or what the overall effect will be, is yet to be determined. Saying that it's our greenhouse gasses or over-population, or even cow farts, is just bad science. The world and it's eco-systems are far too complex for us to say we know for certain what makes them tick and how every life form will be affected by these changes. It is the height of hubris to think we have all those answers. Certainly, our industry and changes to the natural environment have taken a toll on the planet and it's other inhabitants, but to make out like we are destroying the world is hyperbole. It is a crusade for environmentalist lobbies, and has little to do with reality. For all anyone knows, we might be heading into a new "little ice age" and this warming trend might just be a prelude for something completely different. The fact is that the only thing in danger is some people in some coastal places that might disappear in a warmer world as sea levels rise. True, it might cause some extinctions, but it will create new niches as well. For every lifeform that dies out, another evolves in a way to take it's place in the biological web. Nothing is forever, not even humanity. We can die out as a species just as fast as the dinosaurs, or the passenger pigeon, or the dodo. The world will go on without us just fine. Other species would fill in the gaps, and we would never be missed.

[TheAvatar]

Good points CW. I think I wouldn't really mind a "little ice age." I can always put more clothing on, but I can't take anymore off without going Hellraiser on my own butt

[crazydave]

even a little ice age would cover the continental US and most of europe so be carefull what you wish for.

[Enigma]

Originally Posted by crazydave

if we have any sense then most of us will not see 2050 which is when they reckon there will be no turning back but will opt for euthanasia to save resources. mind you hopefully it will be compulsary by then.

Which? the killing or the Eco friendly methods of living? Either way, CW is right when he says that making predictions on the ecosystem is like betting on a horse race, the winner could come entirely out of left field. And as for me, I will ideally be seeing 2050 sometime in the future. (Ya know,somewhere around 2050) But my concern is the massively massive amounts of trash and toxic crap that were throwing into the ocean. You can only pack so much into landfills and ocean currents before you have successfully proved that you can indeed pack every inch of the earth with humanity's unwanted possessions.

[crazydave]

it wasnt that long ago NY used to ship its crap out and dump it. we have a vodka advert here where the rubbish comes back out of the oceans andit makes you think certainly in the english channel which aint that deep just how many ships and planes went down. there's even a sunken munitions ship down the thames from london which they reckon would be like a nuc if it ever goes off.

[Roadracer]

I'm convinced we are ruining the earth.

RR

[TheAvatar]

Originally Posted by crazydave

it wasnt that long ago NY used to ship its crap out and dump it. we have a vodka advert here where the rubbish comes back out of the oceans andit makes you think certainly in the english channel which aint that deep just how many ships and planes went down. there's even a sunken munitions ship down the thames from london which they reckon would be like a nuc if it ever goes off.

Yeah, I saw something similar on Life After People where they were talking about a sub that had nukes on it, just sitting at the bottom of the ocean somewhere. They salvaged some stuff, but left the nukes. WTH are they thinking? Take them out and dispose of em! We get lectures about how we need to do this and that, yet it's the governments that need to do THEIR part!

Talk about hypocritical...