And The Point of Live Earth Was?

[dang65]

The world's gone mad. Honestly, if I was claiming the world was flat then you would all be showering me with scientific evidence that it's round. If I was claiming that God created the universe and everything in it in 6 days... you'd destroy me with pure science.

Yet when I point out that there is complete scientific consensus that climate change is happening and that it is going to have a huge impact on us... hey, guess what, I'm a nutter???

How do your brains work? I don't get it.

[wobbegong]

There's scientific consensus that climate change is happening, and it's happening a lot faster than was predicted even five years ago. That's not scaremongering or being a conspiracy theorist or a heretic, it's scientific consensus.

Of course climate change is happening, we are currently in what's known as an interglacial period. Even in relatively recent (in human terms) history, the 10th to the 14th century were markedly warmer than preceding centuries, while from the 14th to the mid 19th were measurably colder.

[gingerjedi]

It's bizarre that people with such a high opinion of their own mental abilities are on here saying that this is all nonsense. Where do you get that idea from? It's simply not true.

I don't think anyone is denying that climate change is happening, what people are saying is that putting a green tax on everything from food to holidays and having a big gig isn't going to make a blind bit of difference.

[shaunbhoy]

Yet when I point out that there is complete scientific consensus that climate change is happening and that it is going to have a huge impact on us... hey, guess what, I'm a nutter???

How do your brains work? I don't get it.

All depends what you define as "huge". Climate change is happening right enough for it has been happening since the dawn of the planet. The only point in dispute is how much man's actions are impacting it. That is where the dispute lies. Personally speaking I don't think I contribute all that much so I am not going to stop living and enjoying myself. Individuals can do precious little and until the world's governments start getting heavy with the car/plane makers and force them to design engines that work on water, we are all either going to hell in a handcart or wasting our time. Either way round there is little we can do about it individually, so hakuna matata!!

[BlasterBates]

Yesterday in a debate a scientist last night pointed out that in hotter times life flourishes, and is destroyed when it gets colder, and that it used to be a lot hotter, and indeed there were no ice caps at all. Apparently there is more biodiversity in urban areas than in the country side beacuse the average temperature is 3 degrees higher.

In short global climate change isn't destroying the planet, the opposite is true it is beneficial. For example there is actually more forest in the temperate countries because of the mild climate. It is more dense and grows faster than in the past.

The main danger is not global climate change, but man cutting down forests, over fishing, or disturbing the environment in other ways, probably overpopulation is the main threat.

The only siginificant "threat" from climate change is a rise in sea-levels, but then this won't happen next Monday, it will take many decades. These days we can build entire cities in less than a decade. So it isn't actually a significant problem.

In short the this whole global climate change hysteria...

"is just a lot of hot air"

[dang65]

All depends what you define as "huge".

How about looking at the way the New Scientist sums up climate change and its impact.

I don't think it's true that there's little that individuals can do. Maybe not to reverse climate change, but we can certainly prepare for the changes as individuals. That's what I'll be doing anyway. Not really bothered if people think I'm over-reacting or being paranoid. I can still live in the modern world, I'll just be prepared for that world to change. Entirely up to you what you do, but arguing about whether climate change is down to human activity or not seems like a bit of a red herring to me.

[King Cnvt]

Just in case, lets all just do some sensible things that make sense anyway.

Recycle
Reduce waste
Reduce energy usage
Buy the most efficient machines we can afford
Support environmental charities
Turn our backs on slash and burn farming
Protect forects
Encourage bio-diversity

All of these things make sense regardless of the hysteria around C02 and climate change.

Forget C02 and focus on the above any way you can.

[Contract-Tester]

The human contribution to Global Warming is trivial

It really amazes me to see all this hysteria about global warming, and often coming from people who one would expect to have had a university education and to be able to think things through logically.

What a strange coincidence it is that Jupiter and Mars are both experiencing global warming in parallel with the Earth. Maybe the activity of the Sun is having an influence on all the planets? If so what good will it do changing the type of light bulbs you use?

What about the 300,000 acre wildfire currently burning out of control in Utah. How many green light bulbs will it take to counter-balance all that carbon dioxide that is being released into the atmosphere as we speak? Maybe Madonna should go and fly over it in her private jet and tipped a bucket of water over it to put it out?

Lets be real here. The Earth started as a boiling sphere of gas, became molten liquid and and has been gradually cooling with intermittent fits and starts ever since. It will eventually become a cold, lifeless rock, before eventually being incinerated into microscopic particles of ash when the Sun becomes a Red Dwarf and expands in size to the boundaries of the solar system and beyond.

Enjoy your lives now while you have a chance. You cant do anything about events that occur on that sort of scale.

This hysteria is reminiscent of France in the Dark Ages when the French King banned all colored clothing and singing in his kingdom because he was advised by his "wise men" that that these actions would stop the black death spreading though France.

Get used to the fact that anything that we do as puny human beings is so insignificant that it will have an effect so close to zero that it may as well be zero.

Have a beer and relax. Whats the worst thing that can happen?

[dang65]

It really amazes me to see all this hysteria about global warming

Why do you class this as hysteria, rather than awareness and preparation? Using a word like "hysteria" is complete hyperbole. Having fire extinguishers fitted in trains isn't hysteria. Having an ambulance on standby next to a Formula 1 race track isn't hysteria. Doing repairs to your house ready for winter isn't hysteria. It's just being aware of what's likely to happen and being prepared. I'd've thought that people who one would expect to have had a university education and to be able to think things through logically would understand that.

[bogeyman]

The world's gone mad. Honestly, if I was claiming the world was flat then you would all be showering me with scientific evidence that it's round. If I was claiming that God created the universe and everything in it in 6 days... you'd destroy me with pure science.

Yet when I point out that there is complete scientific consensus that climate change is happening and that it is going to have a huge impact on us... hey, guess what, I'm a nutter???

How do your brains work? I don't get it.

This is different because some (many) people feel the need to justify their lifestyle and will do almost anything a) not to change it and b) not to be perceived as a selfish jerk for living it.

They will argue black is white if it means they can carry on wasting and polluting with a 'clear conscience' and not looking like a selfish, self-centered lout.

The earth being flat or round does not mean one having to change one's lifestyle, so rationality can be let into the argument. Give them an argument where ones self-centered interests are challenged and rationality goes out of the window and the scientific consensus is suddenly the work of loonies and sinister conspirators.

I think that's how it works.