Inconvinent Truth left me with more questions then answers.?

Question

- Is the water temp. rising because of underwater volcanoes?
- Doesn't water reflect sunlight? or does only ice?
- Although New Orleans was hit by a Hurricane, wasn't the problem because of the poor levies and poor planning?
- If areas are flooding according to Gore, why don't they stay flooded?
Lastly, why doesn't he mention anything about the extreme cold tempurature and increased snowfall around Northwest States?

He also mentions the extinction of species, and foreigh species in the wrong habitats. I thought this was more of a "free trade" problem then climate change. (atlantic salmon overfishing, ash-bore beetles, spanish musselles in the great lakes)

Answer 1

You have questions because the film, "An Inconvenient truth" conveniently leaves out any and all opposing views Al Gore, well meaning as he may or may not be, uses psuedo-scientific data to present one side of a many sided theory. Flodding, if it does occur, is only a problem for those living in flood prone areas. In the film, there is no exactmechanism to suggest that the flooding will occur. Hurricane strenght has only been measured accurately in the last few decades. There is no historical record to compare the storms of the past to those of today. Weather is more accurately measured today than even fifty years ago. Thus any claims that temperatures are rising or falling are virtually meaningless over a long period of time.
One very glaring factor on the film struck me. It doesn't make it wronger or righter, but I think it is interesting that Gore used the celsius scale when offering scientific projections of the rise in global temperatures. This seemed odd to me if his target audience was the American public, who is by and large unfamiliar with the celsius scale. It may have been that celsius sounds more "scientific" than farenhite. It may also be because by first referring to a temperature rise in c. it is more shocking when converted to the f. scale. For instance 2 degrees c. is almost 4 degrees f.

Answer 2

Underwater volcanoes? No. The IPCC report surely considered those. And they've been around forever, probably moreso earlier than now.

The New Orleans hurricane was unusually severe. A possible factor is warmer water in the Gulf of Mexico. Still not a settled issue but most scientists are inclined to think storms are generally getting more severe because of global warming. The IPCC report accurately represents the view and the uncertainty.

Water levels vary over time. Areas flood and the flood recedes. That flooding will get more and more frequent as global warming progresses, because the sea level is rising, as seen by hard data.

Lastly, in discussing the winter weather, you're confusing weather (short term and local) with climate (long term and widespread). In any given year the weather can be pretty much anything. Climate considers the weather over many years. If an IPCC scientist said that, first everybody would laugh at them. Next they'd kick him off the project.

Gore's movie was not strictly science, though it was based on science. It was entertainment to spread the message, and it was good at that.

The IPCC report is very solid science. It is the most data backed and peer reviewed scientific paper in history. The full report will be out in a few weeks, and will be 1600 pages, much of it data.

The one thing that is settled by the report is this. Global warming is happening and we are the main cause.

You're moving beyond "An Inconvenient Truth", wanting to know more details. That's good. The makers of the movie would be very pleased.

Answer 3

Because your Inconvenient Logic conflicts with their stated agenda. Welcome to the world of Agenda Driven Science in the world of Al Gore there is no room for additional inquiry into the position of Global Warming. Inconvenient truths like the Medieval Warm Period(200 years long centered around the 1400's) or the the Little Ice Age (during the time of Shakespeare) or the Year Without a Summer(1816) are subsumed by the rhetoric. In the times of the Romans the climate was warm enough in England to grow grapes for wine. this again repeated during the Medieval Warm Period. Farms in Greenland that produced crops in the 1450's are today under permafrost. But Al Gore is right and we are all gonna die if we don't listen to his dogma...

Answer 4

-no, the rate of under water volcanoes hasnt changed significantly recently
-Ice reflects much more
-The frequency and severity of hurricanes is expected to increase because of climate change, what you mentioned made them problem worse, but its likely to happen more and more often worse in the future.
-Flooding is seasonal. Areas will flood more often and more severly in their flood seasons. Also coastal areas may become permanently under water - this is already happening.
-I dont know, but the climate is certainly going to be more unpredictable with drought in some areas and much higher rainfall in others etc.

Answer 5

Good. Then it made you think.