Guess what? The sun is cool again.?

Question

This just in(and we are not making this up.)Sounds like big doses of vitiman D actully reduses our chances of contracting cancer.I'm sure some of you remember when staying out of the sun was advised to NOT get cancer.Now think back(look up,study history,whatever)to the COMEING ICE AGE.It seems that well meaning scientists can change their mind.So before I go out and buy a hybrid or change to mercury filled lightbulbs,I think I'm just going to relax a little and see how this latest farce pans out.

My point being friends is that in the 70s' you told us that based on your experts another ice age was not just possible,but eminent.Have you're experts change their minds?I guess I'm remembering just a week or so ago,when the best advice was to stay out of the sun.I guess I'm talking to people who do not study history and are damned to repeat foolish behaviour because of it.

Answer 1

remember that you can poison yourself with big doses of vitamin D. So be careful! Check the label!

After you do, remember that true scientists will ALWAYS change their mind if new facts prove them wrong- which is more than I can say about the politicians who would have you think that the best thing to do is to let the big companies do whatever makes them richest.

The only way to get at the best facts is to check out the credentials of those who are trying to convince you, and see whether their data is reliably collected.

For a start, you should give a lot more credence to the hundreds of scientists worldwide who contributed to the UN commission on climate change, than to a few hired to spin the facts by companies with something to sell you.

Don't be a sucker- find out what the person who's "spinning" the facts has to gain from what he's saying. And if the advice sounds too easy- if they're saying don't worry, be happy, do nothing- be suspicious. There's no such thing as a free lunch.

Answer 2

You may mean well--but you've got your facts thoroughly scrambled with myths.

1) Scientists never predicted a "Coming Ice Age." That myth comes from a series of popular science articles (NOT scientific studies) in which reporters talked about some of the early speculations of scientists in the 1970s who were beginning to investigate climate changes. Not surprisingly, one o the ideas they suggested was that at some pint, there might be another ice age. But that's all. The so-called "skeptics" on the righ-wing, being too ignorant to understand the difference between n article in Newsweek and one in a scientific journal, glommedd onto this as "proff" that scientists just kept changing their story.

2) The sun was not and is not the cause of the ccurrent global warming--and while scientists did consider the possibility, they found early on that variations in solar output did not account for for this current rise in global temperatures--and no reputable scientist has ever said it did. Again, simply a myth generated in the imaginations of the "eniers" or whatever you want to call them.

3) the Lightbulbs are not "filled with mercury"--in fact tey contain only a trace amount. Even if there is a 100% changeover to these, we'll still be using a good deal less mecury than flourescents consumed annually a few decades ago. Again, this nonsense simply shows the perpetrators are ignorant of scientific facts. Everything contains a number of toxic substances--how much is the key question. There is some carbon monoxide in the aire you are breathing right now--I'll guarantee it. But not enough to be harmful--and its the same with the new energy-efficient bulbs.

Answer 3

One of the problems with the sun is that it's both good for you and bad for you at the same time - it's a case of getting the balance right.

The human body has, for example, got mercury, arsenic and a whole bunch of other poisonous and toxic chemicals in it. It needs these to function properly, too little or too much and the bodies systems start to malfunction. Same set up with the sun.

Vitamin D may reduce the incidence of cancer but at the same time UV radiation increases it. If there was some way to be out in the sun and filter out all the radiation that would be the ideal solution.

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Turning to your point about a coming ice age. This was never a popular notion amongst scientists and is something that in recent months and years has been blown out of all proportion.

There was a limited amount of study conducted in the 1970's (as there was prior to and subsequently since) into the effects that the natural cycles of the Sun and Earth have upon our climate. It was quite correctly pointed out that in time (a long time) the Earth will enter a cooling phase if no exacerbating factors get in the way. Some sections of the media picked up on this and ran stories predicting an imminent ice age - not at all what the scientists were saying.

All in all it amounted to nothing more than a few short media articles. Some of the publications that ran the story include Newsweek, Time and National Geographic. They devoted maybe one or two pages to the subject.

The best way to guage how serious a threat impending ice ages were is to ask people who lived through that decade. Chances are that few will remember it and those that do will confirm it was nothing more than a storm in a teacup.

Answer 4

All things in moderation, friend.

Both my grandfather, who was a farmer, and my mother, who grew up on the farm, got a ton of sun back before the common use of sunscreens. Both developed skin cancer. My grandfather died of another cancer, so I'm not sure it was related, but there was little doubt that my mother's was triggered by overexposure to the sun.

Either way, you might think about the more practical aspects of energy conservation. It makes sense regardless of whether man has created global warming or not. I own a hybrid and use CFLs (yeah, I'll switch to LEDs once they become practical.) It's great to think that when the fuel warning light goes on in my hybrid, I can still get more than 150 miles! That's about ahalf a tank in a lot of cars...

Answer 5

Look man, you don't need to be a scientist to see the climate is changing drastically, so they actually have something somewhat right for once, if anything the models are underexxagerating the pace of everything. in 2001 the major climate models showed the worst case scenario the Greenland ice sheet wouldnt melt for a few centuries, now the worst case scenario could be a century, or less. The ice doesn't have to all melt due to warmer air, it just needs to slide easier into the sea due to a lack of sea ice, where it eventually melts, and the sea ice is in fact retreating, allowing Greenland glaciers to plunge into the sea.
Remember, fossil fuels are decayed plant matter from hundreds of millions of years. You can't expect that by burning fossil fuels, and releasing 500 million year's worth of stored energy from the sun, that nothing will happen.

Answer 6

Scientific data shows clearly that global warming is only about 10% due to the sun. Proof follows.

Peer reviewed data, with references:

http://www.globalwarmingart.com/wiki/Image:Climate_Change_Attribution.png

Very serious solar experts:

http://solar-center.stanford.edu/sun-on-earth/FAQ2.html

Better buy a hybrid. And, since you're concerned about mercury pollution, buy CFLs which reduce it.

Fossil fuels contain mercury. Using incandescent bulbs causes more mercury to be emitted from power plants. More than is in a CFL.

It's better if you dispose of old CFLs properly so that even the tiny amount of mercury is not released. But, no matter how they're disposed of, CFLs reduce mercury pollution.

http://www.cityofberkeley.info/sustainable/Powerplay%20articles/16Powerplay.Mercury.CFL.html

Answer 7

Your a little confused about the beneficial effects of a little sun, and the dangerous effects of over exposure.

You are taking it too literally. While it is true sun exposure can increase levels of Vitamin D and Serotonin, too much of either of these is dangerous, as are the damaging effects of ultraviolet light on skin cells.

I think relaxing is a good idea.

Answer 8

I can't grasp what youre asking. The sun is cool? And vitamin D is good for you? And the Ice Age cometh? But what's your question?

Answer 9

Don't trust Gore!

If you don't believe me than why don't you have him come to your school and tell you-

oh wait, I forgot he refuses to go anywhere for someone for less than 20,000 dollars.

Can you say GREEDY!!!!!!

I can understand travel cost and stuff but why so much extra?

Answer 10

ok