Are these the three choices for Global Climate Change (or, if you prefer...Global Warming)?

Question

1. Cease all usage of fossil fuels and risk economic collapse.

2. Adjust to Climate Change by adopting technological innovations.

3. Do nothing and suffer the consequences.

Is there any other choice?

To: Trish the Dish....I believe I've educated myself enough sitting in traffic jams, and then imagining these same traffic jams going on in all the other big cities of the world...and then magnifying the effects of all the exhausts of millions of idling engines throughout the world, going on endlessly....that's enough education...it's called the school of hard knocks...and I highly recommend that school to all the young whipper snappers who think everything is just fine and dandy and earth just does what it has to do....nobody wants to pick up the ball and see if it's time to clean up the mess that people make.

They used to have an American Indian do commercials, with tears flowing after seeing what modern man did to what they once cherished and reverred.

I am not advocating anything or being influenced by so-called liberals, or media, or anybody...because if you look up my 360 you'll see I have an open mind, and want it kept that way.

Answer 1

I believe that we should all do our part to keep our Earth safe and clean.

However, to believe that we have, or ever will have any sort of an effect on the Earth's natural climate is just ridiculous.

Our earth has cooled and warmed itself for many more years than humans have been here. Why now do we act as if we have anything to do with it, or that we can somehow become the solution? We're giving ourselves too much credit.

The fact is, our Earth is not doomed. It's doing what it has done for billions of years, and that is sustain itself. We're not going to change that, not for the better or worse.

I encourage you to do real research on this subject and not let the media spoon-feed you the information. The media has long been in bed with liberals, and the liberals want you to believe this is true, especially the politicians. They want to scare you and then claim to know the solution, all you need to do is vote for them.

You might start by reading this article: http://www.canadafreepress.com/2006/harris061206.htm

I hope you'll educate yourself and form a real opinion about this.

Answer 2

You can't "accept" the concept of climate change without accepting the concept of global warming. If we had climate change without ever having global warming, the Earth's atmosphere would be at 0°K and the climate would no longer exist. If you are asking, "Do you accept the concept of Climate Change, but not *Anthropogenic* Global Warming?" My answer would be "mostly yes." The climate is always changing. It always has and always will. Without perpetual climate change throughout geologic history, we would have no sedimentary rocks. Anthropogenic activities do affect the process of climate change. In some localities (i.e. cities) AGW is real and often very pronounced. Deforestation and other land use changes definitely affect the natural process of climate change. Anthropogenic greenhouse gas emissions minimally contribute to the Earth's natural greenhouse effect. Mankind's presence on the Earth alters the ecology of the Earth. It's impossible for us to exist in a system without altering that system. That's life. The Enviromarxists need to accept that fact and leave the productive segment of society the heck alone.

Answer 3

There is always a middle ground, which is usually where you find the solution to a problem.

We need to cut back on our use of fossil fuels or we WILL experience economic collapse when they run out, global warming or no global warming.

We also need to work a little more on adapting to climate change, since history shows us that the climate can and will change even without our human influences.

And finally, we could all live a little greener no matter what our feelings on the human-induced global warming theory. We had pollution and dwindling natural resources before global warming was known about so why do we think that global warming is the only reason to be kinder to the planet?

Answer 4

I think our best chance are the following 3 points:

1. Preparedness.
2. Contingency.
3. Adaptation.

I believe we as humans can't actually STOP climate change from happening, especially not by cutting CO2 emissions, which is like some cuckoo-land fantasy scenario. So the best we can do is properly educate the public and school kids in the above 3 points, plus for governments and business to properly implement the above 3 points into infrastructure.

Sh*t happens... it's happening... doing nothing to start adapting to it a.s.a.p. is insanity.

p.s... Had to add that I've never supported coal due to it's pollution, but there are definite technologies available right now to allow us to keep burning coal while preventing pollution, and that's obviously good for China, etc, that need to clean up.

Finally, just to say we don't NEED technology to be Greener, it takes very simple low-tech measures to live a Greener life.

Answer 5

It might be possible to block a significant fraction of the sunlight that reaches the Earth. For example, huge reflectors made of aluminized mylar in orbit. Like the Echo satellites of the early 1960's.

Alternatively, there may be ways to sequester CO2 from the atmosphere artificially. Dumping fine-ground iron oxide in the oceans may, for example, encourage plankton growth that would deposit carbon on the sea floor.

But restricting the use of fossil fuels seems like the best and cheapest solution. This process, with all its expense, will need to be done in the next few hundred years no matter what, because the oil will run out.

Answer 6

Sure. You've left out the screamingly obvious best answer. Partly reducing greenhouse gases. Coping with the remaining warming.

It's by far the lowest cost solution. Just doing all 1,2, or 3, will lead to economic disaster.

But doing some reductions of greenhouse gases is very affordable:

http://www.spiegel.de/international/world/0,1518,481085,00.html
http://www.ipcc.ch/SPM040507.pdf

And that investment will be repaid many times over by reducing what we have to cope with.

No-brainer doesn't even begin to describe it. All thoughtful people imagine a solution along those lines.

Answer 7

If anything the use of coal is the highest pollutant. It is shown plants recycle bad air for clean air.

This whole global warming thing was made to gain political vantage. In reality its like the other person said, we came out of an ice age. Its world order and nature. Sure we may be polluting today but nowhere near the industrial age where we used nothing but coal.

#2 is imperfected and costly, blame those who dont want to help the initial cost for the much more benificial outcome. I have a solution to once and for all rid of any type of fuel but of course once i go public after I get financial help I'll be bribed or threatened like the guy in some eastern country who made the 500mpg. car engine, he was never heard from again so likely he was bribed.

Either way people dont realize, sure we let things out but plants recycle it, ever wonder why trees do so well in cities? That and photosynthesis and a bit of water simple as that. Trees and plants in general are natures air filters. look at it that way.

There are also technologies that can clean the air, I mean make it 100% pure oxygen and O3 (atmosphere) but it'd be dangerous to use in a populated area, let alone anyone.

History shows that the planet warms, then it cools, a repetitive cycle (as mentioned by someone else too). But also natural disasters every X amount of years mainly volcanic eruptions so big that is super cools the planet.

Its all natural and yes I agree humans did not start it nor can they stop it.

Answer 8

Adapt to the natural order of things, which includes a constantly changing climate.
We are just now coming out of an ice age and things will continue to become warmer probably until the mean temp is near that of the Middle Ages warm period.

Global warming is one-half of the climatic cycle of warming and cooling.
The earth's mean temperature cycles around the freezing point of water.
This is a completely natural phenomenon which has been going on since there has been water on this planet. It is driven by the sun.
Our planet is currently emerging from a 'mini ice age', so is becoming warmer and may return to the point at which Greenland is again usable as farmland (as it has been in recorded history).
As the polar ice caps decrease, the amount of fresh water mixing with oceanic water will slow and perhaps stop the thermohaline cycle (the oceanic heat 'conveyor' which, among other things, keeps the U.S. east coast warm).
When this cycle slows/stops, the planet will cool again and begin to enter another ice age.
It's been happening for millions of years.
Humans did not cause it.
Humans cannot stop it.

Answer 9

Yes, there are other choices in between the ones you offer.

For example, reduce our greenhouse gas emissions by on the order of 80% by 2050 to avoid the worst effects of global warming. This will require us to significantly decrease our use of fossil fuels, but not cease using them outright. For example, we can still burn coal for power as long as the power plants utilize carbon sequestration technology.

The way I see it these are the realistic options:

1) Within the next decade beging significantly reducing our greenhouse gas emissions on a path to reducing them by at least 50% (and hopefully closer to 80-90%) by 2050.

2) Delay taking action until it's too late and feedback effects make it impossible for us to avoid the worst effects of global climate change, at which point all of our resources will be devoted to survival.

Unfortunately I think #2 is the more realistic scenario, but #1 is still possible.

Answer 10

We could definitely work toward reducing emissions on the pathway to relaxing our dependency on fossil fuels. Even if the global warming claims are a hoax, what could it hurt to put a little less strain on our environment?
I've heard that livestock farming annually puts more greenhouse gasses into the atmosphere than all the cars on Earth combined. True or not, these problem should be addressed along with more reforestation projects.