Does Global Warming Concern You?

[thespaceinvader]

Yes...I remember that cover...but It seems like that movie was never made...

 

[poohandwendy]

LOL, George Kennedy and Shelley Winters cornered the market on disaster movies, back in the day...

OK, I'm young but I love the Posideon Adventure! Don't think us young people haven't seen the classics!

LOL, sorry KK, glad to know your life has been 'enriched' by the 'classics' (I cringe to think they are considered classics, though)...

Has anyone read State of Fear by Crichton yet? I read that's his scientific topic for the book.

No, but I love his books, I'll read it for sure.

 

[thespaceinvader]

I'm sure his books are good...

 

[Puffy2]

Yes it concerns me. Yes I think political America is ignorant and unresponsive to scientists . They are far more concerned with $$$$$$$$$ than what is "right" - to hel$ with the environment, animals, etc....

 

[thespaceinvader]

Ummm...did you just say 'To hell with the environment'?

 

[Puffy2]

"I" didn't say that....Political AMERICA - our "conservative" politicans in charge, say that every time they pass/block another law.

 

[thespaceinvader]

Yeah...also, I'm a level 7 vegetarian...

 

[chadfromdallas]

~bump~

 

[Amberle3]

My DFi is an environmental research scientist. Yes global warming is real - scientists use more than just the historical weather reports to figure out what's going on with the environment on the BIG scale.

There's a big hole in the ozone layer that protects the earth. That's not natural, and it was caused by us. We NEED to use sunscreen to protect ourselves from harmful rays that cause cancer, that are managing to penetrate through easier because of our polution.

Science gets very little in the way of government grants. I'm willing to bet you that if you combined the money spent on environment research compared to the money spent on Viagara-like drugs, the drugs would be getting more research money.

DFi's area of speciality isn't global warming, it's toxins. But there's enough of an overlap that he's well aware of the research in the field.

Global warming isn't something we'd be seeing immediate effects from. It's not something that's going to ruin the earth in 20 years. But it is a definite problem, one that can have significant and serious effects on our little home here.

 

[thespaceinvader]

So...IT'S REALLY REAL? HOLY CRAP!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[antmaril]

Not even a little.

 

[TDC Nala]

I will be long gone by the time it has any real effect (assuming it has one).

And I love all the Irwin Allen disaster flicks. There should be an Irwin Allen disaster flick thread.

 

[SeeDisney]

I don't believe there's Global Warming.


Every year, winter and fall and Spring is still so so so so very cold.

 

[chadfromdallas]

Wow....

So far 1:2 ratio of yes:no

 

[gr8tpanther]

I think it is just something for people to talk about.

 

[Amberle3]

So...IT'S REALLY REAL? HOLY CRAP!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Well, yes and no. If you're looking for a quick countdown with immediate catastrophic effects, well no you're not going to get that.

What you are going to get is a very gradual change in the environment and atmosphere that makes it increasingly more difficult for life to exist. You'll notice more and more crops unable to be grown in areas where they've been grown before, in time they won't be able to be grown at all. Indigenous plantlife will change, so the fauna that survive off that plantlife with change (more likely disappear).

Eventually our growing cycles will change enough that we just can't keep producing the things we have been. Which may not seem like a big deal to some, until you look at the industries that rely on any kind of grown product. Like say... cotton. And let's not forget that we still have to eat, and food crops will definitely suffer.

The effects aren't quick, so it will take a while before most people actually believe that they're occuring.

But, let's look at car exhaust. Most people aren't awfully worried about it. Now if you talk to someone in a climate that experiences cold winters, they'll tell you that when it gets very cold there are times you can hardly see in front of you because of the car exhaust hanging in the air. That exhaust is there year-round, you just see it when the temperature is low. That exhaust doesn't just disappate into nothing when it goes into the air. The grimy, filthy little particles are still there, clogging up the atmosphere.

Years ago people didn't think there was any problem with dumping toxins and sewage into rivers and lakes. After all, it would hit the water and be absorbed or diluted right? Wrong. The difference is that those effects were more immediate. And it still took decades for people to believe in them. And here, 30+ years later, you can still find PCBs in fish. It's hard to pull something out of a lake or river that doesn't have toxins in it. Sure they're miniscule amounts, but they're still there.

Another example - dioxins. Here's a definition of dioxin: "a man-made chemical by-product formed during the manufacturing of other chemicals and during incineration. Studies show that dioxin is the most potent animal carcinogen ever tested, as well as the cause of severe weight loss, liver problems, kidney problems, birth defects, and death." Now dioxins are news because Ukranian presidential candidate Yushchenko was poisoned with it. News reports said that he had 1000 times the normal level of dioxin in his system.

Think about that a minute. There's a *normal level* of a toxic chemical for a person. I had to ask DFi about it, why on earth would there be a normal level for something like that. Well it's because dioxins are everywhere - we've produced enough of them that we can't get away from them anymore, so there's now a "normal level" of dioxins for a person. That's incredible, that we've poisoned our atmosphere so much that we consider having toxins in our systems to be normal.

 

[DisneyAddict_M]

It will never be warm here.

 

[JimB.]

Do you think it poses a big threat? Short term - no. Long term - unknown, but it's happened before prior to the advent of industrialization.

Are scientist making too big of a deal about it? Some - yes. There are those that assume mankind is the root of ANY ecological change, & that ANY ecological change is necessarily bad.


Do you think America is being ignorant to the facts? No. America is not being swept up in politically correct hysteria without a concensus of scientific opinion.


Do you think that those SUV driving, sports car loving, gas guzzling people are evil? Since I AM one, obviously no.

 

[C.Ann]

No.. I think it's blown out of proportion..

 

[sha_lyn]

25 yrs ago they claimed than our treatment of the enviroment was causing global cooling and we were headed for a mini iceage.

What you are going to get is a very gradual change in the environment and atmosphere that makes it increasingly more difficult for life to exist. You'll notice more and more crops unable to be grown in areas where they've been grown before, in time they won't be able to be grown at all. Indigenous plantlife will change, so the fauna that survive off that plantlife with change (more likely disappear).

The planet has cycled though this many times since it's infancy. Many of the cycles were long before man existed.
While I do believe we are not taking as much care of the earth as we should, I do not think mankind is effecting the climate enough to cause global warming or cooling. However our "habits" might hasten it a bit, but in the scheme of things the effect would be minuscule.