Noted anti-global-warming scientist reverses course
gimmesometruth27
St. Fuckin Louis Posts: 23,303
interesting....a few years too late, but he is coming around....maybe it is to just sell a few more books???
Noted anti-global-warming scientist reverses course
http://news.yahoo.com/s/yblog_upshot/20 ... ses-course
With scientific data piling up showing that the world has reached its hottest-ever point in recorded history, global-warming skeptics are facing a high-profile defection from their ranks. Bjorn Lomborg, author of the influential tract "The Skeptical Environmentalist," has reversed course on the urgency of global warming, and is now calling for action on "a challenge humanity must confront."
Lomborg, a Danish academic, had previously downplayed the risk of acute climate change. A former member of Greenpeace, he was a vocal critic of the Kyoto Protocol -- a global U.N. treaty to cut carbon emissions that the United States refused to ratify -- as well as numerous other environmental causes.
"The Skeptical Environmentalist," published in 2001, argued that many key preoccupations of the environmental movement, including pollution control and biodiversity, were either overblown as threats or amenable to relatively simple technological fixes. Lomborg argued that the governments spending billions to curb carbon emissions would be better off diverting those resources to initiatives such as AIDS research, anti-malaria programs and other kinds of humanitarian aid.
Lomborg's essential argument was: Yes, global warming is real and human behavior is the main reason for it, but the world has far more important things to worry about.
Oh, how times have changed.
In a book to be published this year, Lomborg calls global warming "undoubtedly one of the chief concerns facing the world today" and calls for the world's governments to invest tens of billions of dollars annually to fight climate change.
Lomborg's former foes in the environmental movement are so far unimpressed by news of his conversion. Calling him a "shrewd self-promoter," Grist.org's Jonathan Hiskes marveled at Lomborg's ability to "play the media" in simply "adopting a position already held by millions of sensible people." And Friends of the Earth climate campaigner Mike Childs told the U.K. Guardian, "It appears that the self-styled skeptical environmentalist is beginning to become less skeptical as he enters middle age."
Noted anti-global-warming scientist reverses course
http://news.yahoo.com/s/yblog_upshot/20 ... ses-course
With scientific data piling up showing that the world has reached its hottest-ever point in recorded history, global-warming skeptics are facing a high-profile defection from their ranks. Bjorn Lomborg, author of the influential tract "The Skeptical Environmentalist," has reversed course on the urgency of global warming, and is now calling for action on "a challenge humanity must confront."
Lomborg, a Danish academic, had previously downplayed the risk of acute climate change. A former member of Greenpeace, he was a vocal critic of the Kyoto Protocol -- a global U.N. treaty to cut carbon emissions that the United States refused to ratify -- as well as numerous other environmental causes.
"The Skeptical Environmentalist," published in 2001, argued that many key preoccupations of the environmental movement, including pollution control and biodiversity, were either overblown as threats or amenable to relatively simple technological fixes. Lomborg argued that the governments spending billions to curb carbon emissions would be better off diverting those resources to initiatives such as AIDS research, anti-malaria programs and other kinds of humanitarian aid.
Lomborg's essential argument was: Yes, global warming is real and human behavior is the main reason for it, but the world has far more important things to worry about.
Oh, how times have changed.
In a book to be published this year, Lomborg calls global warming "undoubtedly one of the chief concerns facing the world today" and calls for the world's governments to invest tens of billions of dollars annually to fight climate change.
Lomborg's former foes in the environmental movement are so far unimpressed by news of his conversion. Calling him a "shrewd self-promoter," Grist.org's Jonathan Hiskes marveled at Lomborg's ability to "play the media" in simply "adopting a position already held by millions of sensible people." And Friends of the Earth climate campaigner Mike Childs told the U.K. Guardian, "It appears that the self-styled skeptical environmentalist is beginning to become less skeptical as he enters middle age."
"You can tell the greatness of a man by what makes him angry." - Lincoln
"Well, you tell him that I don't talk to suckas."
"Well, you tell him that I don't talk to suckas."
Post edited by Unknown User on
0
Comments
sensible!! ...
Our weather seems so predictably cyclical, and has been so for over the last hundred years where relatively accurate records have been kept. In the early 1900's human existence was challenged in the Los Angeles Times because of the impending Ice Age. 1930's saw searing heat and drought (my grandparents somehow lived through the Dust Bowl). 1960's-70's major news magazines once again report on the coming Ice Age. Mid 80's through 2006, hottest years ever. 2007 to now, it appears we are starting to swing back to a cold era. Going through my records and planning for my fall and winter crops I can see that this is setting up to be a crazy cold winter, most likely it will be colder than last year. In fact, I'm already scrapping plans on some of the crops I was going to plant. I realize that the biggest argument regarding climate change pertains to the rapid increase in C02 and even CH4 in the atmosphere. If we are indeed entering a cold spell for the next few years, wouldn't this negate the argument that these GHG's are causing the planet to warm? If both of those gases are blankets like people say, then if you put a blanket over you, and then another and then another, you don't suddenly cool off when you put the 4th one on. Since they both absorb infrared radiation, they won't contribute to a cooling. Am I wrong? I'm not trying to start an argument here, I'm just saying that even without a Meteorological degree, I focus on weather all year long and it probably affects me more than most others on this board. I rely heavily on the weather being predictable and relatively stable. So far, I haven't really seen many big surprises. We knew last winter was going to be insanely cold, and I guess it was a little colder than we expected. I do see how people who don't follow these trends on a daily basis can be taken aback by weather that is either really really cold, or really really hot. It seems easy to convince people that the world is ending when they don't have a better view of the big picture.
this is not true ... 2010 will likely be the warmest on record ... 2007 - 2009 were in the top 15 years in terms of warmth ...
remember ... it's referred to as climate change now because people get hung up on the warming aspect of Global Warming ... the reality is that the earth is indeed warming but the primary consequence is that this warming will affect weather patterns increasing the amount of extreme weather events ... your cold winter could be a factor of that ...
weather and climate although linked are separate ...
can i ask you a few questions? has your growing season stayed constant in the last decade? what about precipitation - do you find year over year, it is fairly consistent in terms of amount and frequency (obviously, there will be some variability)?
the farmers almanac uses similar methodologies as weather agencies when they forecast for the season ... taking in weather charts and such ... they do not, i don't think, ever adjust for extremities ... so, they can say you'll get 50 inches of rain this summer but they won't tell you if you get 45 in 3 days and 5 for the rest of the summer ...
My growing season has stayed pretty consistent. I haven't really seen it shortened or lengthened, but maybe I'm just lucky. Sometimes I'll get a really hardy plant that just seems to hang on forever. I usually harvest the seeds from those and use them the following year. Precipitation is almost like a game for me. I map out every single day of the year on my spreadsheet. I have a formula I use that works with the historical data, and it automatically generates rain chances for any given day. Yesterday was a good example of how accurate it can be. We always have a dry spell from about the 20th of June through the end of August. Up until yesterday, each day was at 20% or less. It had predicted a 60% chance of rain for yesterday, and I thought we were going to miss it. Even the news had forecast a slim chance of showers, I think 30% or so. It was sunny and hot all day, but at 6:30pm I was letting my chickens out for some play time (yes I know that sounds weird) and heard some thunder in the distance. Sure enough by 7pm we had a nice shower falling.
Don't get me wrong, I'm not some weather wiz. There are times when it is off, but if my chart is showing it should be raining on a given day, even if it doesn't happen that day, it's usually only a couple days off at most. I have another business that also relies heavily on weather prediction so this has come in handy for scheduling events as well. We have had a long dry spell and a long wet spell here and there, but for the most part it has been very predictable.
sorry ... forgot to ask - what general area are you in?
for weather immediate - i look to my barometer as that is the best gauge for me as well as looking at the clouds ...
as far as everything else goes tho - the local weather is but a microcosm of the global climate pattern ... soo, i'm not sure you are totally going to see much variation depending on where you are at ...
...are those who've helped us.
Right 'round the corner could be bigger than ourselves.
I'm in Central Texas, and I know that my little corner of the world doesn't necessarily reflect the world as a whole. I was just saying that from where I am, things have been pretty predictable, and they continue to be so. My other business as I said also relies heavily on weather and not only does weather effect scheduling but it effects the actual events as well. I've become quite enamored with weather just because of it being such a big factor in so many things that we do. I mean really, how many people do you know that keep a spreadsheet of the anticipated weather 18 months in advance? LOL It is so important in many aspects of my business (not farming) that I actually keep a weather station with me, and when I'm working I continually have to keep tabs on the Density Altitude. I even keep a pager with me that updates me as the DA changes. I love it. The funny thing is, I hated meteorology when I was in school.
haha ... my friend's gf can watch the weather channel all day! ... even when you tell her it loops - she doesn't care! ...
yeah ... i take people on outdoor excursions (hiking, paddling) and reading the weather is huge ... not only for safety but in making critical decisions on activity ... checking barometer readings, radars, winds ... it does have a sadistic appeal to it ...
Ya I go to Colorado to hike sometimes, and I'm paranoid about weather, especially when doing 14er's. It can change on a freakin dime. LOL
Jesus... just how old are you?
you might have inadvertently figured it out in your response ...
Polaris, what do you do for a living? I've thought about a similar sort of deal, but I'd have to figure out a way to resist killing people on a daily basis, especially my clients.
Please Support My Writing Habit By Purchasing A Book:
https://www.createspace.com/3437020
http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100000663025696
http://earthtremors.blogspot.com/
i do this on the side ... you REALLY have to love it to do this kind of stuff ... i only do 2 to 3 trips a year max as i am mentally fried after each one ... having said that - it's been really rewarding (not financially) meeting people and hearing their stories ... i have a lot of older clients and they truly are inspiring ...
in reading your posts/stories ... you'd make a fantastic guide ... although your primary job is logistics ... the success to a good trip boils down to: a) good planning b) good food and c) good clients ... you can't control c) but you'll learn that it's much better to lose the revenue of one asshole than have him/her on the trip ...
feel free to pm if you have any other questions ... i'm putting together a paddling trip to new zealand which hopefully will go sometime in february right now ...