Al Gore Re-Frames The Climate Risk Communication Problem
by John Laumer, Philadelphia on 03. 1.07
What did Al Gore do after the Oscars Award ceremony? According to the Tennesean.com "Back in Tennessee on Tuesday, Gore told a crowd of about 50 people at the U.S. Media Ethics Summit II that the presentation's single most provocative slide was one that contrasts results of two long-term studies. A 10-year University of California study found that essentially zero percent of peer-reviewed scientific journal articles disagreed that global warming exists, whereas, another study found that 53 percent of mainstream newspaper articles disagreed the global warming premise". Here's the money quote from the Tennesean:- "I think if it is important to look at the pressures that made it more likely than not that mainstream journalists in the United States would convey a wholly inaccurate conclusion about the most important moral, ethical, spiritual and political issue humankind has ever faced." The good news is that the facts are now getting enough mainstream media attention. We noticed that talk show host Glen Beck (pictured) recently calculated his carbon footprint (see Feb. 26 transcript here) and expressed surprise at the magnitude. If you're puzzled about how your lifestyle matters to the climate future, try calculating your own carbon footprint. For your driving footprint link here. For your air trips link here. And for your home, link here. See how "average" your lifestyle is. Image credit: Glenn Beck site, "about"
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I do not believe that any one denies global warming. what the disagreement is about, is the overall History of the Warming Cooling cycles. The most recent cycle was started in about 1850, which happens to coincide with the start of the Industrial Age, which also coincides with the start of the six fold increase in the earths population, which is climbing exponentially.
Which Incidentaly was the end of the 'Little Ice Age' which lasted about 400 years. Coincidence? Think about it and research it. Don't just take my word for it. While you are doing your research check out ,the 'Maunder Minimum' as well as the 'Milankovitch Cycles'. Everyone can use more education and this keybord you are pecking at can do it for you.
We are now in the 150th year of 'this' warming cycle, 50 years from now, we will be at the half way point and start towards the next cooling cycle. Check out 'Grisda' (wikipedia) the year 1100 was pretty darn toasty. The Holloscene period of which ended 5000 years ago, was very extremely warm, also in cycles.
The 'Priora Oscillation' sent a very extremely rapid, cooling chill across the northern continent of Europe. Check out 'Otzi the Iceman' who finally was melted out of the Glacier he was preserved in for the last 5000 years. Be your own source of Info, do not just rely on the supposedly Professionals, those days are over. welcome to the computer Age. http://daflikkers.blogspot.com/
I heard that the footprint of your diet is pretty huge too, something like a couple acres if you eat a raw veggie diet up to a hundred acres if you eat alot of meat. Where's the food footprint calculator?
The "little ice age" was in Europe, it wasn't for the whole planet. It was a change in the redistribution of heat probably caused by a slowdown of the gulf stream, but the average temp of the planet didn't go down much if at all. Don't confuse things!
We know that more greenhouse gases = more greenhouse effect, and we know that we are putting lots of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere from sources that weren't in the atmosphere before (buried fossil fuels). To claim that humans can't increase the greenhouse effect is just burying your head in the sand. The only real question now is by how much things will vary.
I sure hope the psychologists are doing studies of warming skeptics for posterity. A book about deniers will go on the shelves right next to the books about phrenology, Yuri Geller, and Lysenko.
that's a pretty hefty 180 for beck, who not long ago was tearing liberal hollywood a new one for implanting sinister overtones of environmental hogwash in his children's entertainment (i didn't hear anyone else say happy feet was poisoning our youth, but it could have happened). i still think he's a, well, something i won't type on this family site, but if he can come around, anyone can. there may be hope yet.
In my first sentence, I said
"I do not believe that any one denies Global Warming." I did not say that it was world wide. I agree it is happening.
I will leave it up to the Russian scientists that have core drilled down to about '400,000 years' deep into the Antarctic Ice cap which contains, arguably 90% of the Ice on Earth, to decide the history aspect.
The History of Earth and its weather cycles, is recorded in those core samples and are being deciphered. One concensus is, for some reason the center of the Ice cap is thickening, pretty good feat due to it being about a mile thick already.
I have read about the 'rivers' running out from under the ice as well, the edges breaking off and all of the other horror stories. I also am an extreme optomist and desire to see awareness of the human impact. I am a realist in the effect of drastic changes and their political motivations.
I grew up in an extremely small 'carbon footprint' on a small farm that helped supply other families through hard times. It was pretty inefficient by todays standards of 'Economy of Scale'. A 20 foot well ,dug by my Grandfathers shovel laying brickwork as each level progressed downward, supplied our drinking water.
A cistern that collected rainwater from a gutter system around the small house, built by my Grandfather and Father, attached to a workshed that became our kitchen.
By the way no government or any other loans were ever involved. Cash only, as the paycheck from my Fathers 2 jobs shoveling coal by night and teaching school by day, allowed to purchase supplies. I still have the receipts and hand drawn plans.
My own modest home has solar panels for the recirculating of warm (nowhere near Hot) air. I and my sons insulated the attic with comercially recycled, treated, shredded (blown in) newsprint and installed extra storm windows.
I have dabbled in the solar generation of electricity. Way too much per watt in comparison to 'the grid' by the way. In other words I have "walked the walk" as some say.
I am concerned with The 'Malthusian theory' (many scenarios exist today) as much as anyone. The year 2050 is pivotal. we may find out if he was on track. that year is, by the way, when the Earths population could double. Barring any unforeseen circumstances of course.
I enjoy Tree Hugger and it's thought inspireing comments. Keep up the good scientific comments, and new Engineering concepts. I love 'Em. http://daflikkers.blogspot.com/
I just LOVE reading the self-made theories of inactive and counterproductive minds such as indicated in the first post in this column.
These two traits appear married in their thinking/acting:
1) They do nothing for the environment yet have the urge to argue and deny that, e.g, the earth is round since their own "science" is obviously better.
2) They haven't watched "An Inconvenient Truth", which would very likely reveal their contributions as laughable as they are.
One minor correction for the first poster - the mid 1800's was the start of the Second Industrial Revolution. There were 2. The 2nd is the one where we started burning large quantities of coal & coke for steel refining and built out our railroad network (another coal user). Its also when many homes started changing from using wood to using coal for their heat source.
Brian said:
"The "little ice age" was in Europe, it wasn't for the whole planet. It was a change in the redistribution of heat probably caused by a slowdown of the gulf stream, but the average temp of the planet didn't go down much if at all. Don't confuse things!"
I have read about more than one study done that shows the little ice age was more than just a local event. One study showed pretty conclusive evidence of the little ice age in China also. There is no proof that it was only local. Evidence points to quite the opposite conclusion. I've not seem the evidence to show that a Gulf Stream slowdown actually occurred during the little ice age. Also, there have been a whole series of warmer and cooler periods in recent earth history that were not local events. No confusion here.
Let's keep it simple. The earth is heated by solar radiation. When that radiation changes, or the distance from the earth to the sun changes, the amount of radiation reaching the earth changes and it heats or cools accordingly.
There are a lot of good reasons to quit burning non-renewable carbon based energy sources and I sincerely believe we should do do so as soon as it is socially and economically feasible. I do not believe man-created global warming is one of the reasons.
Rick
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This is illustrative of regional variability in more modern context. http://www.grida.no/climate/ipcc_tar/wg1/fig2-9.htm
So you don't believe that thousands of megatons of greenhouse gases pumped into the Earth's thin atmosphere each year, along with the observed increase in CO2 in the atmosphere, are causing global warming? What would you need to be convinced?
Dear Pres. (Should have been) Gore:
I have seen your movie "An Inconvenient Truth" and found this movie so factual and easy to understand in its entirety. I will be showing your movie to the Portage County Democrats on April 20, 2007. I certainly do hope that it gets the public's attention. More than ever, I still have grave reservations because I know that the United States of America would be a better place if you were in office - just as the voters said so back then .. so many years ago.
God Blessings to you, Mr. Gore
Karen Harshbarger