This whole extended flap over global warming is rather... unimpressive and not very well founded. I'm not saying that we're not harming the environment with our production of 'greenhouse gases' but I have to ask, has anyone done a comparison study as to the amount of 'greenhouse gas' emissions from the human populations vehicles and technology versus the natural sources of these gases?
Cow flatulance aside (very old joke btwn hubby and I), there's many sources of 'greenhouse gases' that have been in production for a very long time. It ranges from the vast amounts of carbon dioxide produced by all life on this planet that has a respitory system simmilar to ours (a very high percentage on that one) to the break down of volitile chemicles found in various different naturally occuring substances due to geophysical forces (released pockets of methane due to landslides, anyone?) to the dramatic explusion of very toxic gases from volcanic activity. it's rather foolish to say that these items don't factor into it all. Especially considering the fact that ice ages and periods of global warming happened before humanity even discovered fire.
Several studies of ice core samples and the geologic record (rocks from different epoches of history) indicate that the process of global warming and cooling events is part of a very long cycle. As there has been continued study into these things, there are some theories that are not well known (compared to the demon of global warming) which postulate that this cycle is an entirely normal phenomenon for the planet.
Some studies propose a connection with the change of the polarity of the earth's magnetic field, arguing that major and minor shifts of global climate are intimately tied to these 'flips' of the magnetic poles. There's been some circumstantial evidence indicating that the 'little ice age' that happened in Europe during the feudal period was timed with one such 'flip' of the poles. Other studies postulate that there is a connection with the solar cycle, suggesting that there is a much larger cycle then the commonly known 11 yr cycle of solar activity from maximum to minimum.
I'm not saying that ecological responsiblity isn't a good thing. conserving resources and working to develop techologies that result in the least amount of scorched earth is a smart thing. It makes us less likely to poision ourselves. But we should not be running around like chicken little over things like there is an el nino this year and insisting that it's because we're driving cars and burning fossil fules. We don't know why it is happening and people need to get their collective heads out of the sand. You won't understand it if you're going to seize on the first idea and develop a massive guilt complex.
This lemming-like mentality that seizes people makes me sick. Some days i really do hate humanity. After all, if we're told enough times that it's our fault that the hurricane happens, we'll believe it and meekly allow ourselves to be punished for something we had no control over, right? And we *must* deserve it, after all, because we're those filthy and disgusting homosapiens. Damn us and our opposible thumbs, damn our upright walking and our capacity for abstract thought. We should have remained apes and never even accomplished the wonders we have, because they are inhierently bad and evil due to the fact they are accomplished by humans. We didn't give the marmoset the chance to build the great gothic cathedrals... damn us all.
[Reposted from a message board I'm apart of.]
No comments:
Post a Comment