The Global Warming Megathread

[m^rk]

It's worth pointing out that one possible outcome of global warming is that fresh water flooding into the North Atlantic from melting ice caps will disrupt the Gulf Stream current - in which case Sheffield will become very cold indeed.

 

Still, good news for the Ski Village

 

I think its been pointed out that in the media that winters could get alot colder so we could be seeing alot more snow and below freezing tempretures

here in sheffield.

 

The north atlantic drift slowing down would probably not concern us anyway because we probably won't be here by then but god help the generation to come they are well and truelly gonna be stuffed.

 

We are probably one of the snowiest cities in this country due to height above sea level altogether i think i am correct in saying where the highest city above sea levelas well so its no suprise.

[nick2]

We are probably one of the snowiest cities in this country due to height above sea level altogether i think i am correct in saying where the highest city above sea levelas well so its no suprise.

 

It has hardly snowed at all for the last couple of years.

[downtroad]

'Global warming' is a misnomer. Probably used mainly by the media under government direction to play down the seriousness of the problem.

 

'Global climate change' is the term used by scientist'. The weather systems of the planet are an interacting and complex set of variables. Yes, the mean temperature of the planet will increase, resulting in extremes of weather, intense heat in some places, intense cold in others. This coupled with a rise in sea levels that will reduce the land area of the planet drastically.

 

Look at the faces of your children/grandchildren before you joke about the situation.

 

I think you are right about the rebranding. As this thread shows there are people out there who think - "Oh well warmer summers, who cares?". But thats clearly a very simplistic view of the matter.

 

People need to start talking about the CO2 issue. When scientists say - "The world mean temprature could go up by 2 degrees in the next 50 years!", people shrug, because they do not understand that fully. They think 2 degrees? Thats not much, not understanding they are talking about the average for the entire earth, and not knowing what effects that will have on storms, the ecosystems in the oceans and the release of stored CO2. If higher levels of CO2 don't worry you, then start smoking 2 packs of cigs a day and stand right by the exaust of a bus 8 hours a day.

 

People also do not understand the damage already done. Already many fish are not really safe to eat due to the levels of mercury in them. Something we are unable to fix.

 

I am a realist not some "eco-warrior". It's a fact that our lives will be effected by this and that some of it cannot be reversed. But of course we will survive, but our kids will not have some of the things we take for granted now. Like Tuna, our kids will not have wild Tuna in their futures and in their diets. No Tuna salad.

[Treatment]

At least we will be able to produce a decent Kimberworth Claret.

[SUPERTYKE]

At least we will be able to produce a decent Kimberworth Claret.

 

Guy, you really do need Treatment!! BAD - BAD jokes. But maybe laughing at it all is about all there's left to do - especially when the biggest superpower on earth pretends that everything is 'mighty fine folks.'

-------------------------------------------------

Me, I'm just a lawnmower, - you can tell me by the way I walk.

(Soz Treatment, couldn't resist!!)

[martyn1949]

My god. I can't believe the stupidity of this thread. The negative effects of global warming definately outway any positives, and in my opinion there is no positives!

 

Now I'm not normally one to be negative on peoples opinions but seriously, the effects that global warming is going to have on everyone is no laughing matter!

 

Oh dear - you are a victim of the current hysteria. Media panic.

 

I am old enough to remember back in the 70's when it was the coming ice age that was going to kill us all. (It's already 1000 years overdue). So a bit of global warming may be much more survivable than the UK a mile deep in ice!

 

Then it was Herpes that was going to finish us all off - then Aids, of course, was going to kill us all. I said back at the time (late 80's) that if you weren;t homosexual, or having sex with africans your chances of catching it were absoutely minimal - and so it has turned out.

 

Some peopel are always panicked by the latest media scare. We'll adapt.

 

Some places may get flooded, but a lot of land that is now too cold will become habitable.

 

Things have always changed dramtically. In the Middle Ages, the Vikings farmed successfully in Greenalnd, and the Romans grew grapes near Hadrians' Wall. It was obviously a lot warmer then than now - so why are you panicking?

[saxon51]

It has hardly snowed at all for the last couple of years.

Too true!

 

When I were a lad, most people had to wear wellies at least once a year just to get to the local shops, the snow was that deep. Can't remember the last time we had enough snow to warrant anything sturdier that a pair of ankle boots. And then only for about one day at a time.

[downtroad]

Some quotes from former skeptics... and these really were some of the last remaining opinion makers who deny human induced climate change.

 

* “It is getting hotter, and the icecaps are melting and there is a build-up of carbon dioxide in the air. We really need to address the burning of fossil fuels. If we are contributing to the destruction of this planet, we need to do something about it,” said Rev. Pat Robertson on a recent broadcast of the “700 Club.” He also added that the recent heat waves had made a “convert” out of him on the issue.1

 

* “…science has changed from ambiguous to near-unanimous. As an environmental commentator, I have a long record of opposing alarmism. But based on the data, I’m now switching sides regarding global warming, from skeptic to convert.” Gregg Easterbrook of the Brookings Institution and senior editor of The New Republic.2

 

* Representative Bob Inglis (R-NC and chairman of the House Science Research subcommittee) says he “pooh-poohed” global warming until a trip to the South Pole in January convinced him otherwise. “I think we should all be concerned. There are more and more Republicans willing to stop laughing at climate change who are ready to get serious about reclaiming their heritage as conservationists.”3

 

* “I was a certified global warming skeptic… I eventually came to the judgment that I was wrong and global warming was real, largely caused by human activities and profoundly changing the planet on which we live,” admitted Stu Ostro, senior meteorologist and director of weather communications for The Weather Channel.4

 

* “I used to be skeptical…but now I’m absolutely convinced that the world is spiraling out of control. CO2 is like a brushfire that gets bigger and bigger every year.” Richard Branson, founder of The Virgin Group.5

 

* A national LA Times/Bloomberg poll conducted in July found that 74 percent of Americans consider “global warming a serious problem” and want the government to do more to solve it.6

[Dick]

I'm glad I managed to get one fact right in my last post, but not sure which one it was.

I was sticking to the thread title and maintaining that if the world warms up a bit it's good for Sheffield. But if the world warming up cools down Sheffield then it's not good.

Herein lies the unknown dilemma.

despite what some posters say there is plenty of debate in the scientific community about whether anything out of the ordinary is happening.

An important part of any scientific measurement is to say what the error margins are.

For instance, I can read a metre rule to an accuracy of about half a millimetre. If I'm using that to build my garden fence I can make a good job of the fence. But if I'm using it to measure the diameter of the pistons in my car engine when I'm doing a rebore the engine wouldn't be much good.

Once you start comparing todays temperatures with those from before the invention of the thermometer you're introducing large error margins.

Trying to estimate prehistoric temperatures from tree rings and fossils is even more inaccurate.

When politicians take decisions that are going to cost us all a lot of money I like them to be based on evidence with a very low error margin.

At the moment the pro global warmers are on a roll and it's difficult for a scientist to stand out against them for fear of seeming cranky or losing research budgets. There's not much money going for people who say "everythings fine folks, we don't need to do anything"

A prime example was the BSE scare. By now, according to prof Lacey and co several million people should have died of mad cow disease. Actual number so far, 153.

True, back in 1990 no one could prove that Lacey was incorect, but his error margins were huge.

And yet the government has spent billions incinerating al cattle over thirty months old to keep them out of the human food chain.

Was this money well spent?

[Grahame]

Is Global Warming good for Sheffield.

 

NO IT IS NOT.