Recent extreme weather events and climate change/global warming

Consider the paranoia and conspiracy theories on the right over the fairly innocuous UN Agenda 21 non-binding, voluntarily action plan that promotes sustainable development:

The US becoming a party to an international agreement that would seriously require lowering GHG emissions in an environmentally and economically sustainable manner?

Not if the right wing has any say in the manner.

 

After several days of enduring a cold snap with highs in the teens and lows just below zero, it is suddenly in the 50's right now at midnight, and the wind is howling outside. There is a tropical humidity in the air, seemingly 6 months early. This morning, the winds are forecast to gust to 60 MPH and right now the winds are sustained between 20 to 30 MPH. These are tropical storm force winds, in the middle of winter! I don't think global warming can explain off season, fluctuating weather patterns like these. I prefer to believe something like the Pole Shift because the problems the Earth is having is not just about the weather. Does global warming have anything to do with the sudden rise in earthquakes? No, it doesn't. Strange, unexplainable noises? Nope. Severe flooding? Eh, you could tie it off to the glaciers, but really, glacial melt is a gradual thing. What we're seeing with the flooding is sudden, violent and unprecedented.

Truth is, people don't want to think about it. They see a problem they cannot control themselves, assign a label to it and shrug it off. That's what's happening here.

 

It seems as if major global warmings have let to unexpected mutations and unforeseen progress. I start skipping around when I see flowers blooming in January.

 

Unpredictable, drastic swings in weather are exactly the kind of thing Global Warming can cause.

Not only is there no evidence that pole shift is happening, there is evidence that weather patterns linked to climate change can affect tectonic activity http://www.alternet.org/newsandviews/article/560158/scientists_find_link_between_global_warming_and_earthquakes
However, the frequency and severity of earthquakes in recent years isn't different to a statistically significant degree from 100-year averages. These are the USGS numbers Earthquake Facts and Statistics
When you look at long term trends, the increase in recorded earthquakes is directly correlated to increases in our ability to detect earthquakes.

What noises?

It's almost as if it's tied to increases in frequency and magnitude of severe weather

No it isn't. I agree that people don't want to think about global warming and they shrug it off. Qualified experts gave us the labels "Global Warming" and "Climate Change" because they're simple ways to refer to a phenomenon and they have propsed ways to control it. You're also right that no individual can control it, that's why there are treaties and regulations designed to address the issue at national and international scales.

 

This month's livebetter eMagazine has a lead story on Natural Disasters & Environmental Change

 

Wow MSD, way to spin my message to support your interests.

I didn't really come into this thread with the point of arguing, I posted to simply state my point. You want to win an argument, well congratulations, you win. Social Darwinism at it's finest? Perhaps, I'll let you think that. At any rate, It's worthless to step down to someone's level and I'm certainly not going to do that.

I'm getting a lot of arrogant vibes. Maybe this is why the TFP is much slower now than it was in the past?

 

Arrogant vibes--in this entire thread? I don't see them and I've read through each post twice.

I'm curious what you are saying when you say that The TFP is much slower than it was in 'the past'? Unless you were underage when you joined you weren't around for chunk of it's past. Are you saying that there is not a mass swarm of people here? Could it be that this TFP is not yet 2 years old--and we are not out there tempting new members with the promise of titties (even though there are plenty here)?

To return to the topic, I'll use a quote that sums up more neatly than I could, my view on this: 'Extreme and frequent storms, hurricanes, rainfall, floods, heat waves, droughts, forest fires, avalanches, mudslides and landslides, plus melting glaciers, rising sea levels and ocean temperatures, coral bleaching, El Niño activities and the changing ecosystem all indicate the extent of global environmental change. As a result, climate related disasters are on the rise.' (livebetter eMagazine has a lead story on Natural Disasters & Environmental Change)

I first heard about climate change as a result of human abuse of our environment in the 1970's. Back then, few people were buying into it, but 40 years in (which I realize is but a fraction of a moment in Earth time) the evidence is too overwhelming to dispute. I don't blame humans exclusively--climatological changes would've happened whether we graced the Earth with our presence or not--but the part we play in causing or exacerbating climate-related disasters is in my opinion, indisputable.

 

You don't see vibes, you feel them. Unless there's something I should know. Plus, I didn't say the entire thread was arrogant, only that I was feeling an arrogant vibe inside of the thread.

I was referencing TFP back in 2005 when Halx was the site owner. It was certainly a lot busier then, mostly with visitors accessing the pornographic sections, but the community was much larger and more diverse. This TFP is smaller and more compact, but the community doesn't seem to take "outlandish" theories too well and if you want to even fit in, you have to force yourself to act like everyone else and believe what everyone else believes. Are you saying that both sites are completely different? They are the same because the community is largely the same. The only difference is that the people themselves have changed, turned up their noses and closed themselves to the world. Fine, if you want to remain small, that's the way to do it. However, you're certainly not attracting new members that way. Why do you think people like ARTelevision left?

Now, if that is the focus of this site, then I have definitely chosen the wrong forum.

You clearly didn't even bother to click the link that I posted in my original post, probably because you seem to have some kind of indirect hatred towards me, considering you counter my posts by liking whomever decides to counter post me. That's fine, but I think hatred is a waste of time and energy. I don't have time for that.

 

The issue is that the deniers and anti-spending folks are just waiting for a cold winter or a cooler year, and anyone in the GOP will get hammered by the corporate bought right wing media. The cold snap might be a fluke or a real thing, but it will cast enough doubt in the public, that nothing will happen.





What the scientists are worried about is tipping points, where the oceans wouldn't be able to capture as much CO2, that the glaciers have melted and the dark mountains and water will absorb a lot more heat instead of reflecting it back into space. That the tundra will thaw and release lots of methane. The thin new ice in the arctic will melt faster and delay the formation of ice the following winter. The issue is that there are still some unanswered questions that I have. Luckily they haven't really been brought up by the oil and coal companies and their legions of supporters, but the amount of pavement, deforestation, and manmade buildings has to have some effect. And I also worry about the ocean level measurements. If the world is warmer you might have more evaporation and rainfall. Also the weight of the water might cause more ground water instead of increased sea heights. Let's just say I hope that is the case because I like beaches.


Now, to transform the country to using 20% renewables by 2030, as well as reducing energy usage by 20% in the next 10 years (and get every other country to do the same thing) would be a good start. Individuals would all need to help with that though, as well as industry. It could easily be done just by changing building regulations to require full insulation and geo-thermal or some other energy producing device be installed. But the governments around the world need to come up with suggestions for all of the population to do that might not cost any money or very little money so billions of people can work to slow this change down.

 

1. We have plenty of people researching and making movies about what is happening. Although most people don't consider the impacts outside of a 50-mile radius of them.

2. Individuals might do a lot. I started riding my bike to work in 2008 a lot more, so did I cause the increase in temperature to stop increasing as much? It will take governments to get corporations to change their ways, either by taxing carbon/pollution, or by restricting certain things. A very large group of a billion individuals can make a difference too.

3. You never know where it will happen, or how to prep for it. But, it is a good idea to have basic supplies on hand, and watch out for the weather.

4. That is what some of us would like to do.

 

I read your post and interpreted it as you jumping onto a tangentially related topic to push an unsubstantiated conspiracy theory (pole shift) and responded accordingly. I'm sorry if that wasn't what you intended to do. In any case, every topic on TFP is open for discussion and you are always encouraged to argue with me.

 

It was in the mid 50's here, and I am just about 250 miles south of you. Not a cloud in the sky all afternoon. I really can't complain about the warming part of climate change.