Man-made carbon emissions: But it is bad news for the polar bears Posted on 03/12/2010 9:51:13 PM PST by neverdem
Man-made carbon emissions: But it is bad news for the polar bears
MAN-MADE carbon emissions are staving off a new ice age, says a leading environmental scientist.
Climate-change expert Dr James Lovelock says the greenhouse gases that have warmed the planet are likely to prevent a big freeze that could last millions of years.
In a talk at London’s Science Museum Dr Lovelock said the balance of nature was in charge of the environment.
He said: “We’re just fiddling around. It is worth thinking that what we are doing in creating all these carbon emissions, far from being something frightful, is stopping the onset of a new ice age.
“If we hadn’t appeared on the earth, it would be due to go through another ice age and we can look at our part as holding that up.
“I hate all this business about feeling guilty about what we’re doing.
“We’re not guilty, we never intended to pump CO2 into the atmosphere, it’s just something we did.”
Dr Lovelock’s comments come in the wake of the scandal at the University of East Anglia where leaked emails suggested climate change data had been manipulated.
The 90-year-old British scientist, who has worked for Nasa and paved the way for the detection of man-made aerosol and refrigerant gases in the atmosphere, called for greater caution in climate research.
He compared the recent controversy to the “wildly inaccurate” early work on aerosol gases and their alleged role in depletion of the ozone layer.
He said: “Quite often, observations done by hand are accurate but all the theoretical stuff in between tends to be very dodgy and I think they are seeing this with climate change. We haven’t learned the lessons of the ozone-hole debate. It’s important to know just how much you have got to be careful.”
According to Dr Lovelock’s Gaia theory, the earth is capable of curing itself. “A planet that is effectively alive can regulate itself and its composition and climate,” he said.
Thomas Crowley, professor of geoscience at Edinburgh University, responded: “People have thought about the possibility of an ice age but it wouldn’t be for many thousands of years.
“Dr Lovelock might be right in the abstract but this does not necessarily mean that CO2 is good now.”
There will be another ice age w/i the next 1000 yrs whether we like it or not, and regardless of our use of CO2. And yes, it will be the end of civilization as we know it, assuming BHO doesn’t get there first.
I can't find the thread right now, but a recent one said the next ice age is about 2500 years overdue.
“I hate all this business about feeling guilty about what we’re doing.
“We’re not guilty, we never intended to pump CO2 into the atmosphere, it’s just something we did.”
Interesting perspective. I simply do not think that science supports the hypothesis that man-made carbon dioxide emissions is causing the earth to warm, which is still fundamental to the 90 year old Dr.'s claim. We are not holding up an ice age, nor are we causing hurricanes or other weather related catastrophes. As such, while the Dr. sounds like a lovable creature, I have to cast him aside -- let me rephrase that so people do not think I am in favor of death panels -- I have to ignore him and wish him a good day.
A man just has to learn to adjust and adapt. No one ever promised us a perfect world.
I am not confident we will get through this summer. Unless there is a mega GOP wipeout and he is impeached and removed - then we have a lot more to worry about than ice ages.
From a long term geological perspective the planet Earth has spent more time as an ice cube than being warm. The sun is the the only factor that matters. No sunspots, no strong solar wind, increased space radiation, leads to a cooler earth (see The Chilling Stars book).
Global warming is actually a good thing. Imagine modern societies dealing with a modern ice age. Everyone one would migrate to the equator, what a mess.
Anybody that would like to thank me for saving your lives by driving an SUV, can send $$ to.....
“Everyone would migrate to the equator, what a mess.”
Everyone would fight to live near the equator - what a bigger mess. I suppose some folks might last for a little while in some type of biodomes in the southern U.S.. Think of Mad Max with parka’s.
Just another MSM rube still trying to sell the Goracles KoolAid for him.
That's about right.
But I don't think it will end civilization.. unless the stresses lead to a global thermonuclear war. Otherwise, we just all move towards the equator. Lots of folks won't make it, and lots who live there now won't either. But civilization will make it.
The last 4 million yrs have been cold - the 61 million yrs before that were very warm.The 100 million yrs before that were very very warm. I think we have to go to the middle/end of the paleozoic to have prolonged ice ages. The end of the paleozoic was probably very warm.
Hockey stick notwithstanding, the period b/w 9K and 4500 yrs ago was also very warm, and the earth and humans did just fine.
The glaciers never got that far south. Yea it would be cool, but not arctic cold. We only talking a few degrees of difference in average temperature.
That last is the maximum extent of all 4 of the last glacial periods (Nebraskan, the Kansan, the Illinoian, and finally the Wisconsin.)
Thanks for posting that chart of the temperatures. It is the one that tells me we are overdue for an ice age. Also the vegetation map - I haven’t seen that.
The biodomes would be primarily needed for growing enough crops in the cooler climates. I had an old geologist aquaintance (RIP) that did a lot of research on cold-weather strains of wheat that various universities picked up on. The other thing would be the lack of moisture (more locked up in the ice). Of course that would be a money maker to take some of that Wyoming natural gas, point it at the base of the glacier and light her up and pipeline it south.
My grandparents farm was just east of the line, in southern Nebraska. You should have seen all the smooth rocks, of various sorts of composition/materials, including flint, quartz, and other stuff, that the farmers kept finding in their fields. Frost heave pushed them up, but the glaciers smoothed them out. Some were nearly spherical, but most were more ovoid. The flint tended to be a very flattened ovoid.
I hadn't either, but found it when looking for that extent map. I though it was worth sharing.
I'd rather use steam, heated by nuclear reactors. Or even solar, which is good for that, since high temperatures are not required, and the energy need not be "dense".
There are better uses for hydrocarbons. Mobile fuel, petrochemical feed stocks. (Think Plastics for the frame of your Glock and the stock of your AR).
We've won.
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