I know I know, global warming again. Gah. To those who believe Global Warming is here and going to make life hell, they say it doesn’t matter. Climate change is not the weather and the weather is not climate change. Ok, fair enough, still, two massive snow storms in one season, both over 17″, is something I have not seen in 37 years in DC.

When does climate change begin to effect weather if it isn’t doing so now? According to several reports, the only place it’s currently warming is 2000 meters deep in the oceans. And it is true that the oceans are the first to see changes in heat, as they absorb the heat. But really, 2000 meters deep, where no one lives, that’s what all the fuss is about?

I get very concerned with how global warming effects governments, spending, and general trends in how to stop it. Carbon credits are really a waste of time. Hackers have found ways to steal millions in this ridiculous system. Hybrid vehicles going to save us all? Think again, the amount of damage to the environment to build those batteries is significant.

I’m not saying we shouldn’t do anything. And it is true that adding carbon to the atmosphere will have an effect on the climate. But is that effect going to be an unlivable earth in 100 years? Probably not. Forests are growing at an alarming rate, why? They eat carbon, that’s why. Sure they are not going to be able to eat all of the carbon that we put up there but it’s going to be far from some type of global dilemma.

Best course of action? We’re already doing it. In California they are close, very close, to the creation of fusion energy. That’s the power the drives the sun. It’s clean and has a lot of power. Many scientists are proposing artificial trees to eat up some of the carbon as well. And it is that that I think will eventually put this matter to rest.

So, bottom line, don’t worry so much about it. Sure, drive less, save money on gas, don’t get a gas guzzler. But do those things because it’s the responsible way to live, not because the earth will be 100 degrees hotter in 100 years. Are we making the earth hotter? Sure, but at a rate of 1 degree every 100 years.

Enjoy the snow, don’t buy into the doomsday feeling of global warming, and your kids will be just fine. Just remember, we’ve only got 30 or so years left before the Singularity Event. When that happens our computer overlords will tell us how to save the environment.  Hopefully they tell us how to beat the common cold too. I feel one coming on!

There are record freezes around the USA and the UK for the winter of 2010. It’s COLD. CNN has Little Rock Arkansas getting as cold as 10 degrees in this article. That’s freakin cold. Here in the nation’s capital it’s quite chilly as well though not down to those temperatures. And I hear that it’s not going to change any time soon. So what is really going on here?

Lets set some records straight first. I don’t want to be called ‘a nut job tea party wacko who thinks that global warming is a bunch of hooey…hey look there’s Russia’ kinda person. I am not a Republican in any way shape or form. That said, I’d like to point out a few facts.

1. We are putting out a lot of carbon into the atmosphere. This is just true. If you look at cars, all that smoke they spew, that goes up into the atmosphere. Just watch it, it happens.

2. Carbon is a greenhouse gas. So, if there is more of it up there it gets hotter. Simple enough.

3. It has gotten approximately 1 degree hotter over the last hundred years.

Wait, what? Well that settles it then. Global warming is real, right? I mean, if it has gotten hotter, even by 1 degree, then that is Global Warming. Well, not so fast. The argument between those who are not nutso is in fact is global warming happening because of humans, not just is it getting hotter. The earth is getting hotter, albeit by a small amount, but it is.

Here’s why it’s very easy to get confused on this subject. We know we’re putting carbon up there. An interesting fact is that oceans and trees are eating more carbon in recent years, a fact that is acknowledge by all sides. A recent report from the university of Bristol in the UK that carbon levels in the atmosphere are not increasing. We are experiencing mild summers and brutal winters in the last few years. And not to mention the climategate email disaster of recent memory.

All that adds up to a very murky picture for us laymen in the world. So, in a bid not to sound like a teaparty/birther idiot, please excuse us for not jumping on the bandwagon. There are two competing web sites that I look at weekly now. One, http://www.skepticalscience.com/ is filled with data supporting the idea that humans are making the earth hotter and we are in for some trouble. The website http://www.worldclimatereport.com/ is more middle of the road. They are pointing out that, yes global warming has occurred but lets take a closer look at the data to see just what this really means. One of the biggest and most confusing points on these sites is that skeptical science reports that oceans are getting warming while world climate report showed a study was done indicating they are getting cooler. Confusing to say the least.

Really, at the end of the day, doesn’t it come down to common sense? We put tons of a greenhouse gas into the atmosphere and its going to have an effect. No one can dispute that. The effect may be that trees get bigger or the ocean absorbs more carbon. Or the effect may be that the earth gets hotter as more gas gets trapped. Bottom line, one degree in one hundred years is nothing something to get worked up about.

That all said, someone please tell me how Global Warming is causing it to be freezing outside?

What is global warming anyway?

Not to sound like a smart ass, but in a nut shell, it has to do with the globe getting warmer. But, in more detail, it has to do with the earth’s warming due to human intervention. How could we possibly warm the earth? We pump out a good deal of chemicals and greenhouse gases that result in an atmosphere with more carbon dioxide in it than should be. As a result, the Earth will hold in too much heat, causing world wide temperatures to go up, hence global warming. Ok, simple enough. But is it really real?

This is a tough question and where the likes of Al Gore wage war on the premise that it’s absolutely real. According to Al Gore, and others, the earth is going to heat up and heat up fast.  So much so the Governor of California is working on legislation such that California will have to begin to prepare for rising oceans and how it will effect coastal areas. In fact, just about everyone you talk to these days say it’s real, it’s happening, it’s a fact, global warming is going to kill us all.

Well, i’m not the type to just believe something because everyone else is, and you shouldn’t be either. So, when browsing my favorite news sites I stumbled upon the heading of “The world has never seen such freezing heat“. Odd I thought, clicking it revealed a story wherein one of the institutes responsible for the data proving global warming to be real stated that October of 2008 was the hottest on record. But, this was a rather odd statement since several areas throughout the world were reporting record cold temperatures and snow storms. Upon further review, the data was completely wrong. The temperatures for the previous month were carried over to October. October was judged based on September’s temperatures, a normally hotter month.

Suffice to say, the anti-global warming enthusiasts shouted this fact with renewed vigor. And yes, there are anti-global warming advocates. They claim that 2007 was not in fact the hottest year on record but rather it was in the 1930′s. They claim that most of the global warming spiel is being generated by a few leading scientists and their data is mostly flawed.

Ok, so what now? There are those that say it’s real and those that say that the data being used to judge is flawed. And yes, the data was 100% wrong for October. Where does that leave us? The average joe who knows to know if he should prepare for beach front property in DC suburbs.

Relax – the end is not near

Ok, so the reason I wanted to post about this was not to take a side in the global warming debate. I do not know if it’s really happening. This summer was mild, this winter so far is colder, from my perspective it’s not getting warming year over year. Simple.

What I do find interesting is how most people take one side or the other. Well, if the data is flawed, how can they know what side to take? The central idea is somewhat sound, it makes sense that if we, human civilization, put out greenhouse gases then a greenhouse effect is likely. But, are we really putting out so much that it could effect the global atmosphere? Some say no. Some say yes. Mostly the argue with one another.

My point here, don’t get caught up taking sides over something that some would say is still not proven to be true. If you think there is enough evidence, fair enough, but don’t stop questioning that evidence. For decades doctors would tell us that eating eggs gave people high cholesterol, until the evidence changed. Now they say global warming is as real as the sun. Is it? The neat thing about science is it’s ok when you change your mind. New evidence, new findings, new techniques to challenge the status quo, all good things for science.

Article about global warming data being wrong: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/opinion/main.jhtml?xml=/opinion/2008/11/16/do1610.xml

Article refuting the above article: http://www.realclimate.org/index.php/archives/2008/11/mountains-and-molehills/

Read about the Govenor of California’s orders about rising sea’s here: http://redgreenandblue.org/2008/11/15/schwarzenegger-orders-california-to-prepare-for-sea-level-rise/