Congrats to Al Gore. We are screwn.

[Warren Stupidity]

Our president, Al Gore, and the IPCC were rightly awarded this years Nobel Peace Prize for their work on catastrophic climate change. Unfortunately the largest contributor to human sourced carbon emissions is run by an insane bunch of irrational fools, and our country has pulled back from the minimal efforts outlined in the Kyoto Treaty and created roadblocks to international efforts to deal with the problem. We are screwn. Google: co levels tipping point. We are there. We did nothing to stop it. The damage is irreversible, the only question is how bad will it get. It will get bad. The global economy is moving forward with carbon emissions inflation, the emerging industrial nations are bringing their citizens up to our consumer and carbon emissions standards, and the largest developed nation (that would be us) has refused to cooperate in any efforts to change course. Oddly, as peak oil plays into the mix, rather than causing a reduction in fossil fuel based carbon emissions as advanced economies shift to other more sustainable energy sources, dirtier sources of fossil fuels become profitable. Peak oil just makes matters worse.

Congratulations Al. Your tried. Too bad we didn't listen.

[sazemisery]

1. And our childrens are screwn too. n/t

[cali]

2. I've come to much the same conclusion. n/t

[DrDan]

3. it was truly frightening to watch the GOP debate the other afternoon . . .

and how most on stage were calling for less regulation . . .

They still are in denial.

[Toots]

4. Maybe we all should just have a cigarette

A little smoke in the atmosphere can't do any real harm now can it??:crazy:

[bryant69]

5. Why is it bad? Most humans are assholes who deserve to die - we should be happy our own stupidity

is going to kill us off.

Bryant
Check it out --> http://politicalcomment.blogspot.com

[Warren Stupidity]

8. I understand that sentiment but remain a hopeless romantic

I continue to believe that we have the capacity to build a just ans sustainable world where we have learned to live in peace with each other and with the planet itself.

[Enrique]

6. one of Gore's most important points is that it's not too late

he emphasizes the solutions that are out there.

[Warren Stupidity]

9. No it is too late to prevent a catastrophe.

That doesn't mean that we cannot limit the scope of that disaster. However I do not see global civilization moving in the direction of the radical change required, and I think that will not happen until the effects of this disaster are manifested to the extent that inaction becomes politically impossible. We will not do anything until it is too late. The lag time between actions taken and effects realized is large, even once we actually confront this crisis, things will get worse for quite some time.

[frogcycle]

7. I tend to agree

the biggest issue in the whole climate change issue is attempting to predict the unpredictable

in highly complex systems, of which the earth's "climate" - the temperature and movement of the water and gases that blanket its surface - is one of the most extreme examples humans have tried to model (the big bang beats it out) any of a number of subsystems can reach the "tipping point" - a layman's term from going from convergent to divergent and then the entire model needs to be re-examined.

The interactions of such factors as ice cover, ocean floor topology, vegetation cover, etc. all serve to create this delicate balance of oceanic currents and atmospheric currents. It is remarkable that the system managed to stabilze as it did - look at our two sister planets. Mars lost its liquid and most of its gaseous cover. Venus heated up to 900 deg f with a thick cover of noxious gases.

In its history the earth has spent long periods in relatively stable conditions other than that under which humans civilization developed. Periods of extreme cold, with ice cover over most of the continents; warm periods when huge reptiles thrived...

like the path of a stream of water running down your windshield in a rainstorm, the global climate is more likely to change than to stay constant.


Humans have cavalierly opted to figuratively just throw shit into the fan, and will now suffer the consequences. All the arguments that it might have happened anyway are pointless. When you are walking a tightrope without a net, do you say "I'm going to fall anyway, so I think I'll try skipping?"

So yes, we are screwn. Massive change will occur. Our ancestors dealt with ice ages. They took advantage of the attendant drop in sea level to walk across the Bering Strait. Humans now will take advantage of the loss of ice cover to drill for yet more oil in the arctic ocean, and will rejoice over greater profits due to shorter shipping routes to carry more lead-contaminated toys from China.

The sea levels will rise, cities will be submerged, wars will occur as the dwindling resources become ever more precious. It could have been better mitigated if warnings had been better heeded years ago, the consequences could have been better mitigated. They still could be mitigated to some degree.

But what we face is a world-wide oligarchy. Rule by the few, to the detriment of the many. And those few are not concerned for the future of the species, or of the planet. They are concerned for their own comfort and self-aggrandizement.