Global Warming

thomas t asked:

I just watched Al Gore’s movie where he gives a slide show and talks about global warming .Do you think its really happening or is it hype and either dose it scare you or what can we do about it?

Jeanette

Greg B asked:


Al Gore won the Nobel Peace Prize for his work in climate change awareness. How did he get this after it was pubished that just one of his many mansions had an electricity bill over 2,000 dollars each month? This guys is out preaching for us to change but he doesn’t lead by example?

Lawrence

Ernie Fitzpatrick asked:


I’ve done two commentaries before this one on global warming and since this is a topic that’s not going to go away but maybe be a major component of life on earth leading up to 2012, let’s call this global warming # 3. Personally, I know much of what Al Gore has written is hype, or at least not entirely true; however, there we can’t dismiss it all. There’s enough room for everyone at the table. Have a seat.

My last post was on the plight of the penguins. Now, on to their home life.

Their latest modeling studies indicate northern polar waters could be ice-free in summers within just 5-6 years. That would be like 2012. Professor Wieslaw Maslowski told an American Geophysical Union meeting that previous projections had underestimated the processes now driving ice loss. Summer melting this year reduced the ice cover to 4.13 million sq km, the smallest ever extent in modern times.

Using supercomputers to crunch through possible future outcomes has become a standard part of climate science in recent years. Professor Maslowski’s group, which includes co-workers at NASA and the Institute of Oceanology,Polish Academy of Sciences (PAS), is well known for producing modeled dates that are in advance of other teams.

Other teams have variously produced dates for an open summer ocean that, broadly speaking, go out from about 2040 to 2100. But the Monterey researcher believes these models have seriously underestimated some key melting processes. In particular, Professor Maslowski is adamant that models need to incorporate more realistic representations of the way warm water is moving into the Arctic basin from the Pacific and Atlantic oceans.

It is has become apparent in recent years that the real, observed rate of summer ice melting is now starting to run well ahead of the models. The minimum ice extent reached in September 2007 shattered the previous record for ice withdrawal set in 2005, of 5.32 million square km.

This isn’t small stuff here.

The long-term average minimum, based on data from 1979 to 2000, is 6.74 million square km. In comparison, 2007 was lower by 2.61 million square km, an area approximately equal to the size of Alaska and Texas combined, or the size of 10 United Kingdoms.

World- we have something of a problem here!



Zoe

marriedinwesternmass asked:


NEw Years eve and all the celebrating in Times Square is just adding to Global Warming(or is it). So where is Al Gore and Johny Depp to condemn it.

Sam

Mike Hirn asked:


Global warming is discussed in two main types of books. Some authors downplay the issue and insist there is no problem. Others speak of the compelling evidence, dangerous consequences, and solutions. Reading books with more than one viewpoint on the subject gives a balanced perspective.

Probably the most well-known book on global warming is Al Gore’s book AN INCONVENIENT TRUTH: THE PLANETARY EMERGENCY OF GLOBAL WARMING AND WHAT WE CAN DO ABOUT IT. Gore’s book shows reasons why people need to save the earth from the hazards of climatic change. It also implores world leaders to stand up and take heed of the warnings of an environment in crisis.

An opposing viewpoint is presented in a book titled UNSTOPPABLE GLOBAL WARMING: EVERY 1500 YEARS. The book, written by Dennis T. Avery and S. Fred Singer, is an argument that global warming is a cyclical event that has happened gradually and systematically throughout history. Scientific data backs up their claims and demonstrates why no one, in the authors’ opinions, should be concerned about global warming.

However, compelling scientific facts do exist that support the claims of the dangers caused by climatic changes. A book called GLOBAL WARMING: THE COMPLETE BRIEFING tells facts and theories about the foundations of a hotter climate. In it, the future of the world and ways to help minimize the problem are outlined.

Children can learn about the subject by reading a book called THIS IS MY PLANET: THE KIDS’ GUIDE TO GLOBAL WARMING. Jan Thornhill, the author or the book, gives startling facts about the quickly occurring changes in our environment and tells how it is happening. Catering to the younger audience, though, she is careful to sprinkle the book with a lot of hope and ways for children to help improve the situation.

THE DOWN TO EARTH GUIDE TO GLOBAL WARMING, by Laurie David and Cambria Gordon, is a book that uses humor to discuss a serious subject. It not only has facts about the genesis of extreme warming, but it is full of vivid pictures. It is another book aimed at elementary-age children, and it tells ways for kids to fight the problem in every area of their lives.

A fun and interesting book is THE LIVE EARTH GLOBAL WARMING SURVIVAL HANDBOOK: 77 ESSENTIAL SKILLS TO STOP CLIMATE CHANGE. David de Rothschild, the author, constructed the book to be a tongue-in-cheek survival guide for a hotter planet. At the same time, it offers important information about ways to improve the environment. It is a companion book to the Live Earth Concerts that took place around the world during a 24-hour period in July of 2007.

It is easy to find books about what is perhaps the most important environmental issue of the current century. Many are aimed at the children who are next to inherit the earth. Some focus heavily on scientific data. Others rely on humor to spread their message. Some are even a simple call to arms to anyone willing to help curb global warming. It is a subject worth studying, and there are plenty of books available to the earnest pupil.



Gilberto