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General discussion

2014 warmest year on record

Jan 17, 2015 7:38PM PST
http://www.nasa.gov/press/2015/january/nasa-determines-2014-warmest-year-in-modern-record/ shows 2014 is the warmest year on record (since 1880), and that 9 out of the 10 warmest years have occured in this century.
That brings the probabililty that climate change is real (in stead of a socialist invention or an anti-USA conspiracy) closer to 100%, doesn't it? I can't imagine anybody argumenting that it makes it even less probable than it already was.

Leaving aside the difficult question if the warming up has 100% natural causes or there are (also) human activities involved in the change, wouldn't it be time to start serious research on the effects? If they are all positive, that's fine. But it's commonly thought that there are negative effects also, on the global economy, ecology, society, health.

And if there are negative effects, it needs discussion if it's possible to counteract the warming by technical measures (think 'terraforming', switching to green energy or injecting iron in the oceans are 2 examples) or find ways to handle and lessen the negative consequences. Preferably both prevention and cure should cost less than they yield.

Kees

Discussion is locked

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Climate change has been real for as long
Jan 17, 2015 9:17PM PST

as our solar system has existed. If science is to be believed, man's existence has been no longer than that of a finger snap compared to a decade. The measurement of temperature has been possible in just a fraction of that finger snap time. Our sampling by year are relatively meaningless when put into perspective and drawn on some chart. Man's part may well be there just as certainly as the shock of a rock that falls from a mountain on one side of the planet ripples all the way though to the other side. The effect is small but there. Man's affect on climate is probably unnoticeable when compared to the effect of changes in our sun. Of course climate changes and we are fortunate to live on a planet that has an adaptive nature we could never create by ourselves. Let's get out of her way and let her do her work.

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RE: Let's get out of her way and let her do her work.
Jan 17, 2015 9:46PM PST

What IF we're getting in her way and creating MORE/TOO MUCH work?

Mother nature has never had a run in with man before (as far as we know).

Some species have died out because of "natural events".

Perhaps mankind will be the next victim.

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How can we let her do her work
Jan 20, 2015 1:06AM PST

if we keep cutting down thw rain forests ? I have to believe this is having a negative impact .

just sayin'
Digger

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I read and hear the same thing
Jan 20, 2015 2:45AM PST

and it's nothing new. No US politician can make any hay out of what happens elsewhere. There are no votes in it for them. Whatever small part man plays in subtle temperature change has no main ingredient in the mixture of things we might address. As far as I'm concerned...and as related to alternative energies, we're chasing dimes with dollar bills by trying to force our way into solutions using political processes. We may squander years of life from our remaining fossil fuels in an effort to save a few days worth.

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when the Mayans were in power
Jan 20, 2015 3:57AM PST

That wasn't a rain forest, but cleared land. Every new cutting is showing the old canal system that was used by the Mayans.

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I can't find it
Jan 20, 2015 4:28AM PST

but didn't the Mayans clear the rain forest and after their demise the forest grew back?

Digger

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Oh I see
Jan 20, 2015 5:40AM PST

It was a forest but not a rain forest. Still, it has happened before.

Digger

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So did Massachusetts.
Jan 21, 2015 1:45AM PST

Massachusetts was pretty bare in the 1950's when oil heating began in earnest. Today, only 60 years later there's a lot more trees.

Turkeys are coming back too. Sadly some are in our legislature.
Bob

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OOOPS....NASA had a 'red face' over this....
Jan 18, 2015 4:24AM PST
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Thabks.
Jan 20, 2015 5:06AM PST

I hadn't yet read this. Interesting.

And nice to see how glad everybody is that the disaster has been postponed for another year.

Kees

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Just as long as it's the next generation that suffers.....
Jan 20, 2015 5:13AM PST

Some think that being "warmer"...REALLY warmer/tropical paradise is a good thing.

Let's suppose that everyone on the planet at the present time was able to transport themselves to the same "tropical paradise"...I think it might be a bit crowded. It's not likely that the entire planet would be classed as 'paradise"....Just as it can be too cold....it can also be too hot.

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This gives me hope
Jan 20, 2015 12:52AM PST

Although it might not happen fully in my lifetime, I can be happy if ever confirmed to be a lasting change, that the earth is headed back to becoming a tropical paradise, even Siberia teeming with life, like before. Some coastal and low lying islands might suffer, but so much other areas will become productive for food and living space, it will be a sum total plus.

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I just finished Tambora, and recommend it to all.
Jan 31, 2015 4:38AM PST

The author is clearly on the side of (1) global warming is real, and (2) it's largely man-made.
That's just in the nature of a disclaimer; his research on the volcano is first-rate.
It's the one in 1815 that caused the 'year of 1800-and-froze-to-death'.