2006, Year of Global Warming

Jeff Alworth

As is usual, we celebrate December 31st with the ritual of the naming.  Having sorted over the events of the past year, we identify the most important person, news event, sports story, drunken celebrity gaffe--whatever headlines our particular area of focus. I've done my sorting, and despite a near unanimous consensus on the major political stories of the year (Iraq and congressional scandals), I'd like to dissent.  The real story, which has both domestic and foreign policy ramifications, was that human-caused global warming finally became an accepted reality.

Credit Al Gore.  Before his presciently-named An Inconvenient Truth debuted last Spring, global warming merely loomed as a possibility most Americans were too alarmed to confront directly.  It was not on any politician's radar screen, and news stories--as Gore documented--recited global-warming-denying accounts in most stories.  The subject languished in a netherworld of fear and misinformation.  But at the end of 2007, it has become one of the major issues on the national agenda. 

I started tracking news trends in April, and a search of "global warming" turned up about 9,000 results.  That figure has doubled, and, far more importantly, stories no longer regularly cite discredited science casting doubt about the cause of global warming--instead, they document the developments of a warming world.  Latent worries about global warming at the beginning of the year have flowered into real worries now--a just-released AP poll found that 70% of Americans expect global warming to worsen next year.  Even Republicans have given up the junk science and admitted the obvious.

This is a critical change because global warming is the central public policy issue of the 21st Century--whether we realize it yet, or not.  It will affect every aspect of our lives, from where we get our electricity and how we move ourselves around our cities to the management of our lands and habitat and even to the availability of food and water.  The structure of our economy, based on fossil fuels for over a century, will have to change dramatically.  Foreign policy will also likely be dominated by the effects of global warming, as water reserves are challenged in heavily populated regions like India, famine becomes more widespread, and countries of the Middle East are confronted with shifting away from oil-based economies.  These policy ramifications aren't hypothetical; only the degrees are unknown.  They could be far worse than we imagine.

The politics of 2007 will depend on this huge shift in public awareness in 2006.  We know that the effects of global warming in the coming decades depend on the decisions we make now. This becomes the critical moment when we have the opportunity to reduce the worst damage; once the atmosphere is saturated with carbon, we can only manage the consequences.  At both the state and national level, Democrats have vowed to tackle global warming, and now that Americans believe it's a real issue, they may actually begin to make real progress.

In 2025, the Iraq war and the midterm election will be historical footnotes.  But we might look back at 2006 as the year we got serious about climate change--and see with more clarity what a big deal that was.

Update: For some reason, Typepad has determined that I am a spammer and won't let me comment--even on my own post.  However, in response to BlueNote's comments below ("I am still waiting to hear some solutions"), here are a few links to understanding and addressing global warming:

Union of Concerned Scientists
- General Info
- General Advice
- Ten Personal Solutions
- Sound Science Initiative (a cool thing)

Oregon Environmental Council
- General Info
- Drive Green
- Ten Ways to Reduce Global Warming

  • john smithson (unverified)
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    Al Gore thinks that N.Y. city will be almost totally under water within the next 10 or is it 15 years. You want to credit this Bafone with turning the tide on public opinion with regard to glorbal warming ? Just shows how out of touch you are with public opinion. Check out his presidential polls -- 7 % and declining !!

    The Earth is on track to increase its temp by 2 or 3 degrees in the next 100 years. Most of that increase will occur with night time averages, increasing the growing seasons !! Your forcast for disaster is only as accurate as the hurricane forcast for the Gulf for this 2006 season.

    Whatever happens to the Polar Bear population happens. We cannot stop that event. The temp on Mars is increasing at the same rate as that of the Earth's ........... go refigure.

    I am personally ashamed of my generation. The baby-boom generation is self indulgent and hyptocritical to a point well beyond the preceding generations. We gave the world rock and roll, the foul mouthed hippy and the older "don't hurt my feelings" tripe that has changed the course of American politics. This global warming debate is borne of the fear tactics of the baby boomers -- a methodology used by them to get their way.

    John Smithson

  • (Show?)

    You want to credit this Bafone with turning the tide on public opinion with regard to glorbal warming ? Just shows how out of touch you are with public opinion. Check out his presidential polls -- 7 % and declining !!

    Uh, yeah, I do. Gore's polling (perhaps damaged somewhat by the fact that he's not a candidate) has nothing to do with whether his campaign about global warming has been successful.

    Every time I post on the subject of global warming, a small group of deniers comes out of the woodwork to try to refute the science. Never, of course, by employing the arguments of science. I hope we can avoid that this time, but in any case, that's not the point I was trying to make in the post. Americans have rendered their judgment. Call it the result of scare tactics if it makes you feel better, but the result is the same--they're scared.

  • James (unverified)
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    It's sad really that people can deny the effects of global warming still. Another important fact that got pushed in the back pages of the news papers recently (not in the comic section wich it appears most of the people who have responded appear to get most of their worldly knowledge) An inhabited Island, Lohachara in the Bay of Bengal, has just been evacuated and now sits under water due to the effects global warming is having on rising sea levels (check out the article its kinda scary,news.independent.co.uk)

    Please people realize that global warming is real, it is here, and we will all die in the worst ways possible if we don't start changing.

  • lin qiao (unverified)
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    Apropos submerging New York City, that would require sea level rise associated with melting most of the land ice on Earth. It is a conceivable scenario if the Antarctic ice sheets are radically destabilized, but would take many decades. Neither Al Gore nor any rational scientist has made any claims about NYC being submerged any time soon.

    Readers interested in some short articles about climate change written for a general Earth-science audience can contact me, and I will provide PDFs. These would be from Eos, the weekly newsletter of the American Geophysical Union.

  • Joe12Pack (unverified)
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    The debate over global warming is over! Perhaps it is over in Al Gore's progressive echo chamber, but we still don't know to what degree human activity contributes to the current warming trend. I agree that we should aim to dramatically reduce emissions/pollutants worldwide and adopt far more eco-friendly habits, but some of us remain skeptical of global warming doomsday scenarios.

    Happy New Year!

  • Lynn Porter (unverified)
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    The debate is over among climate scientists. Who would you find more qualified to make such a decision?

    We are already seeing the effects in terms of melting polar ice and glaciers, drought, etc. It will get worse.

    There is a strong possibility it could get worse much faster than expected. In fact this is already happening. Changes such as melting ice are happening faster than the scientists' computer models had predicted. According to independent Eugene teacher Alder Fuller -- http://www.prototista.org -- the models have not sufficiently taken into account positive (self-reinforcing) feedback cycles. For example, ice melts, exposing darker sea water, which soaks up more of the sun's heat than the ice did, which increases global warming, which melts the ice faster, and so forth. There are many of these positive feedback cycles in the Earth's climate. Together they can create a self-accelerating change which could put us in big trouble fast. Alder says the models are being changed to include these cycles, making them more accurate.

    Somehow, if they want to survive, Americans have to get over their addiction to ignorance. We can't afford anti-intellectualism. Smart people are not always right, but they're more likely to be right than dumb people.

  • Brad Arnold (unverified)
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    It is worse than you think. As carbon sinks (forest, soil, and ocean) turn into carbon emitters, we will suffer rapid climate change and runaway global warming. The permafrost holds tremendous quantities of carbon, and when it melts (50% is expected to melt by 2050, 90% by 2100) the greenhouse gases will cause more to melt faster-this is called a feedback loop, and is NASTY. It has warmed the world fast in the past, and we are triggering it BIG TIME (much more rapidly than past triggers).

    By the way, the only solution is to remove the CO2 from the air after it has been emitted. I suggest using genetic engineering to improve nature's ability, and seeding a GMO into the ocean. Otherwise, by mid-century, Mother Nature will become a net contributor to global warming, whereas now she soaks up about half of our CO2.

  • BlueNote (unverified)
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    Like most people with an IQ above 40, I accept the truth of global warming. However, I am still waiting to hear some solutions. I live in a big house with a big furnace. I have 4 big cars downstairs in the garage. I am unlikely to embrace a solution that would have me and my family move to a mud hut. Technology has brought us to 2007, and hopefully it will carry us forward. I think one solution is building more nuclear power plants as fast as we can, even though that is an ugly concept to many of my fellow progressives.

    Stop the war NOW!

    Stop Hillary (bomb the brown people)Clinton NOW!

    Sadam died for his country. What have you done for yours?

  • lw (unverified)
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    Lynn, please don't call me dumb. After the last ice age, as the ice cap exposed more "darker sea water, which soaks up more of the sun's heat than the ice did" why didn't this warming cycle continue to cause the disasters you speculate will be forthcoming and destroy this planet? And do you have scientific evidence that on whole ice caps, glaciers absorb less solar energy than sea water with all its variables, density, salinity, etc?

    I am not say there is not global warming, but how much will my riding a bike (which I cannot do} instead driving my economical car really help with the dilemma. Even adding in the additional 2 billion humans that could ride their bikes more (assuming there is 1 billion who now only use bikes), this energy savings would be less than one-quarter of one percent in comparison to the recent energy increase from our sun.

  • T Rex (unverified)
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    Blue Note,

    Erm, why don't you become part of the solution? Four cars? That's a long way from a mud hut, my friend, and pretty close to conspicuous consumption. Are we supposed to be impressed?

    LW,

    I just checked outside to asked a dinosaur about your theory but couldn't find one. Isn't it great to think that a problem is so great that you can't do anything about it so that you might as well go right along doing the things you always did? Your grandchildren will thank you, no doubt.

  • TomCat (unverified)
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    Mr. Smithson, where do you make the connection between the percentage of people who favor Gore as a Presidential candidate and the accuracy of his data on global warming? Your logic is faulty. Perhaps the rating is low, because Gore has given no indication that he is a candidate. Now, if you want out of touch, here is out of touch:

    “We do not know how much effect natural fluctuations in climate may have had on warming. We do not know how much our climate could, or will change in the future. We do not know how fast change will occur, or even how some of our actions could impact it.” - G.W. "Big Oil" Bush

  • David (unverified)
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    In The 1970's It was the imminent ICE AGE. We decided That The Stream Beds were Too Debris strewn and That The Loggers were to Blame.So we Spent Kazillions Getting all The Debris out of the Streams and The Fish Runs Declined. Now We are Putting the stuff back into The Streambeds with Kazillions of Tax Dollars and The liberals are pushing Global warming as the cause of the day. Gosh POGO We have met the Enemy and They is Us.

  • kaz (unverified)
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    I think now 99.9% of scientists in the field agree that global warming is real. So there is no point in arguing this point any further.

    Some recent events that could be attributed to global warming.

    Here in Melbourne Australia we have now stage 3 water restrictions (no watering your lawn, washing the car, filling your pool etc)and the worst fires in known history in our state because of the lack of rain. If the situation does not change in April we will go to stage 4 restrictions which are more severe.

    Thre is hardly any snow in most of Europe and temperatures are above 0c which is unusual for this time of winter.

    The breakoff of a large glacier in Canada.

    The dissapearnace of an island below the sea near India.

    Since nobody can accuratly perdict the future, the point of contention is how severe it will be and how soon this will happen. Most prdictions are made by trends and the trend is that the warming of our planet is accelareting at a rapid pace, and at some stage in the future will reach a point of no return.

    If we want to have any chance of reversing this trend we must greatly reduce our direct and indirect energy use. Although in the future there may be technical solutions to increase energy efficiency and provide non poluting energy on a major scale, these may be too little too late and ultimatly the task rests with us.

    Everyone I am sure knows what is requred to do this - the problem is habbit and the lack of will to transform how we live our life, which is now fully supported (for majority of people on this planet) by the use of vast ammount of non renewable CO2 producing energy.

  • danielle (unverified)
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    i agree with most here. someone tell me what evidence there is that our planet is safe from human caused climate change. I know that natural forces can trigger cooling trends and temp. increase but overwelming data is staring everyone in the face - we are helping global warming along and just sitting there. If you've seen Al Gore's an inconvenient truth you've seen the frog jump into a pot of boiling water and jump straight out. But when the same frog jumps into cool water it will just sit there while it gets hotter and hotter.

    AL Gore made a very true point when he said we're like the frpg just sitting there while our environment heats up. It takes a sudden jolt to make us do something and that sudden jolt could be somthing BIG that everyone will regret.

    Sadly, we're willing to wait until that potential disaster hits us until we are ready to believe.

    Or... if you don't have a clue what the hell everyone is going on about just watch an inconvenient truth please.

  • Jeff (unverified)
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    I'm curious to know what we're all doing to lessen our carbon "footprint" and what political and environmental groups we'll be supporting in the new year.

    What steps are you taking to use renewable energy at home?

    Are you purchasing carbon offsets for your recent plane rides?

    Which local & national organizations that make global warming a priority are you supporting?

    And so forth.

  • djk (unverified)
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    After the last ice age, as the ice cap exposed more "darker sea water, which soaks up more of the sun's heat than the ice did" why didn't this warming cycle continue to cause the disasters you speculate will be forthcoming and destroy this planet?

    Because back then, there weren't several billion human beings dumping hundreds of millions of years worth of sequestered carbon into the atmosphere in just a few years to fuel internal combustion engines.

    As long as we're mining hydrocarbons instead of growing carbohydrates, the problem will continue.

  • ed (unverified)
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    Climate Change is not a liberal conspiracy: unless you count the Chinese government, Shell and Rupert Murdoch as liberals.

    In response to Jeff: woodchip/wood pellet fuelled boiler electricity from Ecotricity (UK wind farm builders) reedbeds to clean waste water from septic tank composting kitchen waste, paper and cardboard

    not flown much recently: once in 2000, once in 2005 (across Europe) considering offsets for car emissions, and what fuel system I want in next car once this one packs up.

    Organisations (UK): Permaculture Association, Campaign against Climate Change, People and Planet

    Permaculture is about designing sustainable ways of living and desert regeneration: I've been into it for years. I only got involved in the other two because of the lack of response by certain world 'leaders' to recent developments in climate science. We have to lead on this issue.

    Jeff perhaps you could post as well seeing as you asked the questions.

  • LoneWolf (unverified)
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    Did you hear the the joke about the American, Chinese, Englishman and starving African in a boat ten miles from land. The American punches a hole in the back of the boat next to the African. The Englishman starts bailing and asks the American and Chinese guy to help. The Chinese guy complains that it is his turn to enjoy the boat ride and he should not have to bail since he rowed. The American complains that he will not bail unless the Chinese guy bails. The African is to weak to bail and is going to drowned first since the boat is sinking at his end. The Englishman seeing the desperation of their plight repeatedly tries to get the American to bail, but the American insists the situation is not all that bad and there is still plenty of time to bail later, besides he is enjoying the boat trip too much to ruin the experience by bailing.

    The punch line : THEY ALL DROWN!

  • LoneWolf (unverified)
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    It is my own belief that we have already gone past the tipping point, since there is a lag time between the cause and effect of Climate Change. That does not mean that I believe it is too late to try and stop it, but rather that we are not getting out of this mess without paying a very high cost.

    So what can anyone do on an individual level? Well I challenged myself to reduce my carbon foot print by 50% and then spent the last two years trying to achieve it. I am now trying to find ways to cut the remaining 50% in half. So how did I do it? well before you do anything you need to figure out your present carbon foot print. Once I did that I did the following:

    I lowered my electrical usage by: replacing most of the bulbs in my house with Compact Florescent Bulbs; Unplugging my heated water bed and putting 5 heavy blankets down to insulate myself from the mattress; regularly cleaning the cooling coils of my refridgerator and keeping the freezer full (I put bottles of water in the freezer when the food runs low to act as a thermal mass); unplugged all appliances that are not in use like TVs in sleep mode and clock radios.

    I lowered my oil heating bill by: Adding another foot of insulation to the attic; Picking high efficency windows for my home; clearing furniture away from base board radiators (same would go for registers in homes heated by air); Planting bushes and trees to act as wind breaks on the northern side of the house; lowering the temperature setting on my hot water tank; lowering the setting for the house temperature; I also discovered the neat little trick of heating the house up and then shutting the furnace off for the rest of the day. Most forced hot water systems maintain a high boiler temperature to be on call, even though you lower your thermostat. In the Fall and Spring I can fire my boiler for a few hours to get my house temperature up to 68 F and then shut the system off for as long as two days before the temperature reaches 58 F.

    I lowered my gasoline usage by: Carefully planning my shopping so that I need to make only one trip to the store; Buying two or more weeks worth of food at a time to reduce trips; Walking when ever possible; Maintaining the car; Working at home if your job allows it; Car pooling if at all possible; Take public transportation if it is available; Make your next car a more energy efficent model;

    Other ways to lower your carbon foot print: Buy locally grown food and manufactured goods; Plant a garden and grow your own produce; Plant some fruit trees in your yard (they will suck up carbon as they grow and give you produce); choose energy efficent appliances; If your planning a long trip or vacation consider taking a train or bus instead of a plane or car (you can rent a car at your destination if you really need it).

    Human civilization has been around for more than 5,000 years and in that time we got along just fine without all the modern technology. A large part of the human race still does get along without much modern technology. Yet today we are so addicted to our technological world that even the thought of not having a cell phone is an inconvenience (I refuse to own one). Our ever increasing demand for more technology is what is driving the growing demand for energy. A hundred years ago very large families grew up in little farm houses and were comfortable. Now we need more than 2,000 square feet for a family of four and most of it for all the modern "Junk". The greatest irony of this over abundance is that we are less happy with our lives than our Grandparents generation. If we spent even 10% of the money people spend each year on modern gadgets and used it instead to insulate our homes, install storm windows, upgrade our heating systems or convert to alternative energy sources, then we could slow down Global Warming.

  • Peter Bray (unverified)
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    Here are the trends for SEARCHES on "global warming" (a more reliable barometer than search results containing such):

    http://www.google.com/trends?q=global+warming&ctab=0&geo=all&date=all

  • Lynn Porter (unverified)
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    "Two recent national polls, taken in the wake of An Inconvenient Truth' and mounting news coverage of heat waves and hurricanes, show the majority of Americans now see global warming as a personal threat." -- Katherine Ellison, Common Dreams, Dec. 23

  • Bob Tiernan (unverified)
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    Jeff Alworth:

    AP poll found that 70% of Americans expect global warming to worsen next year. Even Republicans have given up the junk science and admitted the obvious.

    Bob T:

    It's stupid to have been denying it all this time.

    What really matters is what's casuing it, and what, if anything, can be done.

    What I really hate is people taking advantage of this fact to push an agenda.

    Bob T

  • alantex (unverified)
    (Show?)

    Back before November's election, someone on Blue Oregon, tiring of the right-wing trolls who popped up and annoyed folks, pledged to make a contribution to Democratic candidates every time a troll sounded off.

    I, too, am disgusted by the global warming denier trolls (considerable overlap with the ordinary right-wing trolls, I believe) who barf on this blog all too regularly. So, I hereby pledge to make a contribution to the Sierra Club or the Natural Resources Defense Council every time a global warming denier troll pukes out that stuff here. That way, those trolls will know that their junk science and BS is just helping the organizations whose programs and ideals they despise.

    Both Sierra Club and NRDC are national organizations which have major efforts underway to get our government to do what any self-respecting government would have done about 1992 -- that is take major steps to reduce carbon emissions, including increasing transportation efficiency, a massive renewable energy building program, and major incentives to reduce home, commercial, and industrial energy use along with strictly and fairly enforced regulation (carrot and stick are both necessary).

  • Tom Civiletti (unverified)
    (Show?)

    Now that denying global warming makes one look goofy, naysayers are switching to minimizing the problem. The uncertainty of the science makes this possible, but it doesn't make it wise. Several climatic positive feedback loops have been identified in the scientific historical record, for instance, the effect of methane liberated from melting tundra. We cannot know if and when these mechanisms will cause very fast climate change. We do know that they are good possibilities. Ignoring the danger is not unlike sitting on a bomb and hoping that it is not going to explode. That is just what folks who are mostly concerned with maximizing short-term profits would have us do. Unfortunately, their economic power allows them tho buy relentless and sophisticated PR campaigns aimed at paralyzing public response to the problem.

    Gore is doing great public service, but we need an uncharacteristically responsible journalism to amplify and echo his message. That is hard to expect in this day of corporate controlled media outlets.

  • Karan (unverified)
    (Show?)

    Hi dear, How r u doing?

    Well, today I’ve found something, a news which would surely move you… will push you to think about it and ask others too to do the same. I can bet that! And yes, do suggest me if you think, it will help all and me. Please, I would request you here, to mail this stuff to all the people you know (your friends and relatives) and make them work on this… believe me – this thing won’t only help you or me but to your children and grandchildren and to all the generations to come. However, please lemme know, whatever do u think abt this mail on my links… awaiting your earliest response.

    The case:

    WWF website states: "By 2100, there may be no ice left in the Arctic in the summer and that means no polar bears. It explains, “Global warming, caused by fossil fuels - is all to blame”. Sources say, “Global Warming could cause Mass Extinctions by 2050!” Can we afford to lose these? Join me to call the world for help.

    Global warming – “An observed increase in the average temperature of the Earth’s atmosphere”. This is rapidly raising the sea levels. Now, the world's greater environmental challenge is fast becoming too hot to handle. Moreover, close is the world to disaster with ozone depletion. Every single individual will suffer the outcomes of Global Warming.

    Global warming is a threat that has gone unchecked for too long, a riveting story of climate change that has reshaped our planet's evolution & a bracing scenario of catastrophes brewing in the future. The changes are happening largely out of sight; all the same, they shouldn’t be out of mind. These aren't projections; they are facts on the ground. We are running out of time. All the facts demand urgent solution, & policymakers need to act before the problem gets out of control. It is not too late yet.

    Now, you must be thinking – What can I do from my side, Right? Well, there are many simple things you can do, which can have an instant effect on your immediate surroundings & on places as far away as Antarctica too. Here is a list of few things that you can do to make a difference!

    1. Replace frequently used light bulbs with compact fluorescent ones.
    2. Make sure your printer paper is 100% post consumer recycled paper.
    3. Keep the tires on your car adequately inflated and change car’s air filter monthly. Better, get a hybrid car or a fuel-efficient car and carpooling with friends & co-workers helps too.
    4. Move your heater thermostat down 2 degrees in winter & up 2 degrees in the summer and keep your water heater thermostat no higher than 120°F.
    5. Clean or replace dirty AC filters and get wind certificates & green tags. Buy products locally & reduce the amount of energy required to drive & yes purchase minimally packaged goods to reduce garbage. Purchase organic food & use cloth bags instead of plastic or paper bags to reduce waste. Weatherize your home & plant trees.
    6. Inefficient old appliances waste energy, replace them. Electronic devices use energy even when turned off so unplug them.
    7. Insulate your Home & switch to double pane windows to keep more heat inside your home. Air-dry your clothes instead of using the dryer. You will find more information on http://www.weblobbying.com/Lobbies/default.asp?Lid=474 . Well, fact is that we are running out of time! Is the society aware of the seriousness of the global warning called Global Warming? The changes are happening largely out of sight. Nevertheless, they shouldn't be out of mind, because they are omens of what's in store for the rest of the planet. To alter fundamentally the trajectory of global greenhouse emissions, it is going to take a tremendous & concentrated global effort. So, make your move, step forward & contribute your share at http://www.weblobbying.com/Lobbies/default.asp?Lid=474
      Our children, grand children, & generations to come will bear the consequences of choices that we make, now. We may perhaps destroy whole nations & their cultures that have existed for thousands of years! Can we afford to lose the precious gift of Wild life of varied species on poles and do you think we are prepared to suffer the consequences? Please help save our Mother Earth from the disastrous effects of global warming before its too late! It is our hope that your action, awareness & empowerment can make a difference & help stop global warming. Take Action now!

    Your well-wisher and friend, Karan Kapoor.

  • Karan (unverified)
    (Show?)

    Hi dear, How r u doing?

    Well, today I’ve found something, a news which would surely move you… will push you to think about it and ask others too to do the same. I can bet that! And yes, do suggest me if you think, it will help all and me. Please, I would request you here, to mail this stuff to all the people you know (your friends and relatives) and make them work on this… believe me – this thing won’t only help you or me but to your children and grandchildren and to all the generations to come. However, please lemme know, whatever do u think abt this mail on my links… awaiting your earliest response.

    The case:

    WWF website states: "By 2100, there may be no ice left in the Arctic in the summer and that means no polar bears. It explains, “Global warming, caused by fossil fuels - is all to blame”. Sources say, “Global Warming could cause Mass Extinctions by 2050!” Can we afford to lose these? Join me to call the world for help.

    Global warming – “An observed increase in the average temperature of the Earth’s atmosphere”. This is rapidly raising the sea levels. Now, the world's greater environmental challenge is fast becoming too hot to handle. Moreover, close is the world to disaster with ozone depletion. Every single individual will suffer the outcomes of Global Warming.

    Global warming is a threat that has gone unchecked for too long, a riveting story of climate change that has reshaped our planet's evolution & a bracing scenario of catastrophes brewing in the future. The changes are happening largely out of sight; all the same, they shouldn’t be out of mind. These aren't projections; they are facts on the ground. We are running out of time. All the facts demand urgent solution, & policymakers need to act before the problem gets out of control. It is not too late yet.

    Now, you must be thinking – What can I do from my side, Right? Well, there are many simple things you can do, which can have an instant effect on your immediate surroundings & on places as far away as Antarctica too. Here is a list of few things that you can do to make a difference!

    1. Replace frequently used light bulbs with compact fluorescent ones.
    2. Make sure your printer paper is 100% post consumer recycled paper.
    3. Keep the tires on your car adequately inflated and change car’s air filter monthly. Better, get a hybrid car or a fuel-efficient car and carpooling with friends & co-workers helps too.
    4. Move your heater thermostat down 2 degrees in winter & up 2 degrees in the summer and keep your water heater thermostat no higher than 120°F.
    5. Clean or replace dirty AC filters and get wind certificates & green tags. Buy products locally & reduce the amount of energy required to drive & yes purchase minimally packaged goods to reduce garbage. Purchase organic food & use cloth bags instead of plastic or paper bags to reduce waste. Weatherize your home & plant trees.
    6. Inefficient old appliances waste energy, replace them. Electronic devices use energy even when turned off so unplug them.
    7. Insulate your Home & switch to double pane windows to keep more heat inside your home. Air-dry your clothes instead of using the dryer. You will find more information on http://www.weblobbying.com/Lobbies/default.asp?Lid=474 . Well, fact is that we are running out of time! Is the society aware of the seriousness of the global warning called Global Warming? The changes are happening largely out of sight. Nevertheless, they shouldn't be out of mind, because they are omens of what's in store for the rest of the planet. To alter fundamentally the trajectory of global greenhouse emissions, it is going to take a tremendous & concentrated global effort. So, make your move, step forward & contribute your share at http://www.weblobbying.com/Lobbies/default.asp?Lid=474
      Our children, grand children, & generations to come will bear the consequences of choices that we make, now. We may perhaps destroy whole nations & their cultures that have existed for thousands of years! Can we afford to lose the precious gift of Wild life of varied species on poles and do you think we are prepared to suffer the consequences? Please help save our Mother Earth from the disastrous effects of global warming before its too late! It is our hope that your action, awareness & empowerment can make a difference & help stop global warming. Take Action now!

    Your well-wisher and friend, Karan Kapoor.

  • Madame M (unverified)
    (Show?)

    How come progressives encourage debate on all issues EXCEPT CLIMATE CHANGE

    Record Snowfall Buries Anchorage

    Everything Old is New Again

    Still, the transformation of ancient Earth documented by Montanez and her colleagues makes the current spate of extreme weather events — extended droughts, killing heat waves and powerful hurricane seasons — appear mild by comparison.

    Maybe Democratic fearmongering is the New Black?

  • Senor T (unverified)
    (Show?)

    Did y'all read that Los Angeles is expecting RECORD ALL-TIME LOW TEMPERATURES this weekend. Of course, that's just one city and we wouldn't want to extrapolate from there. At the risk of confusing weather and climate (like Albert Bore) What do all of the minus signs represent on this temperature map?.

    I sure hope that Global Warming kicks in soon, cause it's awfully cold across the U.S.A. tonight.

  • Eric (unverified)
    (Show?)

    Karan-

    Thanks for your great suggestions, but I don't think they go far enough. Remember, the idea is to drive society back into the dark ages so that they will be dependent on the system to solve their problems, a system that will, luckily for them, be run by really smart progressives like us. So, here is my revised list of your suggestions.

    1. Replace frequently used light bulbs with compact fluorescent ones.
    2. Remove light bulbs, crush and mix with ONLY organic hippie baby formula, feed to tiny liberals.

    3. Make sure your printer paper is 100% post consumer recycled paper.

    4. What is so important that you need to print, the world is ending anyway, eat your paper and drink your ink.

    5. Keep the tires on your car adequately inflated and change car’s air filter monthly. Better, get a hybrid car or a fuel-efficient car and carpooling with friends & co-workers helps too.

    6. Quit your job and start a commune, trade in your car for a school bus and paint different colors, live in it with other hippies and complain about the system.

    7. Move your heater thermostat down 2 degrees in winter & up 2 degrees in the summer and keep your water heater thermostat no higher than 120°F.

    8. If cold in the winter have a love-in and use body heat. For summer, prance around naked, preferably to a drum circle. Don't use water as it could be used for showers, etc.

    9. Clean or replace dirty AC filters and get wind certificates & green tags. Buy products locally & reduce the amount of energy required to drive & yes purchase minimally packaged goods to reduce garbage. Purchase organic food & use cloth bags instead of plastic or paper bags to reduce waste. Weatherize your home & plant trees.

    10. Blah Blah Blah.. if you own a home you are most likely a facsict capatalist scum.

    11. Inefficient old appliances waste energy, replace them. Electronic devices use energy even when turned off so unplug them.

    12. Yep Yep, throw em all away into a landfill where they are out of sight out of mind, just like your critical thinking skills.

    13. Insulate your Home & switch to double pane windows to keep more heat inside your home. Air-dry your clothes instead of using the dryer.

    14. Capatalist Scum! Give that home to needy opressed lesbian black midgets because they need it more than you and make sure to hang your head and apologize to them on the way out the door for all the opression your people has put on them.

    Madame M -

    Debate? Global Warming Deniers are not smart enough to understand what they deny, send them to Nuremburg.

    Senor T -

    Reference above statement, you just can't understand in your Global Warming Denier mind that the cold temperatures are also caused by Global Warming and they really aren't cold at all.

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