Global Warming
By Paul Mays
07/05/07
Let me start from the aspect that all existing data shows that we are indeed seeing an increase in the average global temperature. So I contend it’s a real event that May over time change the face of the globe.
But I will not make this an emotional argument as many have. Lets speak science not religion. For those that want us to live in mud huts and let nature run wild have made it a B’leaf and damn the facts of the issue.
First Fact is that we have no idea what climate is the Best, and for Who. While if you enjoy laying about the beach in Florida on an 85 deg day of perfect sun, seems like this climate is Perfect. If your living in Sub Sierra Africa an your children are dieing because no crops will grow and you can’t find more than a few ounces of water a day might think the environment is not all that great as it is. Maybe the weather of the world might change and we find that now we can grow vast corn fields in northern Canada that could produce double the food as today in the mid west. Maybe this would mean that we could produce enough food to solve world hunger and save millions.
The point is that we have no clue on what is the Best environment.
Second Fact is that as we produce more CO2, photo synthetic plants and bacteria grow faster and product more O2. This also locks atmospheric CO2 into biomass which may, I emphasize May, better solve the issue of dwindling fossil fuel supplies. The point is that we have no idea what the unintended consequences would be if we take action without fully understanding what can be wrought by such actions.
This Religious view of the environment that some have taken tends to consider Humans as separate from nature, that we are some how not taken into account as an integral part of nature.
Let’s take a look at reality on a couple of aspects.
Alternate fuel vehicles sound good right?
Let’s use ethanol we can grow it and it produces far less hydrocarbons when burned in your new ride. Its also requires we convert millions of acres of farm land into producing fuel. This causes use to reduce the amount of available land to produce food. So when the cost of your food doubles, triples and quadruples so you can drive a tiny ethanol burning car , don’t blame anyone but those that wish to save what they don’t understand.
Let’s instead build Electric cars… Great! Absolutely no pollution right? Well not exactly. You see someone has to make the batteries which require all kinds of muck be produced as byproducts which must be disposed of during the process. Then to make them run for more than a couple of miles they must be made very light weight which means massive energy to be used to produce the plastics required to keep weight down. The production of which produces a half pound of nasty stuff for each pound of final product used in your new shiny plastic car. Then after a few years the batteries will need replacing. What would you suggest we do with Billions of pounds of deadly lithium and assorted toxic waste from the Millions of vehicles that need a battery change?
I could go on about solar power , tidal power, geothermal and the like but I’ll just let your mind consider the Unintended Consequences of each. But have no doubt that when you attempt to solve a problem that you actually do not fully understand there will be many Unintended Consequences.
So just consider that when one of the Preachers of this new Environmental Religion tell you that you need to buy a carbon offset, stop driving to the corner store, turn off the AC and sweat it out and hook a hose up to a cows rear end for the methane to heat your grass hut, take a hard look and the private jets they use to go shopping in Paris with and the millions of watts of power used to light the garden paths to there multi million dollar estates.
When you see them take the buss to the next speech and downsize into a 1 bedroom bungalow then listen to what they preach. Until then go out and crank up the BBQ, Turn on the porch lights, go for a long drive in your SUV and enjoy your summer, because I bet the preachers are having a hoot.
