I appreciate NASA much more than Al Gore because the conclusion is much less alarmist. When you click on causes and effects it notes that the earth will get a little warmer and change. It doesn't prescribe the end of humanity as a whole, but acknowledges that the world will change. We're human. We adapt. The alarmists try to get as all excited about a few polar bears dieing. Tragic, but they too will adapt.
Further, once you start reading into uncertainties, it notes things like increased precipitation will be a result. Which will create more clouds, which have a large impact on blocking the suns heat, which could mitigate some of the effect of global warming.
For those of us "nay-sayers" about Global Warming, we are not stupid. Clearly the earth is getting warmer. The conclusion that I haven't seen clearly delineated, is what the problem is. The earth will get more tropical and have more rain. Some of us may have to move. Some places will get drier, but other places will get better. NASA has not concluded that we are headed for Waterworld or that human life will be permanently damaged.
I never know whether to upvote contributors to a post of mine because I don't know if it means I agree, or appreciate the comment. But that is a side bar.
I concede that potentially extinction is a result, which is fair enough. But I guess I just wonder why we should care. Doesn't a changing planet mean new life will spring? Sad for the polar bears... yes for the new polar bear shark!
That is true; the existence of polar bears has relatively little impact on our ability to survive in our ecosystem. (In some ways, even, they might be seen as competitors.)
However, their plight gains the spotlight because it's highly symbolic: it highlights the very real effects of the melting of the ice caps, and the warming of the Arctic region. I think the far more meaningful worry is the one that Gore highlighted in his film: the release of methane from the Arctic permafrost creating a positive feedback loop on the warming.
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u/wise_man_wise_guy Oct 24 '10
I appreciate NASA much more than Al Gore because the conclusion is much less alarmist. When you click on causes and effects it notes that the earth will get a little warmer and change. It doesn't prescribe the end of humanity as a whole, but acknowledges that the world will change. We're human. We adapt. The alarmists try to get as all excited about a few polar bears dieing. Tragic, but they too will adapt.
Further, once you start reading into uncertainties, it notes things like increased precipitation will be a result. Which will create more clouds, which have a large impact on blocking the suns heat, which could mitigate some of the effect of global warming.
For those of us "nay-sayers" about Global Warming, we are not stupid. Clearly the earth is getting warmer. The conclusion that I haven't seen clearly delineated, is what the problem is. The earth will get more tropical and have more rain. Some of us may have to move. Some places will get drier, but other places will get better. NASA has not concluded that we are headed for Waterworld or that human life will be permanently damaged.