Global Warming? New Data Shows Ice Is Back

reply to post by Keyhole


The ice that melted off the arctic shelf proceeded to move down south to Antarctica.

Does this mean climate change is not happening? No.

The main problem with greenhouse gas studies and estimates is that the effects of carbon etc released 20 or more years ago are being felt now.

That means in 10 years time we will be experiencing the effects of our actions in the 80s and 90s.

At that point, we hadn't used anywhere near the same amount of fossil fuels as we do now.

China passed the US in greenhouse gas emissions in 2007. That's a truly scary fact. One of the most populated countries in the world is industrializing with no end in sight.

Point being, ice does not directly correlate to everything that happens in a climate change episode.

Global warming happened before the "little ice age" a few hundred years ago.

That is where I think we are headed. Our planet will warm a few degrees, then we'll be thrust into a mini ice age (or worse). A few degrees rise changes the dynamic of pretty much every ecological cycle on this planet.

When we do see a rise in temperatures, we will see immediate effects such as: more precipitation in rain forests, less in drylands, worse cyclones/hurricanes, etc. Basically weather will become more extreme.

At some point, the planet will cool itself down due to another cycle kicking in (feedback loop is what they're called).

In my opinion, we are seeing a large shift in historical weather. Does that mean is 100% human impacted? No, but does that mean we can continue destroying the planet regardless of the consequences? No.

We need to act.

A few solutions:

1). Plant more trees

A huge carbon sink is our plants on this planet. Instead of carbon being in the atmosphere, plants transfix it into the soil and also hold it in their bodies as biomass.
(carbon sinks include the oceans, fossil fuels- until recently, soils, biomass, and the atmosphere).

However, there is a limit to how much these carbon sinks can hold. Once the threshold is met, there is no telling what will happen.

2). Stop burning fossil fuels

There are countless alternatives to using fossil fuels as an energy source.

To name a few for autmobiles: Biodiesel made from; Hemp, Switchgrass, Corn/Soybeans- not a great source, algae, wood pulp, and many more.

Alcohol can be used in diesel engines as well.

We can use solar powered cars.

Now to provide for our energy production: Wind power plants in the Midwest can supply the entire country with power. If we used something like 1/4 of the state of South Dakota for wind power we'd be able to generate enough electricity for the entire country plus some.

Offshore wind plants would work essentially 24/7 365...

We can harness the power of the tides using underwater 'wind' generators (they work in essentially the same manner, water passes by the turbines and it generates power).

Solar power can be used in the West where we receive 300 days of sunlight per year.

Geothermal can be used in places where high temperature water reaches the surface. We can also use this water to heat homes.

There are so many viable options its not even funny. Now that solar and wind power are becoming more efficient, this is a real possibility. There was an article about scientists creating the darkest black ever that can be used in solar panels to generate electricity. A much higher spectrum of light can be harnessed with this new invention.

I can't even think of all the alternative energy systems available, these are just the 'mainstream.'

I am against nuclear power, though. We don't need to get into that.

3). Food production needs to remain local

We would still trade for products that are produced in a certain area, but our agriculture systems (land use in general actually) have been a large source of pollution.

If we all have a small scale vegetable/herb garden in our backyards, the strain on food production will be significantly less.

I am not asking everyone in the world to be a farmer. If we use common sense, we'll make it.

I can't come up with anything else to do at the moment, but that really is the million dollar question.

What do we do to fix this planet of ours?

The answers are infinite.

The main problem comes down to money and the will to make changes.

What will you do to help the planet live?

[edit on 2/20/2008 by biggie smalls]

Didn't they unearth a woolly mammoth in Russia that was flash frozen with tropical plants still undigested in it's stomach? I thought I read something along those lines a few years ago.

reply to post by biggie smalls


Can no one refute my claims?

I guess taking this climate change class is paying off

Whether or not we're at fault, there is something to be done.

[edit on 2/20/2008 by biggie smalls]

Originally posted by biggie smalls

Global warming happened before the "little ice age" a few hundred years ago.

That is where I think we are headed. Our planet will warm a few degrees, then we'll be thrust into a mini ice age (or worse).

I agree with you!

This is another thread I started, Sun Stays Sluggish as Weathermen Fight for Anti-Ice Age Funding where some scientists also believe that if the sun doesn't begin its new cycle soon that we may be heading towards Global Cooling real soon.

The Sun Also Sets

Solar activity fluctuates in an 11-year cycle. But so far in this cycle, the sun has been disturbingly quiet. The lack of increased activity could signal the beginning of what is known as a Maunder Minimum, an event which occurs every couple of centuries and can last as long as a century.

Such an event occurred in the 17th century. The observation of sunspots showed extraordinarily low levels of magnetism on the sun, with little or no 11-year cycle.

This solar hibernation corresponded with a period of bitter cold that began around 1650 and lasted, with intermittent spikes of warming, until 1715. Frigid winters and cold summers during that period led to massive crop failures, famine and death in Northern Europe.

NASA: Solar Cycle May Cause “Dangerous” Global Cooling in a Few Years Time

Today, the Space and Science Research Center, (SSRC) in Orlando, Florida announces that it has confirmed the recent web announcement of NASA solar physicists that there are substantial changes occurring in the sun’s surface. The SSRC has further researched these changes and has concluded they will bring about the next climate change to one of a long lasting cold era.

All records of sunspot counts and other proxies of solar activity going back 6,000 years clearly validates our own findings that when we have sunspot counts lower then 50 it means only one thing - an intense cold climate, globally. NASA says the solar cycle 25, the one after the next that starts this spring will be at 50 or lower.

****SKIP****

What we are saying today is that my own research and that of the other scientists at the SSRC verifies that NASA is right about one thing – a solar cycle of 50 or lower is headed our way. With this next solar minimum predicted by NASA, what I call a “solar hibernation,” the SSRC forecasts a much colder Earth just as it has transpired before for thousands of years. If NASA is the more accurate on the schedule, then we may see even warmer temperatures before the bottom falls out. If the SSRC and other scientists around the world are correct then we have only a few years to prepare before 20-30 years of lasting and possibly dangerous cold arrive.”

I believe this little warming trend may just be the begining of a cooling trend for the planet.

[edit on 22/2/08 by Keyhole]

What I'm wondering and I believe several other people are, is how will our climate change if the sun is dimmer (corresponding with less sunspot activity) but the level of greenhouse gases is higher than normal? Obviously a change in your heat source (the sun) can and does have a major impact on how warm the planet is. I'm just not sure how much the increased level of greenhouse gases will counteract a dimmer sun.

In a few years if we find out that the brightness of the sun has a greater influence on global temperatures than the level of greenhouse gases, we may want to pump out more greenhouse gases but by that time it may be too late to stop the cold. I find reports of this winter in the northern hemisphere to be a lot colder than normal to be disturbing since it is occuring at the same time as the sun is dimmer. On the bright side, I'll be happy if summer time temperatures are cooler than normal.

Ya know with all of the talk with global???????????????
do what we do out in the country. You know dirt roads,farms & the like. let the world have there fun and misguidings right or wrong life still goes on. Take a break relax turn off the electricty & enjoy life.
Expirence life, wittness a farm animal giving birth it puts things into normal balance and remember your just 1 pce. of sand on a beach with billions of other pices.
With that good night. I'am turning off my computer, bottle feeding a new goat,checking on my kids & going to sleep.