57 replies to this topic

[RedAuthar]

Storms are the way nature reminds us that we cannot predict, control, or demand anything from it.

[Bakuda]

We're past a winter storm warning...for the first time in many years they've declared a blizzard warning for us. Still got power so that's good but with the freezing rain we've had there's no telling how long that'll last.

[Morgan]

We might be good here. I only hear wind and it looks pretty bright out. Yeah, they put us under blizzard warning late 2009, that was fun though, watching large amounts of snow blowing around.

The ice storm a week later....not so fun.

EDIT: Okay, wrong. It's bright out because the sun's reflecting off of the snow on the ground. At first glance it doesn't look like it's snowing right now though. Looks to be maybe an inch of snow, and some of it was blown into my porch room under the door.

[MistressAli]

All the big storms coming our way have seemed to miss us. Though apparently there's one heading this way this week... so we'll see if it strikes or not. Roads were kind of crappy this morning. Fortunately I don't have to work until Saturday so if it does hit, I can stay home. I finally got some snow tires this year though and so far they've been fantastic.

I agree with all hate for winter. Yeah, there's all the big problems like crappy roads, power outages, high heat cost and such, and there's tons of minor annoyances that add up to one good-for-nothing season. ><

[Vlad Yvhv]

I blame the environmentalists. We need to shoot 'em and toss 'em on a big ol' pile of burning tires and old fridges and aerosol cans... Stupid "stop global warming" movement...

[MistressAli]

Um, there's nothing wrong with wanting to protect the environment. The planet's the thing sustaining mankind, after all.

[furrykef]

I blame the environmentalists. We need to shoot 'em and toss 'em on a big ol' pile of burning tires and old fridges and aerosol cans... Stupid "stop global warming" movement...

Actually, global warming could be causing the problem. You want to shoot the people who are trying to solve the problem we're having.

[Vlad Yvhv]

Um, there's nothing wrong with wanting to protect the environment. The planet's the thing sustaining mankind, after all.

The cold sustains nothing. It's trying to kill us. So, we need to kill the cold before it can kill us. Simple matter of survival, there.

I blame the environmentalists. We need to shoot 'em and toss 'em on a big ol' pile of burning tires and old fridges and aerosol cans... Stupid "stop global warming" movement...

Actually, global warming could be causing the problem. You want to shoot the people who are trying to solve the problem we're having.

That's what they want you to think. It fails the logic test, though. Remember: These're the same nutjobs who want to do stuff like banning meat and forcing everyone to buy expensive vehicles and stuff... Ask most environmentalist if they're goinna replace your vehicle's engine with a "green" one for free and they'll look at you like you're crazy. If they really cared, they'd do it.

[furrykef]

That's what they want you to think. It fails the logic test, though.

Uhh... on what grounds?

Remember: These're the same nutjobs who want to do stuff like banning meat and forcing everyone to buy expensive vehicles and stuff...

I bet, if you discount the hippies and such, you won't find terribly much correlation between people who believe in combatting global climate change and those who believe in banning meat.

Considering that you're probably spouting off with having put minimal thought (let alone research) into what you're talking about, it sounds to me the nutjob here is you.

(EDIT: Wording reinstated. Don't change it again, acstrife. )

[acstrife]

That's what they want you to think. It fails the logic test, though.

Uhh... on what grounds?

Remember: These're the same nutjobs who want to do stuff like banning meat and forcing everyone to buy expensive vehicles and stuff...

I bet, if you discount the hippies and such, you won't find terribly much correlation between people who believe in combatting global climate change and those who believe in banning meat.

Considering that you're probably spouting off with having put minimal thought (let alone research) into what you're talking about, it sounds to me the nutjob here is you.

Furrykef, please refrain from name calling, its not good.

[MistressAli]

The cold sustains nothing. It's trying to kill us. So, we need to kill the cold before it can kill us. Simple matter of survival, there.

Well I hate cold too, but it does sustain the various animals who actually thrive in colder climates. It's only a matter of survival for humans, not them. That's why humans invented heating systems Or had the sense to live in the south, which is where I wish I was. 'Course, extreme heat is deadly for us too...

[Vlad Yvhv]

That's what they want you to think. It fails the logic test, though.

Uhh... on what grounds?

On the grounds that if global warming were true, we'd have warmer winters. Instead, they're perty much the same as they've always been around here...

Remember: These're the same nutjobs who want to do stuff like banning meat and forcing everyone to buy expensive vehicles and stuff...

I bet, if you discount the hippies and such, you won't find terribly much correlation between people who believe in combatting global climate change and those who believe in banning meat.

Considering that you're probably spouting off with having put minimal thought (let alone research) into what you're talking about, it sounds to me the nutjob here is you.

It depends on just how one defines "nutjob"... It seems that more liberal folk tend do tend to see me as a nutjob... Sometimes my thoughts get a bit ahead of current developments... Most everyone I talked to prior to the economic collapse though I was a nutjob in warning them about the nature of the economic set-up too... Now, many of them're sorry they didn't listen... So, the mods need not worry about people calling me a nutjob. I've become used to it...

Personally, I consider all of those rabid environmentalists to be nutjobs and hypocrites... Especially those with plans that would trap us poor folk in a catch-22 scenario. Among their plans that would result in such things is the whole "everyone is going to have to pay out the nose to buy a green vehicle, or pay out the nose for fines resulting in not buying a green vehicle" thing. As I stated before, this is insanity. If you expect to force people to make a change, you must be willing to provide the means of change. Otherwise, you're trying to screw them over...

The cold sustains nothing. It's trying to kill us. So, we need to kill the cold before it can kill us. Simple matter of survival, there.

Well I hate cold too, but it does sustain the various animals who actually thrive in colder climates. It's only a matter of survival for humans, not them. That's why humans invented heating systems Or had the sense to live in the south, which is where I wish I was. 'Course, extreme heat is deadly for us too...

Hey... My people used to live in the Georgia/Florida region, until the White Man stole the land from us and forcefully relocated us to this area...

[chief]

Damn us white people! Everything is our fault.

And actually Global Warming is a fact. It starts to affect the poles first, as look in the Northern ice caps. They are melting extremely fast. Also winter in my area has steadily been warming.

As for as your logic on how winters stay the same for you, actually thats semi true and semi false. You see Global warming doesn't mean the whole planet *warms* instantly. It causes severe weather changes first. For example that 3000 mile storm front that just hit most of the states. Doesn't have to be warm.

The planet its self naturally goes through these cycles anyways. We've been through at least 2 ice ages that we know about, as well as warmings. Its a natural event. However, yes, the carbon in the atmosphere is speeding this warming cycle up.

As for environmentalists being nutjobs.. Well, that really depends what groups you are talking about. Some are more "radical" groups that I will agree with you on. But others are not. Take David Suzuki for example. A lot of his groups research has done TONS of good. Also Green Peace. Without Green Peace there would be far more oil rid disasters, among other things. Groups like these are what pushes for safety features in things that could harm the environment. There are more radical groups that I would say go a bit over board, but for the most part most environmentalists believe in conservation and balance. Hell I know a few people that always go to those meetings held by people like Suzuki and so on, and they also hunt. Lumping the hole group into a right wing crazy bunch is just stupid in my opinion. Also if you decided to look more into the global affects of Global warming then just what you see in your own backyard you would notice them. There are reason why the polar countries are fighting over the north now. Thats because now that the ice caps are melting its opening up a ton of resources and new shipping lanes. Also its making it really hard to club seals..

[RedAuthar]

Truthfully, there is no true knowledge in any studies about Global Warming. There has never been anything like it before so all "facts" are scientifically guessed opinions based on the data. We will not really know if it is bad until something really bad happens.

[furrykef]

On the grounds that if global warming were true, we'd have warmer winters.

That's not logic, that's naivete.

Weather isn't as simple as "more heat makes everything warmer". It's a complex system that involves many variables that are very sensitive to change. It's not just how much sunlight is coming in, it's which parts of the planet are receiving more sunlight, as well as the distribution of clouds, gases, etc. etc., not to mention that the sun isn't shining on the whole planet at once, nor does every place on the planet receive sunlight at the same angle all year round.

Just because you find "global warming means warmer winters" to be more "logical" doesn't mean it's a sufficient refutation for the extensive research of many scientists. If you look at the history of science, you'll find time and again that ideas that are obvious often turn out to be wrong.

Truthfully, there is no true knowledge in any studies about Global Warming. There has never been anything like it before so all "facts" are scientifically guessed opinions based on the data.

All science is guesses. It's just a matter of how certain we can be of our guesses, how much data we have to back them up, how reliable the data seems, etc. -- though of course often we have enough data that the "guesses" are, for all intents and purposes, solid facts. How solid global climate change is, exactly, is not something that I know, but I know that there's enough evidence out there that you can't just ignore it.

[FreakyFilmFan4ever]

Global Warming seems to be driven by natural Earth cycles if you ask me. Sure, our Co2 gases probably aren't helping much, but I don't think humans caused global warming. back over 50 years ago, the Earth was gradually getting colder. It was literally called "Global Cooling", and it cut the growing season short by two months. This is a bad thing if you live in the northern parts of the world where it's not as warm as long for growing crops on a good year. But after a while, and for reasons completely unexplained, the world went back to normal.

There have also been "Global Warming" incidents back in England middle-ages, where the entire country froze over because a polar iceberg melted into an ocean current, cutting off tropical weather from coming up into the region. It was more epic than what we're seeing today, as many people just froze to death without the modern conveniences of electric or gas heating. And the world went back to normal after that, even to the other extreme of "global Cooling" back in the 1950's.

At best, most of these scary global warming predictions would result if weather elements kept escalating at the same level. But if we've learned anything from the past, it's that we haven't been actively recording the weather for as long as we should have been doing in order to make such grand predictions, the weather changes in an instant due to the "chaos theory", what we see now will probably not be the case 100 years from now, and that meteorologists can't even predict future weather patterns for any length of time over a week with any sense of accuracy.

I believe we need to take care of the Earth, yes. And any environmentally friendly advancements in technology is a very good step in that direction, as what we have now certainly isn't helping things. (Hello, BP.) But I think we're being too self-centered when we say that all of this unusual weather is solely our fault.

[henryiii]

Those who don't believe in global warming should spend a summer here in California. Every year I swear it's getting closer to just going outside for a sec will be enough for me to just get knock out by the immense heat outside.

Edit: Have you seen Venus lately? The reason it's the hottest planet in the Solor System is because of greenhouse gases and global warming. That's enough proof that this is a serious matter to consider.

[FreakyFilmFan4ever]

Edit: Have you seen Venus lately? The reason it's the hottest planet in the Solor System is because of greenhouse gases and global warming. That's enough proof that this is a serious matter to consider.

True. But it didn't get that way because people refused to drive eco-friendly cars. It's like that because it was always like that. You look at what's been recorded in Earth's history, and this planet has seen stuff like this before quite recently, and even went to the extreme in the other direction from time to time. ("Global Cooling" back in the 50's.)

Weather really just seems to be in bigger extremes right now. We've had the coldest winter in North Carolina for the first time in a long time. California seem really hot right now. And theories that somehow Co2 emissions in Hong Kong and the U.S. cause the O-Zone layer in the arctic to thin, which in turn somehow causes cancer in people in Australian don't really add up in the end.

We are seeing a global warming trend, but as far as scientists can see it's only a trend. Many of the dire predictions we have today are based on the assumption that things will continue to escalate like this without any of the unexpected natural changes in weather patters that always seem to thwart meteorologists whenever they can't seem to predict the weekend properly.

My point is that the Earth has seen this before. And it will probably see it again in the future, but only after giving scientists cause to scare us with some issue other than global warming. In another 50 years, we'd all probably will have forgotten about global warming and will be worrying about some other ill-explored natural phenomenon.

[chief]

Oh it has happened before. As I mentioned in my post we have had at least 2 ice ages and 2 warmings (big ones). This is a natural cycle. However I'm fairly sure we are speeding up the event and not not helping it any. Its true the more carbon stuck in the atmosphere causes issues with the heat trying to escape the planet.

[Vlad Yvhv]

The scientists can't prove any real quantifiable amount of acceleration... That may not mean that it doesn't exist, but it does mean that the environmentalists are jumping on a bandwagon that doesn't have any wheels and is being pulled by a flea. Remember all the people who jumped on the "vaccinations cause autism!" bandwagon? Perty much the same thing.

Now, I'm not saying that that means we can trash the planet... But, rather, that a lot of the measures that the environmentalists are pushing for are unnecessary, ineffective, and expensive. I'm giving them the benefit of the doubt by assuming that they've got mental health problems, instead of just being assholes...