Global Warming

[a_unique_person]

the thing global warming reminds me of is Y2k.

the sky is falling!

so much has happened to humanity and here we are. at one time there were around a thousand or less people. and here we are.

i'm not worried.

In what way is Y2K comparable to global warming? If you want to compare, find something comparable.

I thought that one of the greate achievements of civilisation was that people could reasonably expect to have a lifespan longer than about 30 years, and you could watch your children grow up, not have to bury half of them. Just because people in the past had to put up with massive suffering doesn't mean it's something is not to be worried about.

 

[Rolfe]

I'm not that worried for myself, as I have no children and don't expect to be around after 2050 or so at the outside.

But the longer-term outlook doesn't necessarily seem all that assured. We live in such a just-in-time civilisation that it would take very little to tip the city populations into hunger. And then, how many meals is a dog away from a wolf?

Rolfe.

 

[lenny]

Whether or not global warming is caused or increased by humans is almost a non-issue.

how does that possible follow: global warming and local environmental quality are certainly different issues. and each would be addressed in rather different ways.

but how do you conclude that determining whether or not human activity is having an impact to be a non-issue?

given that there will always be limtied resourses, what fraction would you use to target local pollution and what fraction to target global warming?

how would you answer that question without considering whether or not human activity was related to global warming?

-las

 

[lenny]

The main GW policy debate is over curtailing CO2, which is at historically low levels in the atmosphere.

do you have a scientific reference for the claim that CO2 is at historically low levels? was that really what you intended to post?

-las