Global Climate Change

I have resisted the urge to comment on this phenomenon until now for a number of reasons. The first is that I am not a climatologist nor am I a meteorologist. What I am is a person who has developed an opinion. My opinion has no more or less value than your opinion or anyone else’s. That having been said, here goes.

There is a contingent which reasons that our planet is warming to a degree that we soon will not be able to recover. They further opine that humans are the primary cause of this warming. They cite such things as greenhouse gasses caused by human excesses, burning fossil fuels, and mowing down the forests etc. The list is probably a lot longer because if a human is involved then it has to be bad. This group has the Hollywood elite and the media on their side. Because they are so loud they seem to be a much larger group than they truly are.

On the other hand, and there is always another hand, a vast number of people, scientists, educators, climatologists, and others say nonsense. Their belief seems to be that climate change is a normal function of the sun. Throughout earth’s history the climate has changed. There have been ice ages and there have been warming periods. It would appear that the earth has always been in a state of flux. There was very little human activity during the last ice age or the subsequent warming period. Survivors of these phenomena have learned to adapt. Our world as it is today is the result of flora and fauna adapting and changing.

So what to make of the debate? How does one decide? I have learned over the years to make decisions based on a simple process. If the left elite and the big media are for it, I am against it. If the Nobel Committee awards their once coveted peace prize or the Academy Awards confers their Oscar, my strong inclination is to steer clear of it. That simple method of reasoning has held me in good stead for my entire lifetime to date.

What is called global climate change is probably a scientific reality. What the left calls global warming is more of a religion. They even have chosen a high priest. None other than Al Gore. So convinced is this group of their opinion, no other explanation could have any plausibility. They may well be just another world-wide terrorist group. They certainly approach this issue in the same way fundamentalists approach their religion. A cursory examination of the evidence available on this continuing event however offers many possible causes other than human activity, but that doesn’t fit into this crowd’s pre-set dogma.

I have never advocated wasting anything especially the earth’s resources. I believe we are required to respect our environment and to protect it. Using overpriced mercury filled fluorescent light bulbs may well cause more harm than good. Using one square of toilet paper, as suggested by a well known folk singer, will do nothing more than soil underwear thereby causing extra wash water and soap. These are silly suggestions being offered by silly people.

In my final analysis, the earth was here millions of years before humans arrived and will be here millions of years after we are gone. Our presence may well be just another experiment of Nature. At any rate I further believe we have a good several thousand years before we have anything to worry about. Of the things we have to contend with, controlling the sun strikes me as a fool’s game. If you were in Minnesota today, like me you could well use some global warming.

Ron Scarbro March 2008