On Tue, Feb 8, 2011 at 12:44 PM, Ian Skinner <h...@ilsweb.com> wrote: > > On 2/8/2011 12:32 PM, Judah McAuley wrote: >> however, the direct link between the >> post-industrial revolution change in human activity and the subsequent >> changes in atmospheric composition seem compelling and broadly >> substantiated. > > And just as important. Even if future research proves that the current > warming change is 100% natural. That it is not and can not be > influenced by human activities. A 100% natural climate change is still > capable of having dramatic effects on humans and it will be easier to > address those changes earlier rather then later.
Well, if the current warming and change in atmospheric composition turned out to be utterly unaffected by the CO2 that humans are pumping into the atmosphere, it would follow that us not pumping that CO2 into the atmosphere would also not have an effect. The question is, do the gasses we are pumping into the atmosphere have an effect on the climate? It would seem quite likely that the answer is unambiguously yes. Are they the only potential factor? Unambiguously, no. Do they currently represent the dominant factor? That is the question of the moment and the research indicates that, yes, it is. There is debate but no alternate satisfactory explanation has been posited. Can we have a dampening effect on changes by changing our activities? The answer also seems to be yes. Some disagree and say that we've already moved beyond a tipping point into a new cycle that will feed back on itself sufficiently that not pumping CO2 into the atmosphere will not necessarily decrease the temperature. Most seem to agree that it would at least change the rates of change. It is a tough thing to model and predict, however, so there is a lot more to learn. Finally, I think it is worth pointing out that changing human activity can and has had a positive effect on the atmosphere. For years, the ozone hole in the southern hemisphere got bigger and bigger each year. Finally, against the wishes of industry-backed groups, the world came together to ban chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) used as propellants in spay cans and such. In the subsequent years, the ozone hole has stopped getting bigger and even started getting a little smaller. Industry survived just fine in spite of their protestations to the contrary. We came up with new and better alternatives. Those CFCs will be in the atmosphere for decades to come but things will gradually get better. Global climate change and regulation of CO2, Methane and similiar greenhouse gases is a much more complex problem. But we do have evidence on our side that we can modify our behavior, survive and thrive as economies and stabilize problems that threaten us. Something to keep in mind. Ju ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~| Order the Adobe Coldfusion Anthology now! http://www.amazon.com/Adobe-Coldfusion-Anthology/dp/1430272155/?tag=houseoffusion Archive: http://www.houseoffusion.com/groups/cf-community/message.cfm/messageid:334116 Subscription: http://www.houseoffusion.com/groups/cf-community/subscribe.cfm Unsubscribe: http://www.houseoffusion.com/groups/cf-community/unsubscribe.cfm
