I agree with Charles Ufford about global warming or cooling. The popular term of global warming is really a misnomer and the term climate change is better. The term global warming gets people focused on temperature when as Charles points out it is about a lot more. When scientists talk about climate change happening or not happening they are talking about the change happening over a short period of time not to be confused with a gradual climate change. Species like orchids can evolve to a gradual climate changes in rain pattern, temperature, and seasonal change. They have a harder time with more abrupt change. They just can't pick up and walk away from a habitat that is changing.
It is hard to predict the future especially with a system that has lots of variables. Scientists and people can come to different conclusions based on experience, knowledge and politics. The majority of scientists believe based on studies that there is a high likelihood that the climate will change rather abruptly and the main cause is human action. They believe that the likelihood of this possible abrupt climate change should require action by the world. Of course there are people and scientists (who are people too) that have varying ideas about the magnitude of the change, our ability to do something about it and whether we should care. The decision to take action or not take action on climate change does boil down to a cost/risk/value/benefit assessment. This is what the high school teacher in his video breaks down regardless of what we actually know of the outcome of climate change. The letter from a hundred scientists to the UN climate conference opposing the direction the UN is taking the world makes a similar argument but in the opposite direction. One statement “Balanced cost/benefit analyses provide no support for the introduction of global measures to cap and reduce energy consumption for the purpose of restricting CO2 emissions.” One thing that is wrapped up in the climate change argument but is not addressed by the above is sustainability. Sustainability is a big topic but in terms of climate change we are talking about the sustainability of producing energy, which is where all the CO2 is coming from. The world runs on fossil fuel. The use of fossil fuel is increasing exponentially as developing countries like China grow. Fossil fuel is a finite fuel on this planet and we will eventually run out. Where we are as far as reserves is questionable and depends on what you want to include as reserves. The question is do we want to drill for oil in places like Alaska, the coast of California and east Florida, and also strip mine up a good portion of Canada and other places for oil shale? When do you start conserving fossil fuels and start moving money towards other fuels? It basically comes down to a consensus on cost/risk/value/benefit. The better you understand the costs, the risks, the values and the benefits of an issue the better decision you will make. As far as climate change just being another good way to redistribute wealth from the first world countries to the third world countries. Human history is a good part just the continuing redistribution or preservation of wealth. I am sure the American Indians, the Aborigines, and many other indigenous people would have liked a say in wealth distribution. Weaker or third world countries often got the short end of the deal. Arab countries are probably the one exception though I'm sure it started out poorly for them also. When oil companies get tax breaks or logging companies get to buy tree below value and at a cost to governments this is a shifting of wealth from the public to the private. When the US finances its debt with the Chinese this is a transfer of wealth. Again it just comes down to a cost/risk/value/benefit assessment. Conservation is about valuing what you have, understanding the benefits and being willing to bear the cost of preservation or the cost of restoration if you didn’t understand the value and benefit in the first place. It is about being smart with the resources you have and your actions. Species including orchid species are disappearing at an alarming rate much at the hands of humans. I think if the public knew and understood the costs, risks, values and benefits of these species and habitat and how we impact them. We would make different choices. Mark _______________________________________________ the OrchidGuide Digest (OGD) orchids@orchidguide.com http://orchidguide.com/mailman/listinfo/orchids_orchidguide.com
