Quote:
Originally Posted by Overcast
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Here's how I look at it..
I think the 'truth' is that we do impact the environment - but not NEARLY to the degree that some would have us think.
I guess... I gotta look at it statistically.
The world has been here - some say for 4.5 Billion years.
We have been collecting climate data - that as least has some potential of 'accuracy' for maybe... 250 years? That's REALLY going out on a limb, considering people were still mostly farmers 250 years ago. But let's say 250 for the sake of this.
So we have about 0.000005555555555555556% of available data to base these 'assumptions' on.
I know there are computer models, tree rings, dirt layers, etc, etc - but we don't know all the variables that could have impacted that either. Or how does wood and soil potentially change after being in the middle of a tree or 50 foot under for 5,000 years.
Lot of unknowns.
Still - I think the truth, like most things, lies in the middle.
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What they do is dig in the old ice with trapped bubbles of air in it so they can compare CO2 PPM from 100k years ago.
Its really simple, theres a short term economic interest in makin people beleive that the greenhouse effect is a myth and some people eat it up. If you want to convince yourself that havin too much CO2 in the atmosphere is a serious threat you can take a look at venus, its a oven from hell.
It doesnt take a scientist to notice global warming even now, this summer this east coast heat wave was the worst heat i ever felt, native people are having to move because the permafrost theyve been living on for thousands of years is melting, no snow at christmas often when it was snowing in november as a child, the signs are there even when you dont look at hard data.
Bottom line is we should be careful about running experiments when we are all sitting in the experiment bottle. If theres a chance that greenhouse effect can raise 4 degrees celcius come 2100 we would be stupid not to try to deflect it and switch to clean energy.