Incontrovertible Facts
In an long and rancorous interview with Slate the Heirophant of Global Warming, Al Gore, was less than pleased to be asked about the Medieval Warm Period and the Climate Research Unit’s (CRU) falsification of data to hide or refute its existence.
I haven’t read those e-mails in detail, but the larger point is that there are cyclical changes in the climate and they are fairly well-understood, and all of them are included in the scientific consensus. When you look at what has happened over the last few decades the natural fluctuations point in the opposite direction of what has actually occurred. When they run the models and plug in the man-made pollution, the correspondence is exact. Beyond that, the scale of natural fluctuations has now been far exceeded by the impact of man-made global warming.
And again, we’re putting 90 million tons of it into the air today and we’ll put a little more of that up there tomorrow. The physical relationship between CO2 molecules and the atmosphere and the trapping of heat is as well-established as gravity, for God’s sakes. It’s not some mystery. One hundred and fifty years ago this year, John Tyndall discovered CO2 traps heat, and that was the same year the first oil well was drilled in Pennsylvania. The oil industry has outpaced the building of a public consensus of the implications of climate science.
But the basic facts are incontrovertible. What do they think happens when we put 90 million tons up there every day? Is there some magic wand they can wave on it and presto!—physics is overturned and carbon dioxide doesn’t trap heat anymore? And when we see all these things happening on the Earth itself, what in the hell do they think is causing it? The scientists have long held that the evidence in their considered word is “unequivocal,” which has been endorsed by every national academy of science in every major country in the entire world.
— Al Gore
Slate interview, December 8, 2009
Mr. Gore does have one thing right – the basic facts are incontrovertible. Sadly for him and his cultists, however, those incontrovertible facts do not support his wild claims.
The fact in question is that there is conflicting evidence on the effectiveness of CO2 as a greenhouse gas. While nobody with any grounding in science would dispute John Tyndall’s basic findings, the levels of CO2 necessary to cause Global Warming are still quite in doubt due to the paleo record.
The Ordovician Ice Age
The Ordovician ice age happened 450 million years ago, and lasted a “mere” 300 – 500 thousand years (0.3 – 0.5 million years) but was apparent very bitter. It is generally credited with causing the Ordovician–Silurian extinction event, the third largest of the five major extinction events in Earth’s history in terms of percentage of genera that died off and second largest in the overall loss of life.
Yet, according to Al Gore and his cultists, the Warmists, the Ordovician ice age and resulting mass extinction should not have happened since it was “scientifically impossible.” This is because during the Late Ordovician period, atmospheric carbon dioxide levels are believed to have been 8 – 20 times (3120 – 7800 ppm) what we have now (390 ppm). Yet, for some reason or reasons, the Earth went into a devastating ice age.
To this date scientists have not even a beginning of a consensus as to how the Ordovician ice age happened or what caused it.
What In The Hell Do They Think Is Causing It?
Mr. Gore demands to know, “what in the hell do they think is causing it?”
The answer is of course – assuming that we should in the light of the shoddy work, fraud, and academic corruption even begin to trust the data saying that it is happening in the first place – that we don’t know and neither do you and your cultists!
Maybe someone should try to objectively find out instead of taking actions based upon agenda-driven fraud and blind faith.
Tags: Al Gore | Climate Change | CO2 | Global Warming | Lies | Ordovician Ice Age | Politics | Science | The Environment | Truth
December 11th, 2009 at 2:06 pm
I am neither a scientist, nor extremely well informed about the Ordovician or any other ice age for that matter. I do try to learn as much as possible, and just feel like giving my 2 cents on the subject … or probably more accurately, about a half a cent on the subject.
For a warming effect to occur, assuming that the sun is the culprit, a transparency needs to be introduced into the atmosphere that allows heat to enter but not to leave. For a cooling effect, the goal is to block out as much of the sun as possible where more blockage provides more cooling. This doesn’t take into account any internal attributes to temperature, such as ocean currents and magma flows, but it is my understanding that the sun generally plays a greater role in earth’s temperature shifts.
CO2 is one of those items that has been proven as a warming agent in laboratory experiments. While the Ordovician ice age may have had high concentrations of CO2, that doesn’t imply that other atmospheric elements weren’t present to counter them, such as soot from greater than average volcano activity. Again, I am no expert, nor do I know that volcanoes were even active prior to this particular ice age, I am simply offering a hypothetical explanation rather than a factual one.
Once again, I return to my original stance. Where is the harm in living a cleaner life? Why is there such resistance to holding companies responsible for their pollution? I am sure you wouldn’t want your local companies dumping their garbage on the side of the streets, even if they promise cheaper manufactured goods, so why are you defending them here? Global warming aside, their pollution undoubtedly effects your surroundings directly. The CO2 is just one aspect of it. By burning fossil fuels without any respect for the environment, they are destroying the planet little by little.
Logic alone has convinced me that their CO2 emissions are slowly warming the planet. While it may not be as drastic as some environmentalists claim, it is enough to destroy our understanding of life on earth in a relatively short period of time. Why are you helping those that care nothing for you, the planet, or anything aside from their wallets?
December 11th, 2009 at 5:17 pm
Actually, zhann, the volcanic activity during the end of the Ordovician Period was low. It had been quite high beforehand, which is why there was so much CO2 in the atmosphere. In any case, there’s no scientific consensus on the cause of the ice age.
Yeah, like it or not, I’m a bit of a paleontologist and geologist due to previous work history with the USFW, USGS, and NOAA. 😉
As to why I’m “defending them here” – I’m defending everyone from the poorly thought measures that that the Warmists want to force upon all of us. There’s a huge difference between wanting people, companies, and societies to behave with a certain level of ecological responsibility and taking drastic measures to curtail a single chemical emission, the global effects of which are still in doubt.
I’m perfectly willing to support anyone who wants to take a more measured and rational approach to CO2 emissions – if it’s in the context of a more well-rounded or holistic model of environmental stewardship.