I don't think anyone here is suggesting that the climate is not changing (Variable?). And I agree that the sensationalism is making more os us sceptical.
What we are doubting is
a) The reasons
b) What we do about it.
Most of us agree that we are too dependant on oil/gas etc. We will all change when we can.
The climate has always been changing and always will, the issue is are we causing it, and despite what all the climatologists say and despite what computer models are used, they are based on a hundred years or so of mildly accurate data.
We know for a fact that when the Vikings went to Iceland & Greenland it was much warme and the prevailing winds across the Altlantic were Easterlies!
We know for a fact that in the 1410's & 20's there was no sea ice at all in the Arctic, the Chineese sailed the North East Passage then ( anyone who doubts this read the voyages of Zhou Wen, his accurate maps (almost 100% accurate( of the land in North Russia) also sailed to the North Pole his records of star observations and maps exist today. Plus Chineese DNA evidence in Greenland
So then we had the mini ice age & now we are coming out of it.
All not very surprising, and I'm sure all very natural.
So are wewarming it up - maybe, but if so it may be a good idea!
BTW only a microscopic percentage of the CO2 in the atmoshpere is man made, virtually all of it is naturally produced!
We Know that round about 10,000 years ago we were in an ice age; fact, no one disputes that. So since then it's obviously got warmer.
If anyone is interested just type "ice age" into a search a search engine and there is a stack of information there.
From ice core drilling samples; we know that over the last 400,000 years there have been 4 more warm periods at approximately 100,000 year intervals. It takes about 10,000 years for the earth to warm up and then it takes another 10,000 years to cool down.
The first bit of bad news boys and girls is that we are pretty close to the peak now so sooner or later it will start cooling down, We won't notice much because as I said it will take about 10,000 years but the really bad news is that it will stay cold for the following 80,000 years before it starts warming up again. Boating will be out, sledging will be in!
The above table is data obtained from the Vostok ice core and it can be seen that at the last four peaks the temperature was warmer than now and from the current peak it is possible that we are already cooling down.
You will also see that CO2 was peaking at the last four temperture peaks to similar levels to now.
Climate change...hmmm yep, funny old thing, as many have said here, it happens. The earth is a living thing that always has and always will go through changes good and bad.
Do we contribute? yes I think we do, but, it seems to me that good old Stalin (Brown) and Lucifer (Blair) have jumped on the band wagon no doubt offering large amounts of funding to scientific parties to produce independent and unbiased reports of impending climate doom. (Scientists know where their bread is buttered too) Therefore what a lovely way to, wait for it, increase taxes, Wahey!
Instead of spouting all this nosense as a reason to steal more money from us and lock us in our homes in poverty why not be a tad more proactive, I can't remember the exact figures, but I belive deforestation occurs at the rate of approx two football pitches an hour. That makes a hell of a bigger difference on climate change than me driving to the marina or keeping warm at night.
The truth is out there, starts about 15 miles offshore, peace and at one with the world, just a tad wet and wndy right now.
The important point to note about the vostok ice core graphs is that the temperature increase predates the increased co2 levels`by 400 to 4000 years. It is not the defining evidence that everyone is looking for i.e that increased co2 levels is the primary forcing agent in global warming. The IPCC based that on a couple of 19th century mathematicians who produced the Stefan-Boltzmann equation with all its variables. The latest IPCC report uses language that is not very scientific ie. "likely" "very likely" "high confidence". It is interesting to note that 500 learned gentlemen in NewYork got together back in April and signed what was called the Manhatten Declaration which basically said "Hold it guys let us all look at the facts again" "Are we really going in the right direction?" Not much about that in the papers! But then it is the job of the media to promote a climate of fear and not a sensible debate.
But really we should not be throwing all this rubbish into our atmosphere and even more importantly should not be planning to increase our population by 50% by 2050. There will be no room in the Solent!
I think if we are heading for another Ice Age in the next few thousand years it will not bother me unduly, or my son or any possible other descendants. Then human race will die out anyway one day and be replaced by another species.
We in the west have probably stopped evolving anyway as it is no longer a matter of the survival of the fittest!
But if it all happens more quickly, I have always rather liked the look of Ice Yachting and it must be cheaper than sailing:
Knock up a frame in your igloo:
put the rig from your outdated yacht on it:
Pull up the sails and head for your nearest ice floe!
Food might be a bit of a problem though, probably plenty of fish, How nourishing is polar bear?
Oh and I was so looking forward to "WaterWorld"-sailing over The Houses of Parliament-tying up to the arms of Big Ben and accidently breaking the glass on the top few stories the tips of the Canary Wharf Skyscrapers-hehe!
The only thought I have had about cows producing methane, is that we seem to have lost an awful lot of bison from North America, (weren't the herds supposed to be in their millions?) Who can say whether the levels of methane are more or less now, than in the past.
Doesn't their demise offset the current numbers supposedly causing problems? Surely we are always being told that as the number of people increases, animals are disappearing due to the expansion of agriculture. Is there a comparison of the numbers of creatures now and at various times in the past?
If the Arctic didn't freeze in the past, where have all the polar bears come from?
