Kids say the darnest things....

[Graeme]

The other day, it was my turn to pick up the boys after I finished work. It was a cold day.

Soon after we left the warm building where they were being minded, my youngest son (aged eight) asked the following question:

"When is Global Warming going to start?"

(true story)

[JamesSavik]

LOL... I was thinking the same thing last winter when we had a few days in the teens and twenties(That's below zero to metric speakers). It was very unusual because in Mississippi, we have years where it doesn't even go below freezing.

We're getting it this summer though- it was 101 the other day.

[The Pecman]

Yeah, I used to say the same thing until a scientist/friend corrected me: apparently, the real problem with global warming is unstable weather, not necessarily hot weather. This accounts for the increase in hurricanes, flooding, longer-than-normal or shorter-than-normal winters, etc.

One of the films we're working on is shooting in Boston right now, and they had a scene yesterday where one of the actors falls into a lake. Unfortunately, the lake is about 60 degrees and the poor guy is freezing his butt off. And this is late June!

Weird weather.

[TalonRider]

The weather is different this year. Here in the Philly area, we only had one day in June where it hit 90 degrees. Last year, we had eight days.

Years ago, there were some TV shows by the same name. One hosted by Bill Cosby and an earlier one by Art Linkletter.

[DesDownunder]

A hippie friend suggests that they sold the global warming thingy off to private enterprise, and they can't get it to work properly.

[JamesSavik]

The most hilarious thing about global warming: a few years ago Al Gore was speaking at a rally about the subject that had to be canceled because of a blizzard.

[Cole Parker]

Global warming is an incredibly complex phenomenon. There are many disagreements among scientists who know about the subject over the causes and the effects. Almost to a man, however, they agree it's both real and perilous.

The main effect we have to worry about, first, is that the polar icecaps are shrinking at an alarming rate. This raises sea level above what it is now, and will continue to do so as the ice melts. There's an obvious problem here: some huge percentage of the world's population lives within a few miles of an ocean. I forget the number, but something like 70%, I think. Just a few inches of sea level rise, and that land these people live on disappears under the waves.

Our two largest cities are right smack dab on an ocean. The jokes about selling beach front property in Denver, come the big one, might not be that far off, and won't be due to earthquakes.

C

[EleCivil]

Yeah, I used to say the same thing until a scientist/friend corrected me: apparently, the real problem with global warming is unstable weather, not necessarily hot weather. This accounts for the increase in hurricanes, flooding, longer-than-normal or shorter-than-normal winters, etc.

Exactly - "global warming" is almost a misnomer. It gives the impression that we'll feel it getting warmer, or that it will snow less, or some such. More heat means more movement. This means more hurricanes, thunderstorms, and, yes, blizzards. But that's not that bad - humans are resourceful, they can adapt to weather. That's why they're living in the desert, the plains, the tundra, the jungle, and everywhere in between. More dangerous is its effect on plants and animals - we're talking climate change, not weather change. Changing the length of growing/mating/migrating seasons, the amount of rainfall in a given area, etc. can all be disastrous for agriculture. Changing the levels of precipitation vs. evaporation affects the water cycle - the Great Lakes are already showing signs of falling water levels. The tops of the Great Lakes aren't freezing, completely, in the winters - that means they spend all winter losing fresh water, rather than retaining it.

It's not a "Day After Tomorrow"-esque instant deep freeze that's going do us in, or even the increased violent weather - it's slow starvation and dehydration as we screw with the growing and water cycles. Not with a bang, but a whimper. But, of course, no one wants to make a summer blockbuster out of a whimper. Heh.

The main effect we have to worry about, first, is that the polar icecaps are shrinking at an alarming rate. This raises sea level above what it is now, and will continue to do so as the ice melts. There's an obvious problem here: some huge percentage of the world's population lives within a few miles of an ocean. I forget the number, but something like 70%, I think. Just a few inches of sea level rise, and that land these people live on disappears under the waves.

And that's not the only problem with melting ice caps.

Polar ice caps consist of fresh water. The oceans consist of salt water. The organisms living in the ocean are adapted to a very specific saline level. As ice caps melt, more fresh water is released into the oceans, changing the percentages, and causing either mass migration or mass extinction. Combine this with the fact that our CO2 emissions are falling back into the oceans, changing them into a weak carbonic acid. Changes in salinity, acidity, and temperature (even one or two degrees) are causing what is believed to be a Great Extinction level event - ecologists are saying that there are more species going extinct every day than we can count.

That huge population you mentioned that lives near an ocean? A lot of those civilizations depend on fishing. Even if they aren't submerged, the changes in fish population/migration could trigger mass starvation and an increase in poverty.

[EleCivil]

Oh, jeez, this is the humor board, and here I am talking about mass extinction and starvation.

Hang on.

[Cole Parker]

Exactly - "global warming" is almost a misnomer. It gives the impression that we'll feel it getting warmer, or that it will snow less, or some such. More heat means more movement. This means more hurricanes, thunderstorms, and, yes, blizzards. But that's not that bad - humans are resourceful, they can adapt to weather. That's why they're living in the desert, the plains, the tundra, the jungle, and everywhere in between. More dangerous is its effect on plants and animals - we're talking climate change, not weather change. Changing the length of growing/mating/migrating seasons, the amount of rainfall in a given area, etc. can all be disastrous for agriculture. Changing the levels of precipitation vs. evaporation affects the water cycle - the Great Lakes are already showing signs of falling water levels. The tops of the Great Lakes aren't freezing, completely, in the winters - that means they spend all winter losing fresh water, rather than retaining it.

It's not a "Day After Tomorrow"-esque instant deep freeze that's going do us in, or even the increased violent weather - it's slow starvation and dehydration as we screw with the growing and water cycles. Not with a bang, but a whimper. But, of course, no one wants to make a summer blockbuster out of a whimper. Heh.

And that's not the only problem with melting ice caps.

Polar ice caps consist of fresh water. The oceans consist of salt water. The organisms living in the ocean are adapted to a very specific saline level. As ice caps melt, more fresh water is released into the oceans, changing the percentages, and causing either mass migration or mass extinction. Combine this with the fact that our CO2 emissions are falling back into the oceans, changing them into a weak carbonic acid. Changes in salinity, acidity, and temperature (even one or two degrees) are causing what is believed to be a Great Extinction level event - ecologists are saying that there are more species going extinct every day than we can count.

That huge population you mentioned that lives near an ocean? A lot of those civilizations depend on fishing. Even if they aren't submerged, the changes in fish population/migration could trigger mass starvation and an increase in poverty.

Pretty scary.

The thing is, natural events rarely progress as predicted by the smartest of scientists. The complexity of the situaton magages to make realitity ultimately unpredictable.

The world has gone through many changes over the eons, and life seems to always have found a way to survive. The constant in our world is change. Change will continue to occur as the climate is disrupted.

Yes, we'll lose some populations. We're already doing so. The oceans contain many coral reefs, and many of those are dying off, right now. Small changes in water temperature and chemical balances along with the effects of polution seem to be the culprit. So we're already experiencing some specie die-out. However, does anyone doubt we'll not gain some others? As the salinity and acidity of the oceans change, some species sensitive to those conditions will die off. Others will evolve who can live in the new conditions, and some currently extant will adapt.

The same will happen on the surface. Changes will occur. People living close to the shores will retreat, and find new ways to feed themselves. Perhaps there will be a reduction of the overall population, but the world is currently nearing the point where it can't feed everyone, and every year it gets a little more critical. The world seems to find a way to keep populations in check, whether it's through plagues or wars or meteor strikes or famines or whatever. Is global warming the onset of that sort of phenomenon?

All this is going to take a long time, even though scientists say global warming is progressing faster than they'd thought.

C

[TracyMN]

Call the NTB, I think I've just witnessed a hijacking of "Global" proportions.

Tracy

[DesDownunder]

I wish someone would hi-jack my globals.

Naughty DesDownunder