Tuesday, March 30, 2010

Climate change revisited

I have no problems accepting the science of climate change.  I was convinced by James Hansen of NASA as long ago as 1987.  This week, we are expected to get temperatures in the 70°s in MINNESOTA.  It isn't even April.  We have had no snow in March--our snowiest month--for the first time in recorded history.

In a perfect example of "be careful for what you wish" we used to say around here that Minnesota would be perfect if winter were just six weeks shorter.  So now we have our wish--unfortunately this change in climate will probably come with severe drought.  Minnesota will NOT be perfect without our lakes and rivers and forests.

And yes, I am sorry this serious subject was hijacked by a lightweight like Al Gore and I think "Cap and Trade" (pdf) is a terrible idea.  In this, I am in agreement with Hansen.



Lovelock is the author of the Gaia theory.
James Lovelock: Humans are too stupid to prevent climate change
In his first in-depth interview since the theft of UEA emails, the scientist blames inertia and democracy for lack of action
Leo Hickman
guardian.co.uk, Monday 29 March 2010 13.15 BST
Humans are too stupid to prevent climate change from radically impacting on our lives over the coming decades. This is the stark conclusion of James Lovelock, the globally respected environmental thinker and independent scientist who developed the Gaia theory. 
It follows a tumultuous few months in which public opinion on efforts to tackle climate change has been undermined by events such as theclimate scientists' emails leaked from the University of East Anglia (UEA)and the failure of the Copenhagen climate summit. 
"I don't think we're yet evolved to the point where we're clever enough to handle a complex a situation as climate change," said Lovelock in his first in-depth interview since the theft of the UEA emails last November. "The inertia of humans is so huge that you can't really do anything meaningful." more

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