Friday, July 18, 2008

Physicists Skeptical on Global Warming

Summary: A forum of the American Physical Society, an organization representing nearly 50,000 physicists, no longer believes in the evidence supporting human-induced global warming.

Quote:

Monckton, who was the science advisor to Britain's Thatcher administration, says natural variability is the cause of most of the Earth's recent warming. "In the past 70 years the Sun was more active than at almost any other time in the past 11,400 years ... Mars, Jupiter, Neptune’s largest moon, and Pluto warmed at the same time as Earth."

My Views: Who is right? I must say that I really don’t know.

It makes sense that the Earth’s climate is primarily affected by the Sun. If not, then just how did those Ice Ages occur? And how about that global warming during the Age of the Dinosaurs? Before the issue of global warming appeared in the political arena about ten years ago, scientists were convinced that the Earth, within just the last 10% of it’s history, has had periods that were both much hotter and much colder than now.

On the other hand, one has to only drive around the Greater Atlanta area to see the vast impact that humanity has had on the environment. Few who have lived near big cities anywhere in the world are unfamiliar with air pollution. One wonders how this could not have an impact on the general atmospheric conditions of the planet.

There may be other factors, too. I saw a show on the Discovery Channel that said that the Earth’s magnetic field has been steadily weakening for thousands of years. This affects the amount of radiation from the Sun that is warded off.

The one thing that is clear: the political left has seized on this issue and have incorporated it as an ideological agenda item. They are not open to the issue’s nuances. Political correctness trumps science.

The rest of us should not overreact. Mark me down as undecided.

P.S. Just how does the good doctor know about the Sun’s activity in the last 11,400 years? And why that particular number: 11,400? Not 11,000 but 11,400 – odd cite that.





Here is the story in Daily Tech.

1 comments:

The Other Dave said...

Jack, that's exactly how I felt 15 years ago. But now the science on climate change is very strong. Pick up some back issues of Scientific American over the past 2 years, and you'll see some pretty convincing evidence.