Wednesday, November 21, 2007

Semi-Global Warming

A couple weeks ago, a news item caught my interest. The south pole of Neptune is currently running 18 degrees warmer than the rest of the planet. The reason? Planets do not rotate evenly through their journey around the sun. Planets wobble. This wobble has placed Neptune's south pole a wee bit closer to the sun, as it has done for 40 years. Eventually, the wobble will cause the south pole to be further from the sun, and therefore cooler.

So, here is food for thought:

Our own planet Earth also wobbles. We all know that "magnetic north" moves around, ever-changing as the Earth wobbles its way along its orbit. That being the case, there are extended periods when our own poles get closer or farther from the sun. When the north pole is closer to the sun, the ice melts. When it gets farther, it freezes.

Global warming afficionados would have you believe that this warming of the north pole is caused by Man, and is a "permanent" and disastrous occurence. What they are not telling you is that the south pole is getting colder, and the ice is building. And they do not tell you that the natural wobble of the Earth causes periods of warming and cooling that are quite natural - and temporary.

The mean temperature of the Earth in the 1930's was warmer than today - abnormally so. And the mean temperature in the 1970's was abnormally cooler. And now, right on schedule, it is warmer once again.

In short, it is a natural cycle. Yes, there is global warming, but by and large it is not caused by the meager efforts of Man (though I do believe we need to mature, and stop polluting the Earth). More important, it is a temporary situation. Soon enough, the cooling will begin once again, and all those scientists will pull the alarm about the "coming ice age", which they did in the '70's.

So, why do many people cause unnecessary alarm about global warming?

Three reasons (if you are one of them, simply choose which reason is yours):

1) Money. Scientists live by grants. Grants are only given in order to solve problems. The worse the problem, the more money you get. So, sound the alarm, or don't get the money...

2) Power. Unscrupulous politicians see the issue of global warming as a political platform from which to snatch votes by instilling fear in people.

3) Sucker. A lot of people, many of whom are naive, and the rest "sheep", will blindly follow people in the above categories. And many will latch on to any "cause" that comes their way.

Now, when someone says, "But ALL the scientists say global warming is caused by Man and will be a disaster", you might consider reminding them that, earlier in our history, ALL the scientists said the Earth was flat, and ALL said the sun revolved around the Earth. Even as recently as the 1970’s, ALL the scientists claimed we were well on our way to a new Ice Age. In fact, ALL the scientists have been wrong at least as often as they have been right!

Just because "everyone" agrees does not necessarily mean "everyone" is right. It only means they agree. Nothing more. When someone uses the "everybody" argument, it is because they are "sheep", all to willing to fall for whatever others tell them. The "everybody says" argument is groundless, and absurd. Doesn't anyone remember the story of Chicken Little? He got (almost) everyone to believe the sky was falling. But just because they all believed it, that did not make it true!

Here is my take on global warming. It's real. It's a natural cycle. It's temporary. Pardon the pun, but don't sweat it!

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