Climate change....
Last Post 07/28/2013 08:00 PM by Ronald Gibson. 20 Replies.
Author Messages
Yo Mike

Posts:338

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07/24/2013 12:05 PM
is real

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-23432769

It seems like a huge boulder, at the top of a hill, slowly beginning to roll downhill towards the little village below......

5 weather records set in Philadelphia in summer 2013

1. String of 70-plus days: The temperature in Philadelphia hasn't dipped below 70 degrees since June 23, when a low of 67 was recorded. The current stretch is the longest string of 70-plus days since records started being kept in 1872, according to AccuWeather meteorologist Alex Sosnowski. But the streak could end shortly, as the National Weather Service is calling for an overnight low of 62 degrees Wednesday into Thursday. The old record of 26 consecutive days was set in 1876 and 1995.
2. High minimum: A record high minimum temperature of 80 degrees was set on July 16. That topped the day's previous record of 77, set in 1955.
3. Monthly rainfall: June's rainfall total was the highest ever in Philadelphia, with a total of 10.56 inches. That surpassed the record of 10.06 inches set in 1938.
4. Daily rainfall: A daily rainfall record was set on June 10, when 2.1 inches fell. That broke the day's old record of 2.08 inches, set in 1903.
5. Daily rainfall: Another daily rainfall record was set June 8, when 3.5 inches fell, surpassing the previous record for the date of 1.79 inches, set in 1904.
Orange Crush

Posts:4499

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07/24/2013 12:13 PM
The methane release will turn climate change into a self-reinforcing process. Sea level rise.

The real fun will start when the freshwater release from Greenland's ice caps will cut off the Atlantic warm Gulf Stream to Europe. Europe is expected to get really really cold as a result but beyond that is anybody's guess, it is a threshold process after all.
stinkyhelmet

Posts:94

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07/24/2013 12:40 PM
your buds back home will be skating on the canals again soon.
ChinookPass

Posts:809

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07/24/2013 12:44 PM
Not much can be done now except pop some corn and watch the show. Maybe fire up the hummer and head up to Glacier National Park to see it before the snowfields disappear completely.

I was up at Mt Rainier yesterday and cannot believe how far up the mountain the Emmons Glacier has receded. There's no denying how fast that one has disappeared.

Sorry kids, enjoy the planet.
Oldfart

Posts:511

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07/24/2013 02:40 PM
Seems as though some folks think climate change has never happened before, as if the climate has been constant, glaciers have never advanced and retreated. There has never been a constant unchanging climate. Ever. The issue is whether or not human activity has caused any effect on the climate. I am not qualified to comment on that aspect, but it seems to me one thing humans should do, if we are indeed changing the climate is rein in on the breeding. So rare to hear any environmentalist state that.
THE SKINNY

Posts:506

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07/24/2013 02:55 PM
from what i gather, there are several cycles in relation to the earth's orbit around the sun and the earth's tilt. they are responsible for the ice ages and tropical phases the earth has gone through. i can't remember the guy's name that figured it out but it was back around the late 1800s or early 1900s. as of now the earth is at the warmest point of one of it's cold periods. so for the next ten thousand years the earth should be getting cooler. however our temperature keeps going up even beyond the background noise of normal weather patterns.
How we spend our days is, of course, how we spend our lives.
RNDDUDE

Posts:78

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07/24/2013 03:43 PM
Oldfart has it right. Anyone who states that climate change is a myth is a flat out, uninformed idiot. There is some reasoned debate as to whether we are in a warming or a cooling trend, but in either case, it is never a uniform effect across the entire planet, some areas get hotter and more arid, while others show more rain and flooding. The weather patterns are a very complex mechanisms. The earth will survive just fine no matter the trend, but many life forms will not do so well.
Reality is merely an illusion, albeit a very persistant one. -Albert Einstein
Orange Crush

Posts:4499

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07/24/2013 03:52 PM
oldfart (andy) is certainly right about one thing, a big part of the solution is to rein in on the breeding. That...and maybe all that fancy medicine. I read the other day that a good chunk of us Vancouverites can now expect to live to 100. That's a lot of oldfarts cruising around with their canes, just downright creepy.
BikeCzar

Posts:53

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07/24/2013 09:16 PM
Thin blue line...
huckleberry

Posts:824

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07/24/2013 09:51 PM
Overpopulation = the biggest contributor to the majority of the planet and mankind's problems.

But most large world religions and encourage us to like rabbits. Not to mention a few governments that rely on our long overstretched dependency on consumerism.
jmdirt

Posts:775

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07/24/2013 10:12 PM
I just watched this: http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/climate-of-doubt/

I'm pretty in line with oldfart in that the climate cycles but wonder how much are we influencing that cycle? I also agree with everyone who wants people to stop having so many kids. The population contributes to change both directly and indirectly (ie: destroying the rain forest).
Orange Crush

Posts:4499

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07/25/2013 12:28 PM
Global economic equality is a big part of solving the population puzzle.

Dumping the Catch 22 myth of need for economic growth another.
79pmooney

Posts:3178

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07/25/2013 12:50 PM
I saw a documentary on our closest planet a while back. Much like Earth in many respects. One huge difference. It evolved to a different, more stable equilibrium. Venus. 900 degrees F. No seasons.

There was some speculation in that show as to whether Earth's unstable status quo could be pushed to a stable equilibrium like Venus. Sometimes I wonder if mankind isn't trying this grand experiment,.

Ben
C2K_Rider

Posts:173

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07/25/2013 02:20 PM

Posted By Andy Eunson on 07/24/2013 02:40 PM
... but it seems to me one thing humans should do, if we are indeed changing the climate is rein in on the breeding. So rare to hear any environmentalist state that.



20. 30 years ago the environmental groups were touting population control big time. But it kind of backfired because in the western "developed" countries the fertility rate has been falling rapidly for decades while the major population growth has been in "undeveloped" countries. it ended up looking like some kind of elitist issue - frist world against 3rd world. And then you have issues like the "one child" poliyc in China that "work" but also cause huge social and ethical issues.



However, as countries gain economically their fertility falls, so the best course is to encourage policies that promote economic growth. But that can also mean more energy use and more C02. So it is a pretty complicated issue.

THE SKINNY

Posts:506

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07/25/2013 02:35 PM
i feel pretty confident there will be some bacteria or virus that will take out a huge chunk of the population. there's no money in producing antibiotics because the bacteria evolve faster than the fda can approve them. all it takes is for the flu watchers to guess wrong on which antiviral to mass produce.
How we spend our days is, of course, how we spend our lives.
Oldfart

Posts:511

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07/25/2013 03:43 PM
Agreed C2K agreed. And Skinny, not only some virus or other sickness but I think economically the huge boom won't likely happen again as I think the economy of the world has reached a sort of growth limit. You can't forever grow an economy before she blows up.

It's interesting you know, I have a friend that owns a local bike shop. One shop, and quite successful. Dealers have been know to be all disappointed because they ordered $90,000 worth of product one year and next it was $80,000. The rep is in their face to grow and order $100,000. My friend tells them, be happy I ordered $80,000. I don't need to grow, I am happy with what i have now. More size (growth) equals more work and hassles. I seems ingrained in some people that more more more is all that matters. Yesterday out of my office window I see a huge symbol of ridiculous wealth. I think it the yacht owned by the person that owns Washington Marine. Giant boat. And another smaller one was out there too which I believe was his old one that his son floats around in. It used to have an Allouette helicopter on the back. I think to myself, why didn't you do something good with the money it cost to build those "pleasure" craft. Like give it a deserving third world country and eliminate their national dept. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dennis_Washington I think this is his small $4itty boat pictured.
jmdirt

Posts:775

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07/25/2013 08:03 PM
Hopefully things will hold out for another 20 years and then I'll be ready...that will be a good day to die.
RNDDUDE

Posts:78

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07/26/2013 12:45 PM
Skinny, we all tend to forget that before the advent of antibiotics, simple things like the flu used to routinely wipe out 1-2 million people in less than a decade. Once the viruses and bacteria mutate enough to overcome the remaining resistant antibiotics, (and most have already done so) we could start to see pandemics on a huge scale, again.
Reality is merely an illusion, albeit a very persistant one. -Albert Einstein
C2K_Rider

Posts:173

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07/26/2013 03:35 PM

Posted By Ronald Gibson on 07/26/2013 12:45 PM
Skinny, we all tend to forget that before the advent of antibiotics, simple things like the flu used to routinely wipe out 1-2 million people in less than a decade. Once the viruses and bacteria mutate enough to overcome the remaining resistant antibiotics, (and most have already done so) we could start to see pandemics on a huge scale, again.


Sorry, I have to correct this: antibiotics are used for bacterial and fungal infections. Viruses are not affected by antibiotics(because they are not really living organisims). There are some anti-viral drugs, but they are not called "anti-biotics" because they work to prevent viral replication, not outright kill a cell. And they generally only suppress the virus, not clear it from your system.

Vaccination is the best preventive (note, not a cure, because you must have a vaccination before being exposed to a virus for it to be effective) for viruses and is very effective. The problem with influenza,and some other viruses, is that it mutates so rapidly that the vaccine needs to be re-made annually. Becaue it takes a lot of research and long-lead production of custom reagent, most viruses have no vaccines available. Which is why viral epidemics are far more of a concern than bacterial,.
longslowdistance

Posts:2881

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07/27/2013 10:10 AM
That is correct. Add that some viruses are spread easily.
RNDDUDE

Posts:78

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07/28/2013 08:00 PM
c2k, thank you for the correction.
Reality is merely an illusion, albeit a very persistant one. -Albert Einstein


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