I believe a degree of skepticism is healthy any time we are confronted with claims of impending doom requiring major sacrifice. If you're convinced global warming is happening, is our fault and must be addressed immediately by major changes in our society, check out the following study:
S. Fred Singer, ed., Nature, Not Human Activity, Rules the Climate: Summary for Policymakers of the Report of the Nongovernmental International Panel on Climate Change.
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I don't care if global warming is a complete and total fabrication. I've read some stuff claiming it isn't happening or if it is happening, we aren't causing it. I don't know, but I think that our excessive living has to have some serious consequences. I'm not sure I agree with the whole doomesday thing either. But no matter what, "Going Green" according to my gut instinct feels like the moral and right thing to do. There are so many non-global warming issues linked to our materialistic lifestyles, that regardless change needs to happen. Renewable resources are a very wise and good idea. I mean Putin, Chavez, the entire Mid-East, and all the crooked and corrupt and completely disgusting oilmen would be out of luck. That alone would be a great thing.
I do think we are an incredibly materialistic society (and we are spreading the gospel of materialism quite succesfully around the world, I mean, who are we to tell the Chinese they probably shouldn't own big cars and lots of tvs and get new wardrobes every season, and that BicMacs are a very bad idea) Materialism (to the umpth degree that we practice it), historically, leads to destruction (BofM, Roman Empire, etc.). I think we live in a ME ME ME world and I think that being a good steward and trying to live more harmoniously with nature feel very very right to me. Simply being aware of the moral, environmental, and ethical ramifications of my daily decisions and of my lifestyle make me feel like I am living the way I should be (at least to the extent I change my habits to counter the negative impact). When I understand that I don't live in a vacuum and that when I buy chemical rich melons from Mexico, it means that there are a lot of poor people who are reaping nasty health problems from my desire to eat cantaloupe in December, bad water for those same people, and all sorts of other issues, it makes it easy for me to just wait and eat melons grown right here, organically in their season. Sacrificing and changing my life style makes me feel more whole, more spritiually in tune and much happier. I don't believe that money should always be the bottom line. Sometimes doing the right thing is far more important than letting the very erroneosly named, free market do its thing (by the way, I think if we had a free market change would happen much quicker and we would be more apt to do the right things, but alas federal gov and lobbyists have ensured we have a free market in name only). For example, I don't think some jack ass rich guy should be able to buy the mouth of rock canyon and quarry it so that the large development of ugly stucco and stone houses in Draper that is going to destroy acres of precious wetlands, can have stone is even a remotely good idea. Destroying Rock Canyon in the name of capitalism and free market is assinine and absolutely disgusting. Rock Canyon is a refuge to so many of us and for some developers to get rich off of it...sick. That is not right, I don't care how you try and argue it. I don't think money interests should always win. and that is what is getting in the way of doing the right thing. Always. I could go on and on and on and on, so I better just shut up.
You and Dick Cheney are some of the last hold outs on global warming. Hope you are right, but regardless I'd love to have my house and car powered by renewable energy.
That's my girl, Bill. I would love to be a fly on the wall while you read this. That being said, I tend to agree with her.
D.
Whew. I ran out of breath reading that Anna.
I'm not sure what motivates the arguments denying climate change, or, now that symptoms are gathering, arguments that humans aren't causing it even if though it is happening.
With that said, no argument is worth anything if it doesn't have to take on challengers. The report you link, Bill, is one of the best arguments against anthropogenic climate change available, and I'm glad you posted it, as I think it is worth reading. It didn't fully convince me, but does give me questions to think about with many of the things I've read about climate change.
And Anna, I couldn't agree more about the society we live in. When I look around, I don't say, "Wow we have it right!" I tend to agree more with Moroni, in his description of our day (the day when the Book of Mormon would come forth) that:
"Yea, it shall come in a day when there shall be great pollutions upon the face of the earth; there shall be murders, and robbing, and lying, and deceivings, and whoredoms, and all manner of abominations; when there shall be many who will say, Do this, or do that, and it mattereth not, for the Lord will uphold such at the last day....
"And I know that ye do walk in the pride of your hearts; and there are none save a few only who do not lift themselves up in the pride of their hearts, unto the wearing of very fine apparel, unto envying, and strifes....
"For behold, ye do love money, and your substance, and your fine apparel, and the adorning of your churches, more than ye love the poor and the needy, the sick and the afflicted" (Mormon 8).
First of all, there are a few more than 2 people left on earth that don’t buy Al Gore’s description of global warming, but unfortunately they must keep quiet or be shouted down, or maybe called idiots. That doesn’t seem fair coming from the same groups that plead for everyone to have open minds and consider all points of view. I guess it doesn’t apply to liberal thinkers, only conservatives.
I am not afraid of burning alive as I walk down the street, and do not worship at the feet of Big Al. However, I have always had a soft spot for mother earth and am all for being smart and taking care of her. I do want to live in a way that reflects that simple concept. I do not want to become a crazy elitist telling everyone else what to do. That can be tough sometimes. I think about how to live responsibly without being associated with nuts.
I believe in moderation in all things, including the amount of zeal with which you follow the teachings of scientists and rich politicians/celebrities when what they are saying isn't 100% known to be true. Scientists on both sides make strong cases, but trends and celebrity dictate which side should be heard louder.
I've been listening on the radio to some of the adverse effects various environmental laws and green acts have had which do not get spoken of, because being green is so cool.
What about the price of food skyrocketing across the world, even causing rationing and rioting, due in part to the great idea to begin burning our food as fuel instead of eating it. Ethanol isn't even very efficient, but as with many other things, it is given too much weight, and the consequences are dealt with later.
A perceived problem is addressed and many other unforeseen ones develop. Do we really want to put the earth’s future health above that of her current inhabitants? Many people could care less about organic food, but struggle for food at all. I think a balance can be reached, but it may take time and trial and error.
So, again, I believe in moderation. And I agree we have to make changes in the way we live. For now I will follow my gut and do things to care for the earth that I can. But I do think having a logical and open discussion about everything is healthy. Skepticism is healthy.
Christian, I also believe ethanol subsidies are HORRIBLE. Ethanol is an environmental, ethical, and moral disaster! I don't know why on earth Bush still talks about them as a solution.
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