White House Newsflash: Global Warming VERY LIKELY Caused by Human
…most of the recent global warming is very likely due to human generated increases in greenhouse gas concentrations.
Very likely caused by humans-now that’s a definitive statement on climate change! Once again the US government has failed to make a clearcut connection between humans and climate change.
Why do we need our government to make an absolute statement that humans are to blame for climate change?
Without such a strong statement linking the human causes and effects of global warming, we are impotent to pass real legislation and regulations that will drastically curb greenhouse gases now! We can’t wait four more years for the next report to come out to say, “Yea, we are screwed and entirely to blame.” A definitive statement by the US government would end the silly debate about global warming that has distracted us from taking action beyond individual citizens. As Rick Piltz, director of Climate Science Watch at the nonprofit Government Accountability Project, stated, “It’s important the government go on record honestly acknowledging this stuff.”
Why would the US government not want to make the connection between climate change and human actions absolute?
The climate science behind the report is not new, and neither is the White House spin. The “Scientific Assesment of the Effects of Global Change on the United States,” report states:
Finally, climate change is very likely to accentuate the disparities already evident in the American health care system. Many of the expected health effects are likely to fall disproportionately on the poor, the elderly, the disabled and the uninsured.
Yet have no fear Americans! White House associate science director Sharon Hays declined to characterize the findings as bad, in a teleconference with reporters. That’s right, increased heat-related deaths and water shortages are not all bad. So what is not negative in the report: The doubt that humans are solely to blame. Now that’s something to celebrate!
I don’t know why the US government cannot admit human blame for climate change. It reminds me of my six-year-old daughter saying she did not drop ice cream on the floor, when she was the only one eating ice cream. Does the government fear it will get in trouble like my daughter and have to clean it up if it admits blame? Would such an admission open up even more litigation opportunities for the states, as well as for individuals to sue polluting corporations? Well, have no fear Americans, our president won’t even read this report. George Bush has already vowed to veto the Lieberman-Warner Climate Security Act before the Senate even debates the bill, because it will hurt the US economy. Oh yea, blazing wildfires, pestilence, and famine won’t hurt the economy at all.
It didn’t take Mean Joe Green four years to create a political cartoon on the climate change report). Although I disagree with Joe’s idea that the report is entirely “realistic”, given that it does not take a definitive stance on the human causes of climate change, at least the doom and gloom predictions of severe weather, water shortages, heat waves, etc. ring true. As biologist Thomas Lovejoy says of the climate report, “It basically says the America we’ve known we can no longer count on.” It’s a good thing Republicans live on another planet; they’re going to need it.
Great article Jennifer–btw, when I said “realistic” I was reacting with the shock that there was any realism in it at all. Of course, it has it’s flaws–but it is much more realistic than I had anticipated. I should have elaborated on that. Thanks. MJG
I get the sense the U.S. government still considers the environment as a cost only line item rather than an area for economic growth and innovation. Sustainability shouldn’t look like a bleak waste land. I wonder how long we’ll continue to hold out from joining Kyoto..
- Chris
Well duh, of course it was brought on by humans. We are the only ones destroying the worlds natural resources in out of control numbers. Its just a matter of time.
JJ
http://www.Ultimate-Anonymtiy.com
I dont buy it. I am an extreme environmentalist and I am concerned over pollution, but global warming is a kind of hysteria and the deeper I dig into it the less likely it seems.
The newest data shows a cooling trend. Check into it before you jump on the bandwagon.
Your suggestions? Every productive thing that government could do is opposed by environmental groups. You guys are sticks in the mud. Guess what? I’m not going to quit breathing or go die.
Let me ask you some questions:
Do you support nuclear power? No, you don’t.
Do you think people should all be using their own engines, period? No, you don’t. You would rather we all use the bus (that’s because you live in a city and you’re ignorant).
Are you an engineer, someone who could possibly help the situation? No you’re not. You’re a city-dweller with a college education, granted, but you have nothing to offer. I don’t know, maybe you work in Hollywood. You probably do drugs, further reducing your capability to help the situation any.
Hey, maybe you’re a scientist. Maybe you’re generating a lot of reports. Why don’t you go make something that could help - like more efficient engines, or bio-degradable and mass producible packaging, or make a database of the carbon dioxide/oxygen conversion rates of all the plants, or help move the production dates up for alternate sources of fuel, or…you get my point.
Here’s the rule - if you want to complain, you have to offer a set of helpful suggestions along with it.
These helpful suggestions cannot include reducing the population or reducing the rate of energy conversion.
We’ll be expanding into the rest of the universe soon, regardless of what you want. We’re just ramping up. We’d prefer to keep the planet around, but as far as survival of the species goes (and yes, that’s our first priority, hard-wired into our DNA), it’s a secondary objective. Everything else can die (though that would be unfortunate, since those DNA patterns would all be useful…hell, we may just store a lot of it in a database for later retrieval, it doesn’t have to be alive), and we could still achieve our first objective - long term survival of the species.
You are welcome for the correction.
Duh its human caused
Preserving and protecting our environment is of great importantance, but we should do it in the name of human life/health/wellbeing, not in the name of fraud (global warming). Global Warming is a fraud. Al Gore is a fraud. Lets protect our planet for noble reasons…not for lies and propaganda. Nonetheless, good intentions or bad, we the global community must act on this yesterday! That being said, Al Gore, though fraudulent, is doing more for the environment than many of us…and we don’t need his fortune to achieve it.
Newsflash, lol. Well, good article!
I completely agree that we would all *like* the US government to say that we, humans, are completely to blame for global warming / climate change.
However, the only responsible thing any government or scientific body can claim is the % likelihood that we are to blame.
Sure, that % may now be 99.9999% likely that we are to blame. Don’t get me wrong - I am personally certain, in that way individuals can be, that we humans are completely to blame for climate change.
BUT as official bodies, no government or scientific outlet can or should come out and make blanket statements like “We are definitely to blame”. Even we, the true believers in the need for action, need to admit the limits of our own knowledge and be straight-forward and honest with the public when making public announcements.
Lets say we’re 98% sure we are to “blame”… and, given that, we need to start making some changes - NOW!. I mean, if you were 98% sure there was a really nasty corner coming up ahead of you, in the fog, you’d be pretty stupid not to at least think of slowing down, wouldn’t you.
What makes you so sure the so called global warming is caused by man made effects? Advocates of man caused climate change cannot say with certainty that laws limiting carbon output will reverse the effect. I remember all the hype of global cooling in the 1970’s with all the gloom and doom predictions of famine and freezing. Nothing happened. Then in the mid 80’s and all of a sudden we were doomed to global warming. Now a new publication “The Australian” in their April 23 article, “Sorry to ruin the fun, but an ice age cometh” by Phil Chapman (NASA astronaut), http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/story/0,25197,23583376-7583,00.html says the earth is in for a cool spell because of a lack of sun spots. In fact, the earth cooles by .7C ini 2007 putting us back where we were in 1930. (before all the evil industrialization). Additionally The Russian News and Information Agency posted an article “A cold Spell soon to replace global warming”, 3/1/08 http://en.rian.ru/analysis/20080103/94768732-print.html. Within tha past 100 years the NY times has alternated between global warming and cooling wile citing climate experts. Each period has had their doomsday ‘prophets’. So pardon me while I disbelieve all the ranting. None of the predictions of global warming have gome true. Yet these lunatics will change the story to suit their ‘belief’. With Al Gore the chief evangelist.