Gore says companies paying to undermine climate theories BY GILLIAN WONG The Associated Press
SINGAPORE — Former Vice President Al Gore said Tuesday that some of the world’s largest energy companies, including Exxon Mobil Corp., are funding research aimed at disputing the scientifi c consensus on global warming as part of a campaign to mislead the public. ExxonMobil, the world’s largest publicly traded oil company, rejected the allegation. “There has been an organized campaign, financed to the tune of about $10 million a year from some of the largest carbon polluters, to create the impression that there is disagreement in the scientifi c community” about global warming, Gore said at a forum in Singapore. “In actuality, there is very little disagreement.” “This is one of the strongest of scientific consensus views in the history of science,” Gore said. “We live in a world where what used to be called propaganda now has a major role to play in shaping public opinion.” Gore likened the campaign to that of the millions of dollars spent by U.S. tobacco companies years ago on creating the appearance of uncertainty and debate within the scientific community on the harmful effects of smoking cigarettes. “Some of the tobacco companies spent millions of dollars to create the appearance that there was disagreement on the science. And some of the large coal and utility companies and the largest oil company, ExxonMobil, have been involved in doing that exact same thing for the last several years,” Gore said. After the U.N. Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, made up of the world’s top climate scientists, released a report in February that warned the cause of global warming is “very likely” man-made, “the deniers offered a bounty of $10,000 for each article disputing the consensus that people could crank out and get published somewhere,” Gore said. “They’re trying to manipulate opinion and they are taking us for fools,” he said. Last year, British and American science advocacy groups accused ExxonMobil of funding groups that undermine the scientific consensus on climate change. The company said the scientists’ reports were just attempts to smear ExxonMobil’s name and confuse the debate. ExxonMobil spokesman Gantt Walton said Tuesday that the company’s financial support for scientific reports did not mean it influenced the outcome of those studies. ExxonMobil believes the risk that greenhouse gas emissions are contributing to climate change warrants taking action to limit them, he said. Gore said that with growing awareness of climate change, the world will see an acceleration in efforts to fight the problem.
Thought I'd bring you all some quick global cooling.
Maybe he should start working with his buddies at the North Pole.
BK...this was the best. It should be sent to Al Gore!!!!
When the INSANE are running the ASYLUM In individuals, insanity is rare; but in groups, parties, nations and epochs, it is the rule. -- Friedrich Nietzsche
“How fortunate for those in power that people never think.” Adolph Hitler
Climate hasn’t changed but hype certainly has RON RENAUD Rotterdam
Just over 33 years ago, America was alarmed with all the hype Time Magazine’s editor could muster with his provocative headline, “Another Ice Age?” Simultaneously, the BBC and many major news outlets were perpetuating the same fare through at-the-scene reporting, documentaries and “credible” scientific evidence that, yes, the world was getting cooler. You and I caused it, and we need to make some lifestyle changes. Oh, and it’ll cost us, too. Time continued: “The University of Wisconsin’s Reid A. Bryson and other climatologists suggest that dust and other particles released into the atmosphere as a result of farming and fuel burning may be blocking more and more sunlight from reaching and heating the surface of the earth.” Message: stop farming, driving, producing anything in a factory and, for heaven’s sake, stop kicking up dust or you’ll block the sun’s ability to penetrate our atmosphere. Next, Time warned: “The atmosphere has been growing gradually cooler for the past three decades ... The trend shows no indication of reversing” ... “Telltale signs are everywhere” ... “Since the 1940s the mean global temperature has dropped about 2.7° F.” All of this was “supported by other convincing data.” The game has obviously changed, though different, skewed data is used to offer a different “truth” (global warming is destroying the earth — not enough dust, I guess). The intended outcomes (by those pushing this as fact) of greater control, accumulation of power and wealth in the hands of our corporate/ political leaders through another potential catastrophe, haven’t changed. Throughout history, some summers are warmer than others (we aren’t living in the warmest times); some winters are colder.
You and I caused it, and we need to make some lifestyle changes.
Hey, wait a minute there....how did 'I' cause global warming or an iminant ice age? I get up in the morning and drive to work in a car that is approved in this country with gas that is sold in this country. I buy products that, through no fault of mine, has enough packaging to start a huge fire with. And I heat my home with what is available to me in this country.
I did not seek anything out of the ordinary. Our economic system has provided me with products and services to choose from. So it is clearly not my own personal lifestyle that needs changing....it's our economic system.
Don't use styrofoam, I don't care. No more disposable diapers. Give me an alternative to gasoline. Give me a car that uses less fuel. Give me an alternative to heat my home. I use what is available and that becomes my lifestyle. One I won't be changing in the very near future.
When the INSANE are running the ASYLUM In individuals, insanity is rare; but in groups, parties, nations and epochs, it is the rule. -- Friedrich Nietzsche
“How fortunate for those in power that people never think.” Adolph Hitler
Hundreds bare all in climate protest BETTMERALP, Switzerland — Hundreds of naked people formed a “living sculpture” on Switzerland’s Aletsch glacier Saturday, hoping to raise awareness about climate change. The photo shoot by Spencer Tunick, the New York artist famous for his pictures of nude gatherings in public settings worldwide, was designed to draw attention to the effects of global warming on Switzerland’s shrinking glaciers. “The melting of the glaciers is an indisputable sign of global climate change,” said the environmental group Greenpeace, which co-organized the event.
And this is MY fault? I don't think so! Perhaps the glaciers are shrinking. Perhaps the world is getting too warm. Perhaps the oceans are getting a wee bit too warm. Perhaps it rains too much. Perhaps it snows too much.
AND perhaps God is really in control and will take care of this world that HE created!!!!! We are just all getting a bit too nuts here!
When the INSANE are running the ASYLUM In individuals, insanity is rare; but in groups, parties, nations and epochs, it is the rule. -- Friedrich Nietzsche
“How fortunate for those in power that people never think.” Adolph Hitler
Study: Global warming means more severe storms for U.S. NASA scientists see more frequent tornadoes in future BY SETH BORENSTEIN The Associated Press
WASHINGTON — As the world warms, the United States will face more severe thunderstorms with deadly lightning, damaging hail and the potential for tornadoes, a trailblazing study by NASA scientists suggests. While other research has warned of broad weather changes on a large scale, like more extreme hurricanes and droughts, the new study predicts even smaller events like thunderstorms will be more dangerous because of global warming. The basic ingredients for whopper U.S. inland storms are likely to be more plentiful in a warmer, moister world, said lead author Tony Del Genio, a NASA research scientist. And when that happens, watch out. “The strongest thunderstorms, the strongest severe storms and tornadoes are likely to happen more often and be stronger,” Del Genio said in an interview Thursday from his office at the Goddard Institute for Space Studies in New York. The paper he co-authored was published online this month in the journal Geophysical Research Letters. Other scientists caution that this area of climate research is too difficult and new for this study to be definitive. But some upcoming studies also point in the same direction. With a computer model, Del Genio explores an area that most climate scientists have avoided. Simple thunderstorms are too small for their massive models of the world’s climate. So Del Genio looked at the forces that combine to make thunderstorms. A unique combination of geography and weather patterns already makes the United States the world’s hottest spot for tornadoes and severe storms in spring and summer. The large land mass that warms on hot days, the contours of the atmosphere’s jet stream, the wind coming off the Rocky Mountains and warm moist air coming up from the Gulf of Mexico all combine. Del Genio’s computer model shows that global warming will mean more strong updrafts, when the wind moves up and down instead of sideways. “The consequences of stronger updrafts are more lightning and bigger hail,” he said. On a normal sunny day, updrafts are less than 1 mile per hour. In a big rainstorm that is not severe, they’re about 2 mph. In a severe storm, they could be 20 to 30 mph. The faster that updraft, the worse the storms. The Southeast and Midwest lie in the path of most of the most dangerous of these storms. However, the new study also forecasts danger for the Western United States. It predicts that lightning will increase about 6 percent as the amount of carbon dioxide — the chief global warming gas — doubles. Previous studies have shown that the West will get drier, making it a tinderbox for more wildfires. This study shows that there will be more lightning strikes to start those fires, Del Genio said. One general benefit of global warming is decreased wind shear, which is the speed of side-to-side wind as the altitude rises, Del Genio said. That would moderate the effects of updrafts. However, during certain times of the year and under the right conditions in the Midwest and Southeast, wind shear will increase. Combine wind shear and updrafts and damaging winds result, the scientist said.
The basic ingredients for whopper U.S. inland storms are likely to be more plentiful in a warmer, moister world, said lead author Tony Del Genio, a NASA research scientist.
a NASA research scientist is using a word like "moister?" Now, Senders, THERE'S your money at work.
Sounds like one of the Three Stooges.
Quoted Text
A unique combination of geography and weather patterns already makes the United States the world’s hottest spot for tornadoes and severe storms in spring and summer.
Gee, maybe THIS is why we get this weather?
Quoted Text
The large land mass that warms on hot days, the contours of the atmosphere’s jet stream, the wind coming off the Rocky Mountains and warm moist air coming up from the Gulf of Mexico all combine.
And, Mr. NASA guy, what does it do at night, or on those cooler days?
Quoted Text
It predicts that lightning will increase about 6 percent as the amount of carbon dioxide — the chief global warming gas — doubles.
Here, I found it. They got hold of Al Gore and he's getting ready for anything. I thought all along they were saying that it was just carbon dioxide that was the cause and if we all just stopped driving or bought hybrids or cars fued on ethanol, it would be taken care of. Is ethanol going to be on the list next summer or after we cut down the oil use? Can we get the full list now so we can stop ourselves ahead of time? I know the Democrats just like to fix peoples big problems, but maybe we Republicans need to take care of this before it becomes a problem.
Quoted Text
However, during certain times of the year and under the right conditions in the Midwest and Southeast, wind shear will increase. Combine wind shear and updrafts and damaging winds result, the scientist said.
And I bet these are times when people are driving more, huh?
GOD, JUST KILL US OFF NOW BEFORE WE DESTROY THE ENTIRE UNIVERSE! ............ damn nitwits!
When the INSANE are running the ASYLUM In individuals, insanity is rare; but in groups, parties, nations and epochs, it is the rule. -- Friedrich Nietzsche
“How fortunate for those in power that people never think.” Adolph Hitler
NEW YORK STATE State taking lead in initiatives to fight against global warming BY SARA FOSS Gazette Reporter
Starting in 2010, all new cars and passenger trucks in New York will feature a “global warming index” sticker that contains information about carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gas emissions. The goal? Getting consumers to purchase the most fuel-efficient vehicles possible by educating them about the greenhouse gas emissions that cause global warming. Even as the debate over global warming continues, New York is moving forward with a multipronged approach for dealing with climate change. The global warming index stickers are just one of the many new initiatives that could make the state a national leader in the fight against global warming. A new Climate Change Office, established in the spring at the state Department of Environmental Conservation, is charged with implementing climate change initiatives and conducting climate change research. One of the office’s major undertakings will be overseeing the state’s participation in the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative, a multistate effort to reduce carbon dioxide emissions from power plants in nine northeastern and mid-Atlantic states. But state officials and environmentalists consider RGGI, as it’s known, just the tip of the iceberg. A number of other projects, they note, have similar goals. New York recently announced plans to cut electricity consumption 15 percent by 2015, signed onto a new Climate Registry that allows participating states to collect and share information on greenhouse gas emissions and is seeking to limit carbon dioxide emissions from New York cars and trucks. “[The Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative] is just the beginning of what we’re going to do on climate change,” said Peter Iwanowicz, director of the Climate Change Office. “We’ve defined an office where climate policy can be developed and implemented.” “New York is playing a key role in the push to stop global warming,” said Jason Babbie, senior environmental policy analyst for the New York Public Interest Research Group. Greenhouse gas emissions from power plants and automobiles are a major contributor to global warming, the gradual increase in temperature average that scientists say will drastically alter the world’s climate if allowed to continue unchecked. A lack of activity on the federal level has prompted states such as New York to enact stricter environmental standards to reduce the emissions caused by the burning of fossil fuels. Under the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative, the participating states will reduce carbon dioxide emissions by 10 percent in 10 years, beginning in the year 2009. The program, which is the first such program in the United States, sets emission limits for power plants, but lets polluters buy and sell credits to meet those limits. Companies that emit less pollution can sell unused allowances to companies that overshoot their limit. Iwanowicz, who previously served as vice president for the American Lung Association, where he helped enact the New York State Diesel Emissions Reduction Act of 2006, said New York plans to release its draft rules for RGGI in the fall. The Climate Change Office has 13 staff, including Iwanowicz. Climate change, Iwanowicz said, is not some far off, distant thing. “We are seeing changes in New York’s climate,” he said. “We’re feeling the impact of climate change right now. In New York City, rain events are shutting down the subway. Upstate, there’s severe flooding in culverts, roads.” New York is the second state in the country, after California, to pass legislation requiring a “global warming index” sticker on cars and passenger trucks. The requirement applies to passenger vehicles and light-duty trucks with a gross weight of 8,500 pounds or less; each sticker will include an index that compares the emissions of global warming gases from the vehicle with the average projected emissions from all vehicles of the same model year and identifies the vehicle model within its class with the lowest emissions of that model year. The index will be based on emissions of carbon dioxide, methane, nitrous oxide, hydrofluorocarbons, perfluorocarbons and sulfur hexafluoride. “This provides consumers with the information to make the right decision,” Iwanowicz said. “It’s important for people to understand that the climate is changing and that there are severe implications, but there are also choices we can make.” It’s similar, he noted, to the labeling that already exists for appliances such as refrigerators and washing machines. Babbie agreed. “Clearly, pollution limits are needed,” he said. “Labeling is a good tool consumers can use. ... Consumers are clearly responding to our changing world. If you examine the market for hybrids, it’s gone crazy.” Gloria Bergquist, a spokeswoman for the Alliance of Automobile Manufacturers, said new vehicles already include information mileage stickers that contain information on carbon dioxide emissions. “Fuel economy and carbon dioxide emissions are the exact same thing,” she said. “They can be addressed in the exact same way, through fuel efficient technology.” “Automakers generally support providing more consumer information, but there is always a concern about putting too much information on the new vehicle stickers,” Bergquist said. “We encourage consumers to consider buying autos with fuel-efficient technologies, both to improve mileage and to reduce carbon dioxide emissions.” She said automakers are investing millions of dollars each year in many different types of fuelefficient technologies. Under former Gov. George Pataki, the state announced plans to limit carbon dioxide emissions from New York cars and trucks by adopting more stringent standards first announced by California. Meanwhile, The Alliance of Automobile Manufacturers has filed a lawsuit that claims the states have no right to implement tougher vehicle emission standards. The organization maintains that only the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has the authority to “regulate fuel economy,” and that a state-led effort to limit carbon dioxide emissions is a back-door attempt to do just that. The Department of Environmental Conservation has also joined 30 other states as charter members of The Climate Registry, which allows participating states to collect and share greenhouse gas emission data. The registry, which will begin accepting emissions data in January, will measure and track greenhouse gases; the idea is that this information will support the creation of new emission reduction programs. Another initiative, announced earlier this year by Gov. Eliot Spitzer, calls on the state to reduce electricity consumption by 15 percent below forecasted levels by 2015. If nothing is done, electricity consumption will continue increasing by about 1.2 percent every year. “That really is revolutionary,” Babbie said. While some states have said they want to stabilize their electricity consumption, no one else has vowed to reduce it, he said.
It's come to this in the ongoing measurements of the vast environmental damage caused by global warming. To deny the problem, or to otherwise resist efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, is more than defying the mounting evidence of statistics on the changing temperature of the earth. Instead it's to declare the moral equivalent of war on the polar bear.
The U.S. Geological Survey says what's known as summer sea ice is disappearing in the Arctic Ocean at such a rate that two-thirds of the world's polar bear population will disappear by 2050.
Such is the prognosis even if the world's industrial nations somehow managed to reach agreement on drastic reductions in the emissions of carbon dioxide and other heat-trapping gases. Reversal of that trend of destruction would take decades.
Consider these words of doom, from the report by the U.S. Geological Survey:
"Sea ice conditions would have to be substantially better than even the most conservative computer simulations of warming and sea ice to avoid the anticipated drop in bear population."
The Arctic ice cap is deteriorating at a frighteningly quick pace. Polar bears would be gone entirely from Alaska, the U.S. Geological Survey's study predicts, and mostly confined to the Arctic archipelago of Canada and spots off the northern Greenland coast. Worldwide, their population would decline from about 22,000 to about 8,000.
What polar bears can do to adapt to the destruction of their habitat -- eating garbage and a wider range of food, like snow geese, for instance -- is limited. Polar bears depend on sea ice as a platform for hunting seals, which is their primary food.
"As the sea ice goes, so goes the polar bear," Steven Amstrup, a biologist for the U.S. Geological Survey, tells The New York Times. Quantified, the dependence of polar bears upon sea ice was determined to be 84 percent.
These findings come as President Bush prepares to act as host for a meeting of major industrial nations in Washington later this month. The aim is to reach consensus on drafting a treaty on climate change.
A secondary issue, for the United States alone, is whether to commit to protecting polar bears under the Endangered Species Act.
Anyone who stands in the way of an effective treaty to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, or to amend the Endangered Species Act to address the consequences of global warming, might give a hard look to a photograph of a polar bear.
Look at one, and then another -- and contemplate the demise of about 14,000 of them.
THE ISSUE:The climate change crisis is expected to reduce the polar bear population by about two-thirds.THE STAKES:How much starker a warning do we need?
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