What'll It Be? Too Hot or Too Cold?
The propensity of the media to invoke hysteria is increasing at an exponential rate,helped along by "scientists" either sincere in their views, or looking for their 15 minutes of fame, or both. The most persistent and emotionally disturbing of these is global warming. Recent conflicting news articles within the past two weeks illustrate the conundrum faced by those of us simple souls trying to sort the problem out in our own minds.A recent article on European warming describes the Europe of a few decades hence resembling the Sahara, with the population huddled around the few remaining oases in the central part of the continent. Some days later, another AP story describes Europe in a cold wave. The cold snap is possibly a harbinger of another ice age hitting Europe if still another scientific report is true, that is the slowing of the Gulf Stream, The TimesOnline article entitled "Britain faces big chill as ocean current slows" brings to mind the UK being the winter playground of Europe, while in the hot desert of middle Europe UK citizens go for summer vacation instead of Malaga. While we are now facing extinction as a result of global warming, it was not too long ago we were going to freeze to death or starve because of the reduced length of the growing season from the cold weather. An article in Newsweek magazine from May 1975 brings this scenario to life. It might be wise to take the long view. The earth warms and cools and in my judgement there probably isn't much we can do about it. Best estimates are that CO2 levels contribute about 20-30% to the increasing measured temperatures of the earth. If you want a good read, take up Michael Crichton's book, "State of Fear". Good novel and full of excellent comment on global warming. Crichton did extensive research for this book, and his medical background helped him appreciate the material. Another excellent book is "Meltdown" by Patrick J. Michaels, Research Professor of Environmental Sciences at the University of Virginia. This book has all the science you will want. Finally take a look at the trends in temperatures over the past 1000 years. Gives you pause every time someone says the world is coming to an end because we had a very hot summer. And so it goes.
