why do so many of you like to come here and ask loaded questions on both sides of the issue?

for the warmers. do you actually know anything about the greenhouse effect? Al Gore did not discover it. we have known about it for hundreds of years. we know more now. do any of you man or woman up, and forego any consumption of energy that is not necessary? the guy over there texting should really turn it off. do you understand that your standard of living and your access to sites like this depends absolutely on the amount of energy that you have at your disposal? that is a proven fact. more energy=better living standard. what will you give up? picture yourself living in a skin tent or mud hut during the cold season, shivering. most of our energy comes from carbon based fossil fuels. they keep you warm. think about paying every cent you make for heat and food. no more cell phones, nice clothes, or trips to the mall. you are POOR.

for the anti-warmers. are you so sure you are right? earth has definitely gone from hothouse to iceball and back without our help. is this one the same? prove it. will it hurt you so much that you will do nothing to reduce your carbon footprint? try it some time. you will save a ton of cash. i am. walk into mcdonalds once, instead of waiting in an eight car line in the drive thru. you can usually get out faster, and your engine is not idling the whole time(if there is a bus in the lot, go to BK. U R doomed).

for both sides. have any of you done the slightest bit of research to support your side? or do you merely parrot what somebody else says? I'm not talking about infrared sources and tanks of CO2. how about looking into alternate energy sources and the effect of various greenhouse gases. Wikipedia is just dying for you to look through their files. are you willing to pay the price, if the other side turns out to be right?

if this sounds like a rant, it is. both sides of the issue have been cherry picking data, using emotional arguments, and not proposing solutions for years now. there are economic reasons to not emit carbon and there are also economic reasons to continue using carbon based fuels. each of us has to decide for him(her)self.

2011-03-29T11:46:10Z

thank you all for your answers. for those who think i am a warmer or anti-warmer(my phrasing just to make my life simpler), i am neither. nor am i what some call skeptics, but that comes closest. what i really am is pro-mrwizard9090. what i do understand, is that every action i take has a direct economic cost or benefit to me.

shame on me, but i have a light in the house that burns 24-7. it is for visual impairment reasons for somebody besides myself, but it has also kept me from falling down the stairs too. we tried 3 different mfr CFL's before we found one that lasts a long time. before that it was incandescent. soooo sorry.

i prefer that neither the government, nor the warmers, nor the anti-warmers tell me what i should or should not do. if the government wants to tax carbon, let 'em. i have a vote. i am ready for the tax. i just want it to be an honest tax, not some cap and trade mumbo jumbo with a zillion exemptions and credits for somebody with campaign contributions.

i have n

ChemFlunky2011-03-27T13:58:14Z

Favorite Answer

On the AGW is real side, I think there are a few people who are simply parroting popular media and the like, and some radicals who want us to throw out all the advantages of modern civilization, but I suspect the majority have at least tangentially run across the scientific facts (I wouldn't expect Joe Q. Layperson to read the average scientific paper, I find some of them nearly impenetrable, even in my field, and I have a science degree; but most have at least read Wikipedia or the like) For the average reasonably intelligent non-scientist, I think the fact that roughly 97% of scientists agree with their position is persuasive enough.

And, frankly, there's a lot of "slop" in how we use energy, and a lot of targets for reducing our fossil fuel consumption are pretty low-hanging fruit (like "avoid waste" or "use CFLs") I, for example, own and drive a car--but I generally walk or ride the bus to and from work.

And, of course, there's alternative energy. Solar power from photovoltaics is rightly and reasonably questioned, but there are presently available technologies that are either nearly or entirely competitive with fossil-fuel-based energy sources--thermal solar, petroleum from agricultural waste, and the like. There's research going on into safer nuclear power, more effective wind power (rather than wind farms in the "wild", I think we should put our wind turbines on sky scrapers, personally...)

On the no-AGW side, I think it's a combination of ignorance (honest or willful) and political ideology.

And I, at least, try to avoid the loaded "Here's the truth, don't you agree with me, huh, huh?" questions, and go for "Have you genuinely considered this aspect or angle?" type questions.

Jeff M2011-03-27T13:19:24Z

why do you assume I get my energy from non-renewable resources? I do not. Wikipedia is not a source of research. Sure it can be a stepping stone but for real research go to scientific journals. I bet you don;t even know how to find those. This is a site where the majority of the posts do not have to do with how to deal with the situation. the majority of the posts have to do with the reality of the situation. And your assumption that 'warmers' state that Al Gore discovered the greenhouse effect is flat out wrong. John Tyndall was actually the one that discovered the greenhouse effect in 1861. Not 100's of years, as you claim, but close enough. And chances are quite a few of the regular 'warmerss' in here know a lot more about the greenhouse effect than you do.

Anonymous2011-03-27T13:13:45Z

I think AGW is likely. The Industrial Revolution (discovering how to exploit our life support system - Earth) cannot occur with neutral effects. Guess that says that I tend to side with the 'warmers'.
In the 1980's and '90's I did a hell of a lot of backpacking with friends that just happened to be top notch microbiologists and atmospheric scientists. They were very concerned about AGW back then. At that time most people would have thought that Al Gore was the name of some psyco in a Steven King book.

Have I done thorough research?
No. But I have a tendency to side with reasonable people.

Do I think we humans will ever learn how to responsibly manage the planets resources in a way that has long term survival as the goal?
Not a chance.

We simply, as a species, can't see beyond our noses.

winley2016-10-21T01:10:07Z

.we've that subject right here in Spain they are Romanian and Bulgarian gypsies. on the start i used to furnish them funds or food until eventually they began sitting outdoors shops breastfeeding getting their older little ones to beg who're very intimidating .the youngsters consistently attempt to take the procuring out of the trolleys .there have been camps interior the woods the place i stay or perhaps if the girls human beings and young ones have been wearing rags ,and that they are forced to hold the little ones and water a solid mile from the save to the camp , the lads drove approximately in new 4 via 4 s. there's a protracted canal close to my homestead with a street that runs parallel it quite is barely huge sufficient for 2 autos to bypass ,one night a gypsy lady positioned her toddler in this street in front an oncoming motor vehicle.the motive force of the motor vehicle swerved and went rapidly into the water fortunate 2 human beings walking their dogs stored the motive force.this is the 2nd time this year it has befell , they are hoping the motive force will end the motor vehicle and that they are in a position to then rob her or him. So i could say report them by way of fact their behaviour does worsen .

Salty dog2011-03-28T22:17:58Z

Energy consumption is no indicator for the standard of life, and here I understand that consumption is the yard-stock by which you measure the "standard of life" this in its self is debatable. "No One's" standard life has fallen as of yet, by the good management of energy! I think that the Americans believe that a car consuming three time the amount of energy get them from point A to point B, better than a car consuming far less, or leaving electrical appliances on, when not at home is good energy management, it's not. And it's not a question of deciding for one self. Energy mismanagement is not a choice for individualist.In fact if one saves on energy, one standard of life for the point of view of consumption will increase.Driving a smaller car, turning electrical appliance off when not in use will give you more money in your hand, but that's you voluntary choice.The choice of society it to tax energy and force a change in energy consumption habits, this of cause will not give more personal revenue, but it will make people change involuntary their energy management habits and society the revenue to research into new energy forms. It's a kind of win, win situation.

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