Science Forums 2

[Boerseun]

Cwes, I was probably a bit nasty in my last reply to you. Heck - it was late at night, had a long day, you know the drill.

In the Global Warming debate, the stakes are so high that if we were to err, we have to err on the side of caution. End of story. There are no alternatives.

Unless you want to sit back and let the world carry on as is, saying "Global Warming is a natural phenomena", and let what will be, be. Let's say you've got a 50% chance of being right. Let's say that all the evidence pointing towards human activity adding to Global Warming and accellerating it's pace beyond the ability of hundreds of thousands of species to cope is only 50% reliable. What's gonna happen if you're right? What's gonna happen if you're wrong?

Thing is, nobody is disputing Global Warming as a natural occurence. The biggest part of the planet was a steamy swamp in the time of the dinosaurs. This is clearly not the case today. So, there are cycles of heating and cooling. Nobody is disputing that. What we are worried about, matter of fact, let's call a spade a spade - what we are shit scared about, is the rate of change. If only the industrial bigwigs with a vested interest in maintaining the status quo could see that simple fact, life on Planet Earth might be a lot easier. Would short-term financial gain for a few win over long-term prudence, with a benefit to many?

Let's say there's a box on your desk. Let's say someone told you there's a bomb inside, booby-trapped to go off if you open the box. Are you simply going to laugh at them, saying a bomb on your desk is impossible and open it, or are you at least going to consider the possibility?

In the Grand Scheme of Things, who'll live longer with a box that might contain a bomb on their desks - those tearing into the package to find a giftwrapped book, a box of chocolates, a coffee mug with your name on it (or, pray tell, a bomb), or the guy taking the warning seriously and devising ways to probe and test the package (without opening it) to determine the contents? Heck - he might be wrong, but like I said; he's erring on the side of caution.

Ignorance and denial of the Global Warming issue is understandable only in terms of those with a vested interest in maintaining the status quo. In the abolishment of slavery, who complained the most? Yep - you guessed it. The slave owners.