Science Forums 2

[REASON]

Originally Posted by REASON

There is a concerted effort by right wing conservatives, many of whom are deeply religious, to perpetuate the notion that global warming is nothing but hype. I hear this constantly on conservative talk radio, one of the primary means by which disinformation is disseminated nationally by talk show hosts that are not experts in climatology, nor even readily familiar with the work of scientists.

It's been a mystery to me as to why it is so important for them to continually cast doubt on the science, which is all they actually do in regards to this issue. They don't provide any alternate theories for the rapid increase in the mean global temperature over the last several decades. They talk about how cold it's been in places this winter and then scoff at the notion of global warming, which only demonstrates their ignorance. They claim that the real motivation of science is nothing but protectionism of government grants. They don't provide any alternate explanation for the rapid disappearance of glacial and polar ice. They don't reference qualified experts in the field of study. They don't attempt to refute the actual data that has been compiled by climatology consortiums such as the IPCC. They do link it to the liberal wacko Al Gore, in an effort to generate a negative emotional appeal to those they seek to influence.

My quote above is a less edited version than what you had posted. Attempting to discredit my perfectly legitimate stance regarding right wing conservatives and radio talk show hosts, as a "bogey-man" argument, means you either don't listen to consevative talk radio (on several local AM stations virtually all day and night), or you're being disingenuous. As far as I know, every major conservative talk radio host including Rush Limbaugh, Sean Hannity, Laura Ingraham, Michael Savage, Bill O'Reilly, Mark Levin, Bill Cunningham, Glen Beck, and Neal Boortz, regularly deny global warming as a complete hoax (or at least not anthropogenic), perpetuated by (Nobel Prize winning) environmentalist wackos.

Are we seriously to believe that it is just a mere coincidence that all these prominent daily perveyors of conservative Republican diatribe are joined at the hip in their rejection of climate change science? I think not.

But they all have four primary things in common with regard to this issue:

1) They all either deny global warming is occurring, or that it is anthropogenic.
2) None of them are climate scientists, yet choose to align their position with a significant minority position among actual climate scientists.
3) They are protectionists of corporate interests, and resist any type of government regulation.
4) They influence millions of listeners.

Originally Posted by Biochemist

I have wagered several scotch bottles (with several different folks) that we will be worrying more about global cooling than global warming by 2020.

I prefer Bourbon. Got any bottles of Wild Turkey on the shelf?

Actually, while I don't know a lot about Thermohaline Circulation (The Global Conveyor), my understanding is that the influx of fresh water from the melting of Arctic ice could restrict the sinking of the cold, denser salt water, and essentially shut down the conveyor, triggering a period of cooling. I am unaware of whether any theorized cooling period would be enough to override the overall warming that is occurring, particularly if we do not change our behavior with regard to greenhouse gases and deforestation.