The Day After - Global Warming

[Freethinker]

I just saw "The Day After Tommorrow". Obviously some of the elements are not very possible. Mainly the time scale. I understand the onset of the last Ice Age took 4.5 years, not minutes/ days as in the movie. But still, 4.5 years is a short time!

But what of Global Warming? Is it Science or political rangling?

I tend to agree that Global Warming is real and a problem. We, esp in the US, need to pay far more attention to our actions. We are harming the very eco system, the ONLY eco system, we live in.

And we need to force our politicians to stop playing politics with mother earth.

Bush turned Texas into the most polluted state in the US as Gov.

He wants to destroy Alaska and other wilderness, for the monetary profit of his Corp buddies.

Will we wake up only when it is too late?

And finally, do movies like "The Day After Tommorrow" help or hurt the effort?

[Uncle Martin]

The weight of the empirical evidence must lead one to accept global warming as a real phenomenon. Earth's climate has varied greatly in the past, so what we must ask is , is this a natural event or one caused by Homo Sapiens? This is where the political agendas come in. The current U S administration will stop at nothing to pillage every last drop of natural wealth this planet contains. The failure of GWB to sign the Kyoto treaty is proof that he and his mega-wealthy cronies would rather risk our environment than chance lessening their net worth.

The bulk of the evidence points to the rise in mean temperature is linked to man's abuse of the planet. From deforestation to burning fossil fuels we are surely altering our environment. As stated above, our climate has varied in the past. Some politico's have the audacity to cite this in an attempt to allay our fears. I've read some republican propaganda that actually claimed the current extinction rate is natural. They claim these species could not adapt. True, but it is our effects that they cannot adapt to.

Guess what? If we are altering our environment at a rate that hundreds or thousands of species per year can't adapt fast enough to survive, it is only a matter of time before we join our already lost breathren. Mother Earth is a complex ecosystem. Every organism from bacteria to blue whales is to some extent interdependent on the others. We, in our arrogant race to advance technologically, may be changing the climate faster than WE can adapt biologically. Our technology may enable us to survive, but for the other species we share this planet with, we have certainly interfered with natural selection on a grand scale. Once a species is gone, it is gone forever. We may never know the value of it's genetic material.

It seems to me that a film such as "The Day After Tomorrow" could only help to heighten awareness among those that may not otherwise be informed.

[Tormod]

Originally posted by: Uncle Martin
It seems to me that a film such as "The Day After Tomorrow" could only help to heighten awareness among those that may not otherwise be informed.

There was an enlightening commentary in New Scientist a few weeks back about this movie. A climate researcher said it was simply wonderful that someone used big bucks to put this highway to hell in front of everyone's face (well, not his exact words ) and although the time frame is highly distorted or even completely false this does not change the fact that people are growin tired of the endless debate and incompetence on certain politicians' behalf when it comes to realizing that big bucks won't get you rid if the inevitable. Action is needed, and if the population can be teased into it then it's all for the better.

I remember a few years back (*ahem*) when I was in high school, a right-wing politican came to a debate at our school and said that their solution to the pollution problem was "higher chimneys", since this would bring the smog to parts of the world where the problem was not so big (you know, like Russia, no pollution there). When asked if he thought it would be okay if the British used higher chimneys too, he simply refused to comment. (For those who don't know me - I live in Norway, and pollution from Britain is a real problem).

Today, this party has about 20% of the popular vote. Go figure.

Tormod

[Freethinker]

Originally posted by: Uncle Martin
It seems to me that a film such as "The Day After Tomorrow" could only help to heighten awareness among those that may not otherwise be informed.

But the Republicans are using it against the effort. They are using to make those of us that actually care about our ecosystem sound like nuts.

Movie message in 'The Day After Tomorrow' is mostly hot air
Phyllis Schlafly

Unable to develop a coherent political ideology to oppose President George W. Bush, the anti-Bush cabal has turned to humor and Hollywood. ... Global warming isn't science; it's leftist propaganda to promote global regulation of our economy. If the predictions of the movie were true, it is obvious that absolutely nothing we could do ...
http://www.townhall.com/columnists/phyllisschlafly/ps20040607.shtml


There may actually be more science in the last installment of the Caped Crusader saga than in “The Day After Tomorrow,” which premiered on May 28th.
http://frontpagemag.com/Articles/Rea...e.asp?ID=13610

[Tormod]

Hm...interesting. Well, I hope to get to see the movie on Friday. I'll comment on the science of it then...

Tormod

[Uncle Martin]

FT,

The money and power at stake is outrageous. $200 million to fit just one coal fired generating plant with anti pollution devices. They will find any means possible to discredit real science and distort the truth. Absolute power corrupts absolutely!!! GWB thinks he has absolute power-hell, he may.

Tormod,

"higher chimneys", That is so ridiculous that I'm surprised ol' dubya hasn't already suggested it.

[Tormod]

Hush, don't give him any ideas. Oh wait - it would hit southern Europe, not Scandinavia. No problem, then.

Tormod

[Tormod]

BTW, did anyone see the Letterman show where Dennis Quaid came on to talk about the movie? David Letterman made a joke about the movie - this show was on a Monday, so he said "It's funny, if it was Wednesday you could say that the day after tomorrow opens the day after tomorrow. But on Thursday, you could say that the day after tomorrow opens tomorrow. But tomorrow, we can say that the day after tomorrow opens the day after the day after tomorrow. Today, we can say...oh, never mind."

Tormod
(venting his off-topic needs)

[Uncle Martin]

Originally posted by: Tormod
Hush, don't give him any ideas. Oh wait - it would hit southern Europe, not Scandinavia. No problem, then.



Tormod

Although I know you're not serious, I think that sentiment may be part of the problem. Let's put it on someone else, let them worry about it. Out of site, out of mind. Dump it in the ocean, burn it, whatever it takes to avoid actually fixing the problem. Let's put our nuclear waste on the moon, it will never endanger anyone there. Yeah, right!! The state of New Jersey trucks it's garbage to West Virginia, they fill the valleys between mountains. Someday W V will have a topography similar to Kansas. We must start taking responsibility for our actions, our heirs should not have to.

[lindagarrette]

A late night TV show played the NYC tidal wave sequence to the tune of "Surf City USA." It was hilarious. Not to mention that the giant wave itself looked like Godzilla squeezing through the buildings. I thought the movie was dumb and I wish it had been made thoughtfully.