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Will Global Warming Trigger Next Ice Age?

This article discusses a series of events that have already started that could cause the next ice age. This series of events is the same as the one that theories say caused the last ice age. It is an interesting series of events that seems just as likely as the world getting dramatically warmer. In fact, since many of the mechanisms are already in place, this likelihood seems even stronger.

I usually put the title of the article that I am referencing in the title of my post but in this case the title resides in a technical journal and it is so boring that I elected to write my own.  For the purposes of this discussion, I am referencing “Climate Control Requires a Dam at the Strait of Gibraltar” which was published by the American Geophysical Union on July 8, 1997 by the now Professor Emeritus Dr. R. G. Johnson.

My Nobel Moment

Wall Street Journal – November 1, 2007

This is a very interesting commentary from John Christy, a member of the IPCC and, thus, a partial receiver of the Nobel Peace Prize. In short, it appears that Mr. Christy doesn’t think that he deserves his .001% of the prize.

I was pointed to this commentary by two regular readers (thank you to Scott and to Ron – check out their sites by clicking on their names).

Pope to make climate action a moral obligation

The Independent – September 23, 2007

It seems that all politicians want to get involved in climate control on one side or the other. The Pope (whom many will say is not a politician) is not immune to this effort.

On one side of the equation, I think this is appropriate but on the other, I have some concerns. If the Pope restricts his comments to saying that humanity is obligated to care for the world then I think this is appropriate. I am not a theologian but even I can find several references in the Bible to support this argument.

New Times Atlas displays effects of climate change

Breitbart – September 3, 2007

There is no doubt that weather changes the topology of Earth’s surface. This article makes the claim that the most recent changes include those caused by climatic change. This is interesting although probably impossible to truly prove the causality. While there is no doubt that the evolving climate has change the article does not make the claim that it is due to the efforts or non-efforts of the human race.

Creators of the Times Atlas have had to make significant changes to their latest edition because of changes to the world’s landscapes caused by climate change….


Cartographers have had to redraw coastlines and reclassify types of land to reflect changes to geographical features like Lake Chad in Africa, which is now 95 percent smaller than it was in 1963.

South Africa: Marion Island Clue to Global Warming Threat

allAfrica.com – August 8, 2007

An extremely interesting article even though I think the title is making a basic claim that is not proven by the article!

I have written about the adaptability of species on this site before (see here and here and here). I found this article to have a unique spin. I am not convinced though that this article is about the dangers of global warming or the dangers of man introducing new species into another environment.  Wikipedia has a great write-up and other links on the dangers of species invasion and you may want to do some background reading there as well as check out their references.

Uniting to fight warming U.N. chief enlists governor’s help in stemming climate change

San Francisco Chronicle – July 28, 2007

Some say that UN Sec.-Gen. Ban Ki-moon is trying to create a new world order and drag down the US economic dominance by actively talking about global warming and its impact on the world. I don’t think that he is that nefarious and simply think that he is discussing a very important issue. He should keep this up! While he is at it, I do wish he would discuss other important issues that should be on the mind of every citizen of the world (see my posts here: Africa: Live Earth Vs. Africa and VIEW: Live earth, deaf to reality).

Africa: Live Earth Vs. Africa

allAffrica.com – July 11, 2007

I will admit it, I am cynical of Live Earth. Even though I write on global warming daily in this site, I feel there are far more important things that can and should be done to ease human suffering than trying to change our climate trends. The human suffering in parts of the world is pretty extreme and, while global warming will make this worse, there are other things that can be done TODAY to ease much of that suffering.

While I am still in internal debate about the cause of any climate change, I have no doubt that we can save thousands, if not millions, of lives very quickly if we would give simple things like malaria more attention.

Getting personal on global warming

Newsday.com – April 29, 2007

Okay, I admit it.  I am a relative softy. I read this personal editorial by a college sophomore and I felt a little pride in our human race. Not that I agreed with everything she said (more on that later) but simply that she was being active in her community and doing her best to understand and communicate a position. I think if more people thought intensely on a certain issue and took a position, the world would be a better place.

All that being said, I would like to point out a few things in her otherwise excellent article that bother me.

Warming Called a National Security Issue

Sci-Tech Today – April 30, 2007

This is an excellent viewpoint on why we need to understand what is happening to our climate. The author says that we need to understand the ramifications of massive climate changes because, if they are dramatic enough, we will surely have more human suffering and more regional hostility as nation-states aggressively try to protect or acquire resources. Their is little disputing the fact that the Earth is a little warmer today than 100 years ago and, based on this trend, it will likely increase some more (although some scientists say that a cooling period is imminent). Any change that would impact a country’s ability to feed, clothe, and protect its citizens is worth discussing.

Study Finds Hurricanes Frequent in Some Cooler Periods

New York Times – May 24, 2007

This article reinforces my constant call that we need to spend more time, effort, and money learning about our very complicated weather. It concerns me when I read stories that some scientists want the press to not cover the entire issue (Climate reporting “too balanced” say scientists) and this article only reinforces that feeling.

Scientists from the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution studied the lagoon mud on a Caribbean island and found that ocean temperature was not the only factor that influenced the birth of hurricanes. Our understanding of this causality is still evolving and we need to have more effort and publicity about our advances in knowledge, not less. One of the scientists hypothesizes that the warming of the Pacific could stifle Atlantic based hurricanes.