Damn this weather. After a couple of days of really pretty weather, we’re stuck in mad wind and blowing wet snow today. May was not meant for snow no matter what anyone tells you, and I for one am a big grump today because of it. Days like today make me dream of a warm beach and a cold drink. But the reality of my life means that despite being such an awesome blogger, I can’t just jet-set off to Belize whenever I like to escape the cold. I know, life’s weird, huh? But now I’m thinking of warmer, and that led me to warming, and I thought I’d weigh in on the topic.
I’m not a climatologist and wouldn’t have the first clue how to determine if the data is accurate or not. There’s a lot of math and science involved in interpreting the information that is simply beyond me. That’s why climatologists have to go to school. The collecting and interpreting of this information is a scientific process. In the same regard that I wouldn’t expect them to just pick up a computer and start building complicated web applications as laypeople, it’s equally silly to assume that I’d be able to pick up their data sets and determine what is true and what is not.
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I’m sure you’ve already heard about this, but the great James Randi has posted his stance on climate change, and surprised a lot of skeptics by coming out on the side of the denialists. He admits throughout his post that he’s not an expert on the topic, and I can relate. I’m no expert either. I’ve never studied climatology, and my opinion on the topic is based on the consensus of experts. This might seem like a cop-out, but the truth is that none of us has the ability to know everything about everything. We choose which side to take on issues like this based on a variety of factors, not the least of which should be the opinion of the majority of actual experts. PZ Myers has a great commentary on the reasoning behind Randi’s statements, so I won’t belabor that point, but I recommend you read it.
To that end, I believe that global warming is a real phenomenon, and one that poses a significant threat. And I work in an industry largely populated by people with a vested interest in promoting the denialist perspective. I’ve heard their arguments, and I’ve found them to be generally self-serving and full of spin.
There is truth to the argument that we don’t have the full picture. Weather is a complicated thing, and we don’t fully understand the way it fluctuates. However, it seems to me that we want to err on the side of caution. And I think this video sums it up nicely.
I just read a couple of interesting articles from Science Daily about energy and thought I’d share them.
The first article is about a group of researchers who have managed to find a much more efficient means of generating hydrogen through photosynthesis. Hydrogen as a gas is very intriguing in terms of the war on greenhouse gasses, but there have been technical difficulties in finding a way to generate it efficiently. However:
Bruce and his colleagues found that by starting with a thermophilic blue-green algae, which favors warmer temperatures, they could sustain the reaction at temperatures as high as 55 degrees C, or 131 degrees F. That is roughly the temperature in arid deserts with high solar irradiation, where the process would be most productive. They also found the process was more than 10 times more efficient as the temperature increased.
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You’ve probably heard about this little idea out there called ‘Climate Change’. You may have been thinking that scientist are still debating the issue, because Fox news pundits love to use that phrase every time the science is presented.
here is a wonderful and eloquent video that tries to change your mind!
