So what if the earth warns a degree or two, right?

You may use this content (better still, argue with me!), but please cite my ideas as © 2007, Dr. Bruce Klopfenstein. Find any typos? Please let me know!

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Source: http://www.ethicurean.com

Whenever an expert on Global Warming comes on television, for example, and tells the interviewer that "we can expect global temperates to increase 1 degree Fahrenheit every x number of years if we continue on our current path," the average Jo will say, "What? A degree? Who cares! That means it will be 74 instead of 73. Big deal!" I confess when I was perhaps a teenager and some foresighted scientists such as the ones measuring increasing carbon levels from high atop a mountain in Hawaii, far away from local polluters may have made this warning, I probably thought the same thing. Those of us who lived in the north probably thought "Good! Less snow!" (I happen to like snow, so I would not have been as enthusiastic.)

I've discovered a way to explain this to even the most doubting of Thomases:

Your job is to increase annual world temperatures by 1 degree Celsius in three years. How are you going to do it?

Give me feedback on this, let me know if this explanation works, because what it shows the army of Doubting Thomases is that to increase global temperatures by 1 degree Celsius (or Fahernheit, but Celsius is a little more dramatic) would require an outrageous amount of energy. Next, add up just how much energy would be required to raise global temperatures 1 degree C. If you even try to get your mind around this, I think you can understand that this is a tremendous amont of energy in our atmosphere and it clearly will lead to dramatic changes in the weather. Hurricanes may get most of the attention, and they should because they are nature's way of venting heat energy from the ocean back into the atmosphere.

The Weather Naysayers Meet the Doomsayer

You may use this content (better still, argue with me!), but please cite my ideas as © 2007, Dr. Bruce Klopfenstein. Find any typos? Just let me know!

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I found it almost comical that a group including local television weathercasters came out a few years ago with a strong statement that global warming didn't exist, we were just experiencing normal fluctuations in the weather. Uh....yeah. It seemed to me these folks were saying "We're the experts around here. And since so many non-experts are talking about Global Warming, we're going to chip in and say "It doesn't exist!" Yes, you've seen the certificate of approval that Jo Weathercaster is "endorsed" by the American Meteorological Society.

(cue the music)

Well, they have changed their tune. In their 2007 report, Climate Change: An Information Statement of the American Meteorological Society (http://www.ametsoc.org/policy/2007climatechange.html accessed 26 August 2007), here is one example of the 180 degree change: "Global mean temperatures have been rising steadily over the last 40 years, with the six warmest years since 1860 occurring in the last decade." (Anecdotally or if you have been watching the weather including the dramatically large number of wild fires around the earth, 2007 will be the hottest year on record.) In addition, this paragraph comes in the very beginning of the report:

"Why is climate changing?"

Climate has changed throughout geological history, for many natural reasons such as changes in the sun’s energy received by Earth arising from slow orbital changes, or changes in the sun’s energy reaching Earth’s surface due to volcanic eruptions. In recent decades, humans have increasingly affected local, regional, and global climate by altering the flows of radiative energy and water through the Earth system (resulting in changes in temperature, winds, rainfall, etc.), which comprises the atmosphere, land surface, vegetation, ocean, land ice, and sea ice. Indeed, strong observational evidence and results from modeling studies indicate that, at least over the last 50 years, human activities are a major contributor to climate change.

I've mentioned earlier my personal criticism of The Weather Channel as a huge player in the Global Warming discourse that has also been extremely cautious about "climate change." Now they are running "Storm Stories" that include mini-documentaries about climate change. This is good news.

I'll bet Bob Reiss got a lot of negative feedback when he had the courage (?!) to publish his book "way back" in 2001, The Coming Storm: Extreme Weather and Our Terrifying Future (Hyperion. 2001. 323 pages.) This is amazing coming about 7 years ago:

Journalist Reiss takes us to the front lines of some of the decade's most destructive storms and describes global warming through the eyes of those most involved—researchers, meteorologists, and the families that have been affected. A frightening, enlightening, and fascinating portrait of climate changes and its impacts. Check price/buy book.

Source: World Future Society Book Store, http://www.wfs.org/bkblurbs.htm#malthus, accessed 26 August 2007.

I posted this because I was on the WFS web site, but it's probably a better idea to post books that try to discount or refute global warming, because those authors and their followers are unlikely to pursue lifestyle changes that all of us need to proactively begin to change.

Arctic Warming: Scenarios for 2040

You may use this content (better still, argue with me!), but please cite my ideas as © 2007, Dr. Bruce Klopfenstein. Find any typos! Please let me know!

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In the current issue of The Futurist (September/October 2007), there is a cover story called Thinking About the Arctic's Future: scenario for 2040:

The warming in the Arctic could mean more circumpolar transportation but also an increased likelihood of overexploited natural resources. An Arctic researcher explores the challenges and opportunities of this key region.

The article is available for purchase at http://www.wfs.org/Sept-Oct07%20files/FuturecontSO07.htm but this publication should be available even in local public libraries. It's worth noting that The World Future Society has no stake in forecasting global warming one way or another, but it's very responsive to what's happening. Of all the people on earth, futurists are surely among those most concerned with global warming because they understand its possible implications for the future. In fact, a search of "global warming" in the search box provided at http://www.wfs.org/ produces a plethora of articles from The Futurist. If you're serious about doing something about Global Warming, The World Future Society is an appropriate group to join (understand that Global Warming is not its focus, but it's so important that it is a very hot topic (no pun intended) for this group).

Among the many resources at is a bookshelf with titles such as The Carbon Buster's Home Energy Handbook by Godo Stoyke. New Society Publishers. 2006. 170 pages. The following breif overview of the book is incliuded:

Paperback. Stoyke, president of Carbon Busters Inc., systematically analyzes energy costs and evaluates which measures yield the highest returns for the environment and the pocketbook. The book provides answers to questions such as: Which measure is more effective, putting solar panels on your roof or buying a hybrid car? Where do I need to invest first: in high-efficiency shower heads or solar tubes? Is a $500 fridge that uses 800 kWh of power per year a good buy? The goal of the handbook is to enable readers to dramatically reduce their carbon emissions. Check price/buy book.