I don't know much about Global Warming. In fact I probably know less about it than you do. To be honest, though, no one knows that much about Global Warming, or Global Cooling. Even numerous scientists who are debating passionately the exact atmospheric past, present and future of our dynamic earth don't know. Not knowing enough, however, has not prevented many popular pseudo scientific politicians among others, from having rather strong opinions on this topic, and persuading others. So I figured I'd take a chance at doing the same. But the truth is this, I don't really care that much if the Earth is heating or cooling. Or if the Earth's temperature is staying generally the same within the normal cyclical pattern.
Don't get me wrong, I used to. I used to really, really, care. You see, I read Silent Spring when I was 10. When I was in 3rd grade I became vegetarian (and have remained so some 20 years later), and I tested for acid rain in my backyard. I saw movies about the rainforest like Fern Gulley and I had stuffed animals of endangered species from the World Wildlife Fund. And when my teachers taught me about global warming, I believed them. I was terrified of global warming. When I got older I took a class called "Foods, Farms, and Population Growth." And read a book called "The Stork and the Plow". Talk about scared! If we don't all get destroyed by global warming hurricanes than we're all going to starve to death! I pictured a world of relentless heat, catastrophic flooding, and the drought, famine and anarchy that would inevitable result.
Sometimes when you're scared it's best to educate yourself on the topic that frightens you. I've found that often to be the case with me. So it was with Global Warming. First, I turned to the experts that seemed legitimate that believed in Global Warming. I rejected any of the articles that went against their theories as propaganda from oil companies. And then something happened. I came to two startling conclusions which I will detail here.
The first thing I realized pretty early on. It led to my objection of government involvement with "global warming" issues. I realized that if global warming WAS true, it was a pretty hopeless cause. I've felt that way for some time now, but it was summed up recently by Richard Harris of NPR on February 4th 2009 in their Science and Health column. "Here's the bad news: Even if the G-8 industrialized nations and developing nations such as China and India all met their climate goals, the planet still warms." What?! I cannot quote the whole article, but we're talking 80% reduction, everywhere! What?! You mean we have to give our freedom to the government, probably beyond the police state nightmare I envision, and still have a catastrophic future? Yes. You mean we would have to go beyond anything you might envision to get the standards this low, including giving up give the ability to drive, fly, boat, and the ramifications of that- never seeing your family again because they live in another state, not seeing your friend again, ever, because they live in California, cutting off all fossil fuels, eliminating manufacturing, forcing everyone to become vegan, we'd STILL be over our limit? Yes. We'd be nowhere near ending global warming. What's the point?! I mean that's worse than dieting and not losing weight. That's dieting and gaining weight. If climate change is as bad as some fear it may be: we're all screwed anyway. I have never owned a car and I am 28 years old. That's 10.5 years without a car. I can tell you honestly it is terribly difficult to live without a car. I cannot imagine a world without them. It would turn us into a third-world country overnight. If everyone in America giving up their car still wouldn't change anything, driving less certainly won't. "The Ten Simple Things Everyone Can Do" to help the earth like changing your light bulbs (perhaps to the new kind being hyped by . . . who? NBC who owns GE and the patent to these light bulbs) isn't going to make any difference.
The second thing I realized was a little more hopeful. I realized that I was discounting altogether, literally thousands of PhD meteorologists, climatologists, and astrophysicists who don't believe in manmade climate change. Where as many of the science articles I had previously believed were not written by people who had PhD's in anything relevant to climatology, there were many legitimate scientists I was ignoring. Here are a few whose arguments changed my mind. There's Dr. Balling Jr. Professor of Climatology at Arizona State University who wrote the book "The Heated Debate: Greenhouse Predictions Versus Climate Reality" or even "Satanic Gases" which he wrote with Pat Michaels. There's Dr. Reid A Bryson PhD, D.Sc. D.Eng. Global 500 Laureate, Senior Scientist Center for Global Research, Emeritus Professor of Meteorology of Geography of Environmental studies University of Wisconsin's articles – he's written over 260 and 5 books but his subject matter isn't limited to disproving global warming. I took a particular interest in the website Icecap.org. I could list books and articles, but I won't bore you anymore with the details, but it changed my mind, and perhaps more importantly it deepened my understanding of scientific principles and gave me a new appreciation for amazing our world is. And I will say this; if you are concerned about this topic or if you are getting your information solely from NPR, NBC, NY Times and Al Gore, (like I used to do) I think you owe it to yourself to read articles written by scientists who disagree with you. Because Al Gore (and other pseudo-scientific politicians), NBC, and many, many others have a lot to gain financially by scaring and guilting you into buying a new G.E. fluorescent light bulb, and other "green" technology. There is a wealth of information you might not be exposed to.
So, I guess I lied. I guess I do care what happens to us. We all do. I just know that government intrusion into the lives of private citizens and into privately and publicly owned companies for the sake of something that most likely won't prevent something that probably doesn't exist is not justified. I don't agree with the government denying us our rights, even over something as silly as light bulbs, or as major as emission standards (that would irrevocably change our way of life for the worse). It's unethical. It's undemocratic. It's un-American.
Jain can be reached at
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