Either way Graham you’re a tool. There is indisputable evidence of anthropogenic climate change, even proved by a contradicting theory to the ‘industrial revolution emissions theory. Ruddiman’s hypothesis in 2001 states that increases in carbon dioxide started not in the industrial revolution but much before, when agriculture became dominant through the production of rice in paddy fields. (Once again, our fault)
You cannot possibly argue when hundreds of papers have been published in scientific journals WORLDWIDE proving through years of collaborating data that Anthropogenic activity (human activity if you don’t know what that means) has had a detrimental effect on CO2 levels in the atmosphere.
Moreover climatologists who do not believe in ANTHROPOGENIC climate change still agree that carbon dioxide levels have increased while humans have been around. This is probably because they have to, as hundreds of scientists gathering data in different places, with different methods have all come to the same conclusion, despite their own beliefs.
HOWEVER, you would be right in saying that the earth is currently in a ‘cooling’ period you only have to look at data of temperatures over the periods of time previous to the Holocene, however in context of the cooling period, humans have only existed when the temperatures were around the ballpark figure of today. I suggest you look up the ‘Hockey Stick’ theory, although still under debate has been proven by many scientists to be accurately carried out a formulated even after replication with different methods.
Our current needs from the planet are such that we have to MAINTAIN the environment as it is, if not repair the damage we have created because although we ARE in a cooling period, any hotter and we will face increasing sea levels, reversal of succession in vegetation and many other problems which will hinder out existence.
Furthermore humans have become parasites on the planet, leeching resources without considering the effects on biodiversity of the planet or any other damaging effects.
So crack on fella with your ‘there’s no climate change’ rubbish, carry on as you are and in 20 years time I’ll be well happy to say I told you so when you’re shitting yourself because its too late to make that difference…

P.S Call me Cynical but a BSc in marine biology and a MSc in conservation biology has made me that way ;)

P.P.s I have never been on a private Jet either. Fleeting generalizations are never a good idea.

You are petty…

You accuse me of disagreeing with fact, yet my entire argument with you has been based in fact, the earth is cooling not warming.

Let me go ahead a clarify my position…man is not causing “globabl warming”. As you say the earth will warm and cool, however we don’t need to worry about our lives being threatened by and such “trend”.

Let me fist address your comment about Rush. Have you read the transcript of his speach to CPAC? I don’t need to defend Rush, he does that himself every day, I will say though, he did inaccurately quoted the Preamble to the Constitution. Big deal, were his words implications any less true? And as best as I can tell, it seemed that his speach was off the top of his head, not prepared and fact checked…he repeatedly said he wasn’t using a teleprompter. Certainly given the opportunity to correct himself, he would, and probably has.

If you think that little error totally debunks Rush’s accuracy, then I suppose the 9 HUGE errors in an “Inconvenient Truth” certianly debunks “climate change” and your hero Al Gore, who by the way is still flying everywhere he goes…what a hypocrite!

Your comment about forrest in the United States is also false. I work in the paper industry, I know that there are more trees in the United States today than there were when this country was founded.

Burning wood…was that a joke?

Why don’t you just go ahead and admit that “climate change” is BS and so are the defenders of it?

Seriously, if Al Gore, Nancy Pelosi, and the 200+ losers who voted for Cap and Trade bill in the House of Reps. really believe that CO2 is causing “global warming”, then why in the hell are they still flying in their private jets?!? The answer may shock you…THEY DON’T REALLY BELIEVE IN WHAT THEY ARE SAYING!!!

You say I’m hellbent on ignoring your “reasoned arguments”…like this one?..”Graham, you are an idiot. Climate change doesn’t manifest itself in time scales of just a few or several years. ” Jonny

Very “reasonable” comment Jonny…In fact none of your comments have been reasonable, or engageing…which is why I maintatin the fact that you are a douche bag.

Yes, I don’t for a second believe that humans are causing global warming. I don’t believe that there is sufficient data to support that and neither do the 31,000+ scientists/signers of the Globabl Warming Petition Project (Google it). Why must you keep ignoring science?

So this is mental floss and we are supposed to look at all sides and have a reasonable debate, so why dont you then try looking the other way some time. I believed in “global warming” and “climate change” myself, about four years ago, but then I listened to several other points of view and realized that the data just doesn’t support it. Maybe you should take the time to do so as well.

Graham

P.S. You never answered whether or not you believe humans are causing “climate change” and just what you are doing about that.

At the 2009 CPAC, your dear leader, Rush, was awared the “Defender of the Constitution” award. Rush proceeded during his speech to quote from “the Preamble of the Constitution” (you know, that document that someone had just made him “Defender” of).

He said “We are endowed by our creator, with certain inalienable rights. That among these rights are Life, Liberty (Freedom), and the Pursuit of Happiness.”

Now, tell me where the job-ending inaccuracy is.

If you guessed that Rush inserted the word “Freedom”, because Rush doesn’t like the word “Liberty”, it’s too much like Liberal, so he had to change it, YOU’RE RIGHT! I suppose he refers to the green statue in NY Harbor as the Statue of Freedom just to avoid giving liberals a good name.

This is how petty and manipulative your dear leader Rush is, that he won’t use the word Liberty as it’s written in one of our founding documents. Some American.

Of course, if that’s all you saw, you’re still sadly wrong. Rush wasn’t quoting the Preamble of the Constitution as he claimed. That’s the Declaration of Independence.

Rush, the Great Defender of the Constitution, COULDN’T EVEN ACCURATELY QUOTE THE CONSTITUTION, IN A PREPARED SPEECH. Now, where was his fact checker? Why hasn’t he lost his job over this mistake? Why haven’t they at the very LEAST REVOKED HIS AWARD over his FAILURE TO DEFEND THE CONSTITUTION, or the Declaration as it was written for that matter.

But Rush is always accurate, according to you, or he would have lost his job by now.

You can always find someone to disagree w/ fact. And now I’ve found you, my bestest buddy.

Megadittoes

And Rush Limbaugh doesn’t have to be accurate. He’s in the business of OPINIONS. Rush is notoriously INACCURATE. He’s claimed there is no link between cigarettes and cancer and other diseases, no proof that nicotine is addictive.

And he said (in his book, See, I Told You So) “There are more acres of forestland in America today than when Columbus discovered the continent in 1492.

Ok, 2 things wrong w/ that. Columbus didn’t discover the continent, he got to the island of Hispanola in 1492. And there aren’t more trees in America than there were in 1492. Clear cut forests don’t tend to grow back.

But as long as Rush says it w/ conviction, and more importantly, as long as rubes believe every word he says, then Rush is in the clear.

Also, perhaps you’ve heard of a treeline, where trees and most plants stop growing. From the Wikipedia:
“There are also man-made pollution tree lines in weather exposed areas, where new tree lines have developed because of the increased stress of pollution. ”

So you see, if you reduce the amount of oxygen (as a percentage of the atmosphere, because say, CO2 is increasing and becoming a greater percentage), then it may not be good for plants, as you claimed.

I am not sure of the exact chemistry of say, burning wood, but if you have carbon in the wood, and you need oxygen for a fire, and the resulting smoke contains CO2, then you can see that the amount of free oxygen in the atmosphere is being reduced and that oxygen is combining w/ the Carbon to become CO2. So it is possible for the level of pure oxygen, as percentage of the atmosphere, to be reduced, w/out reducing existant oxygen per say.

My tone, while somewhat condescending and sarcastic, was my attempt to avoid the ad hominem attacks that seem to be the only ammunition you have in this discussion. This is after all, Mental Floss, and I’m trying to engage your intellect w/ reasoned arguments that you seem hellbent on ignoring.

Do you really believe humans AREN’T causing global warming?

Wow, it IS really easy to win an argument that way, just ignore science, and most of world opinion and you’re never wrong. As I said before, most people agree global warming is real.

It is crystal clear who my comments were aimed at Jonny, not johnny…

Jonny, you are a douche bag.

If anyone is still reading these posts they will know wxactly what I mean. Your tone is pathetically immature, you sound like someone defending their relegion.

Only your relegion is “climate change” and anything else that Obama, Pelosi, and Gore have crapped out and onto the world today.

I am confidant that you will completely ignore any rational response to any of your points becuase you have been convenced that man is causing “global warming”.

Do you honestly believe that there isn’t enough Oxygen in the air anymore?!?

Do you really believe that humans are causing global warming?

If so, what the hell are you doing about it?

Why are your heroes and the rest of the “climate changers” still flying around in private jets?

Megadittoes…maybe you ought to listen to Rush or better yeat, listen to Neal Boortz. Opinions aside, their facts are always accurate, they have to be, otherwise they’ll be out of a job.

Graham

p.s. Did you change you name from John to Jonny after seing Karate Kid?