With the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) report just out it would seem that we live in dire times. So I am wondering what people in San Carlos think about what could be the greatest human caused disaster of all time, that being man made global waring.
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Has not the earths climate already changed over time? Remember the ice age, mammoths, sloths, saber tooth tigers and all that? If the answer to the first question is a resounding yes, then logically the other question to ask is, can humans have an impact on the global climate? We can certainly have an impact on the air we breath in large cities. Air pollution from the industrial revolution and the burning of fossil fuels has certainly affected the air we breath and all one really has to do to be sure of that is to take a visit to Mexico City on any given day in winter and simply look up. It is a rare occurrence now to see the stunning volcanoes that border one of the largest and most polluted cities in the world. All that pollution didn’t get into the atmosphere by accident. All us hairless apes put that shit up in the sky and now the time to pay the piper is drawing near.
So when I run into a climate change denier, you all know who you are, at some point in the conversation I respectfully ask this simple question. I stress the word respectfully when I speak with climate change deniers since I truly believe Americans are loosing the ability to have respectful discourse. The question I pose is this, If you shit in your own back yard long enough does it start to stink? Remember Hurricane Jimena when it kicked the shit out of San Carlos a few years ago? Most areas of San Carlos were with out water for at least a week and I suspect in the ranchitos it was longer that that. Luckily most people in the ranchitos are used to less water and probably faired better than we did at our tinaco less house. From my own personal experiences I can guarantee everyone that the answer to the proverbial, your own back yard question, is a resounding yes.
Loading ...Now back to the imperfections of climate science. Climate change deniers have already pounced on the parts of the IPCC report that can not explain the reason why the global mean surface temperatures have not risen according to predictions. The simple answer to why the predictions are off is actually rather simple. The 
models don’t work perfectly. Other deniers are going to site the wrong estimates of the Himalayan glacier melting report that came out in 2007. But I will tell you this, the one thing that deniers don’t like to talk about is Greenland ice. The truth is in the ice and the ice is melting very very fast. If you haven’t seen the very beautifully filmed documentary directed by Jeff Orlowasky, Chasing Ice, featuring James Balog then I suggest you take a look at it. The time lapse images shot over a several year period in this documentary are simply undeniable. All that water has got to go some where and as i recall ice melts when temperatures rise. We ain’t talking Sub Atomic Physics here, just simple elementary science.
San Carlos is on the front line of ocean sea rise. It won’t happen in my life time but my children’s children may well inherit a house that was once two blocks from shore now finds it self on the beach. Rising oceans though will not be the biggest threat we face if you listen to Jeff Masters, director of meteorology at Weather Underground. “Drought is the number-one threat we face from climate change because it affects the two things we need to live, food and water. The future projections of drought are rather frightening. We see large areas of the world, particularly the ones that are already dry, are expected to get drier, and that’s going to greatly challenge our ability to grow food there and provide water for people”, said Masters, who also criticized the IPCC report for not adequately addressing drought.
Now there are still many skeptics out there and if you look you will find the 1200 page report issued by the (NIPCC) which stands for the Nongovernmental International Panel on Climate Change. One of the main sponsors for the NIPCC is a think tank out of Chicago called the Heartland Institute. Do some research and you find that the heartland institute receives a rather large portion of its funding from climate change deniers and large corporations. The other thing to note about the NIPCC is that its 1200 page report is put together by 50 scientists. This is in stark contrast to the IPCC report that is produced by a scientific body consisting of 195 member countries and over 800 contributing scientists. So which report ya gonna take more seriously?
No matter how you cut it the majority of scientists out there agree that the climate indeed is going to change, not for the better, and we better get ready to deal with the changes. Just look at the head lines, major fires in the south west, Colorado gets a thousand year flood, Southern Mexico just got its own transgender version of our hurricane Jimena in the form of tropical storm Manuel, what a bitch, on the pacific and then Hurricane Ingrid on the gulf coast for a one two knock out punch that would have given Canelo Alvarez a clean TKO over Floyd Mayweather. All that shit I just mentioned happened within a few months of each other. Denial is not a river in Egypt………….. are we still in it?
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I truly am curious at to what everyone thinks so answer the polls and let us know what you think.
Many “movie star” beach homes, especially in the Malibu area are already loosing ground. The human caused pollution is causing more problems than global warming… although global warming is, I’m sure the most serious problem that we need work on. We all need to practice conservatism in all that we do! I am so guilty, your honor. I hope that the cost of “turning green” will come down… and maybe even become mandatory. Having said that, we can all do better. THiNK GREEN!
Sage words from a Wild Women!!!
I going to ride my bike to the posada right now and check out the sea food festival!!
Yes climate change is very real and the consequences are dire. Man, if not the only cause, is a huge contributor. The environment can only process so much. But even if it weren’t true, do we still want all the pollution in our water and air? And if it is true the cost to clean our environment and keep it clean via renewable energy is far cheaper than the financial and human costs associated with climate change.It’s a simple risk/reward calculation. Preventing the pending “tipping point” from occurring will cost us way less than the damage looming. Just like insurance. Not worth the risk to live without it.
To those who think that alternative energy is just about some entrepreneurs looking to make a buck look at what the other side (big oil, big coal, nukes) are spending to spread misinformation and propaganda. And no one accuses them of just being out to make a buck. I have been in the renewable energy field since the late 70’s. I saw the nuke industry kill solar in the 80’s. Had we stayed on the course that Carter was trying to put us on we would not be in the predicament we are in today. The arguments against renewables is nothing new. All the press and politicians are just regurgitating old myths and in most cases just dusting off arguments that made no sense 30 years ago and still don’t.
And for those that want to wait till “solar is more affordable”. Just realize that that is a myth the fossil fuel industry wants you to believe. The true cost of energy must include all costs…military, pollution, distribution etc. Factor all those costs in and renewables end up cheaper. The technology will improve and costs will come down. But the products available today are viable and cost effective. Consider if the investment returns on renewables are greater than what you earn at the bank or in the stock market and you will see that it makes no sense to sit around and wait for technolgy to improve.
Here is a website to learn more about climate change
https://realitydrop.org/
I could go on but I’m sure I’m boring people now.
Interesting site Gary, I will check it out. Germany is an excellent Example. I forget the exact stat but buy 2050 Germany is going to be like 80% renewable, what the hell are the gringos waiting for?
gracias
A way to own the sun!