Cool Off on Global Warming: Separate Science and Politics

Every day we hear some politician, some activist, and some so-called scientist claiming that the Earth is warming because of human activity and that we better do something about it fast--like blame the U.S. and destroy its economy. Now, I enjoy science and I enjoy politics, but they are better enjoyed separately than together, because politics has a way of tainting real science. This is the case of combining global warming studies with the Kyoto Protocol and with government grants. Isn't it better to understand Earth's climate changes and cycles than to jump to false conclusions and waste billions of dollars and destroy jobs?

I'm not going to take the space to address both sides of the argument. There is plenty of information on the internet if you want to research it. However, I will suggest that everyone who wants the truth about global warming and its causes should be skeptical of alarmists and of scientists with an agenda and who depend upon government grants. They might be right, but they might not be. If they're not, the costs are very, very high.

Hang with me, but let's have a brief science lesson. Consider that the Earth has had four major ice ages and within those ice ages we have cycles of cooling and warming every 40,000 to 100,000 years. Ice ages are affected by atmospheric composition, changes in the Earth's orbit around the Sun, and the arrangement of the continents. Short-term changes can be influenced by cycles of the Sun.

The last glacial period, where a major ice sheet covered northern North American and most of Europe, was 11,000 years ago. In addition, there was "The Little Ice Age" from the 14th to 19th centuries, which was characterized by very cold winters, cool summers, severe storms, and crop failures. In fact, in 1780 New York Harbor froze and you could walk from Manhattan to Staten Island. So, where are we going?

Well, it appears to me that the warming and cooling of the planet are influenced by greater factors than just man, and that what we're experiencing in climate changes can be explained by laws of nature more than misdeeds of mankind. The following map of North America shows the extent of the last glacial age and the retreat of the ice sheet over the last 11,000 years. If it wasn't for that retreat, then the Chicago Bulls would have to play in Mississippi. But, seriously, study the map and determine how man affected this climate change. Could he have?

In addition to this small map above, you may want to view a larger animated map of the glacial retreat at this site of The University of Oregon. It is interesting to pay additional attention to the changes in the coastlines and lakes as the ice sheet melted.

Bottom line. It takes a giant leap of faith or a giant political agenda to ignore that warming trends are part of the normal cycles that the Earth has experienced for millenniums. So, before you jump on the Kyoto bandwagon, consider all the evidence and consider the consequences of a bad decision--either way. We need government leaders to continue to oppose dragging the U.S. into a bad treaty, and the rest of the world should wake up. The money being wasted to insignificantly affect Earth's temperatures can be better used in ways to really help the Earth and mankind.