You can claim that your readers are free to research the issue elsewhere, but what you are doing is encouraging them to be informationally irresponsible.
You what? You are starting to irritate me with your unsolicited editorial advice. Don’t like my web page—go and make your own!
As you have already noted earlier in this debate, ice sheet melting is a runaway positive feedback process.
Yes—from the point of full glaciation to little glaciation, ice core evidence suggests this process is a relatively unstoppable one-way slide. However, we have gone down that slide already in this glacial cycle. Trying to push the temperature upward from there hasn’t happened naturally for millions of years. That doesn’t look so easy—while we still have an ice-age continental configuration.
If you look at the temperature graph of the last million years, you will not see that we are about to fall into another glaciation period, because the climate record of the last million years does not reflect the current situation.
That sounds more like ignoring the temperature graph—and considering other information—to me.
If I do retrieve the information, do you commit to revising your site to reflect it, or removing the site as obsolete?
You are kidding, presumably. The information needs to be compelling evidence that there isn’t a significant risk. Whether you retreive it or not seems likely to be a minor factor.
As I previously explained, a warmer planet would still be better, reglaciation risk or no. More of the planet would be habitable, fewer would die of pneumonia, there would be fewer deserts—and so on. However, the reglaciation risk does add urgency to the situation.
You what? You are starting to irritate me with your unsolicited editorial advice. Don’t like my web page—go and make your own!
Given that people tend to seek out informational sources that flatter their biases, and your website is one of relatively few sources attempting to convince people that the data suggests global warming is positive, making another website has less utility to me than convincing you to revise yours.
That sounds more like ignoring the temperature graph—and considering other information—to me.
It is considering the temperature graph insofar as it is relevant, while incorporating other information that is more reflective of our current situation. Would you try to extrapolate technological advances in the next twenty years based on the average rate of technological advancement over the last six hundred?
Yes—from the point of full glaciation to little glaciation, ice core evidence suggests this process is a relatively unstoppable one-way slide. However, we have gone down that slide already in this glacial cycle. Trying to push the temperature upward from there hasn’t happened naturally for millions of years. That doesn’t look so easy—while we still have an ice-age continental configuration.
We had more or less the same continental configuration in the Pliocene, without cyclical glaciation periods.
You are kidding, presumably. The information needs to be compelling evidence that there isn’t a significant risk. Whether you retreive it or not seems likely to be a minor factor.
As I previously explained, a warmer planet would still be better, reglaciation risk or no. More of the planet would be habitable, fewer would die of pneumonia, there would be fewer deserts—and so on. However, the reglaciation risk does add urgency to the situation.
Climate zones would shift, necessitating massive relocations which would cause major infrastructure damage. If we alter the earth’s temperature to make larger proportions of the land mass optimally biologically suitable to humans, we are going to do tremendous damage to species that are not adapted to near-equatorial habitation, and the impact on those other species is going to cause more problems than the relatively small drop in rates of pneumonia.
How compelling would you expect the evidence to be in order for you to be willing to revise the content of your site?
We had more or less the same continental configuration in the Pliocene, without cyclical glaciation periods.
I am not sure what you are getting at there. Continental configuration is one factor. There may be other ones—including astronomical influences.
How compelling would you expect the evidence to be in order for you to be willing to revise the content of your site?
Why do you think it needs revising? A warmer planet looks remarkably positive—while keeping the planet in the freezer does not. I am not very impressed by the argument that change is painful, so we should keep the planet in an ice-age climate. Anyway, lots of evidence that global warming is undesirable—and that a half-frozen planet is good—would cause me to revise my position. However, I don’t seriously expect that to happen. That is a misguided lie—and a cause of much wasted energy and resources on the planet.
Why do you think it needs revising? Global warming looks remarkably positive—while keeping the planet in the freezer does not. I am not very impressed by the argument that change is painful, so we should keep the planet in an ice-age climate. Anyway, lots of evidence that global warming is undesirable—and that a half-frozen planet is good—would cause me to revise my position. However, I don’t expect that to happen. That is a misguided lie—and a cause of much wasted energy and resources on the planet.
Since you do not seem prepared to acknowledge the more significant dangers of rapid climate change, while substantially overstating the benefits of altering the entire planet to suit the biological preferences of a species that adapted to life near the equator, I doubt you would be swayed by the amount of evidence that should be (and, I assert, is,) forthcoming if you are wrong. I expect that most of the other members here already regard your position with an appropriate degree of skepticism, so while it frustrates me to leave the matter at rest while I am convinced that your position is untenable, I don’t see any benefit in continuing to participate in this debate.
Thanks for the link, though. It will be interesting to see whether their ideas stand up to peer review. If so, it seems like bad news—the authors seem to think the forces that lead to reglaciation are due to kick in around about now.
I don’t see any benefit in continuing to participate in this debate.
The reason for the shift to the term “climate change” over “global warming” is that climate zones would shift. Places that were previously not arable would become so, but places that previously were arable would cease to be. It would require a significant restructuring of our civilization to chase around the climate zones with the appropriate infrastructure.
Looking at a map …the warming occurs quite a bit more near the poles—and over land masses. So, mostly Canada and Russia will get less frosty and more cosy. That seems good. It would be hard to imagine a more positive kind of climate change than one that makes our large and mostly barren northern wastelands more productive and habitable places.
It would require a significant restructuring of our civilization to chase around the climate zones with the appropriate infrastructure.
Right—over tens of thousands of years, probably. The Antarctic is pretty thick.
You what? You are starting to irritate me with your unsolicited editorial advice. Don’t like my web page—go and make your own!
Yes—from the point of full glaciation to little glaciation, ice core evidence suggests this process is a relatively unstoppable one-way slide. However, we have gone down that slide already in this glacial cycle. Trying to push the temperature upward from there hasn’t happened naturally for millions of years. That doesn’t look so easy—while we still have an ice-age continental configuration.
That sounds more like ignoring the temperature graph—and considering other information—to me.
You are kidding, presumably. The information needs to be compelling evidence that there isn’t a significant risk. Whether you retreive it or not seems likely to be a minor factor.
As I previously explained, a warmer planet would still be better, reglaciation risk or no. More of the planet would be habitable, fewer would die of pneumonia, there would be fewer deserts—and so on. However, the reglaciation risk does add urgency to the situation.
Given that people tend to seek out informational sources that flatter their biases, and your website is one of relatively few sources attempting to convince people that the data suggests global warming is positive, making another website has less utility to me than convincing you to revise yours.
It is considering the temperature graph insofar as it is relevant, while incorporating other information that is more reflective of our current situation. Would you try to extrapolate technological advances in the next twenty years based on the average rate of technological advancement over the last six hundred?
We had more or less the same continental configuration in the Pliocene, without cyclical glaciation periods.
Climate zones would shift, necessitating massive relocations which would cause major infrastructure damage. If we alter the earth’s temperature to make larger proportions of the land mass optimally biologically suitable to humans, we are going to do tremendous damage to species that are not adapted to near-equatorial habitation, and the impact on those other species is going to cause more problems than the relatively small drop in rates of pneumonia.
How compelling would you expect the evidence to be in order for you to be willing to revise the content of your site?
I am not sure what you are getting at there. Continental configuration is one factor. There may be other ones—including astronomical influences.
Why do you think it needs revising? A warmer planet looks remarkably positive—while keeping the planet in the freezer does not. I am not very impressed by the argument that change is painful, so we should keep the planet in an ice-age climate. Anyway, lots of evidence that global warming is undesirable—and that a half-frozen planet is good—would cause me to revise my position. However, I don’t seriously expect that to happen. That is a misguided lie—and a cause of much wasted energy and resources on the planet.
You are proposing an additional mechanism to a phenomenon that we can now model with considerable confidence without it
Since you do not seem prepared to acknowledge the more significant dangers of rapid climate change, while substantially overstating the benefits of altering the entire planet to suit the biological preferences of a species that adapted to life near the equator, I doubt you would be swayed by the amount of evidence that should be (and, I assert, is,) forthcoming if you are wrong. I expect that most of the other members here already regard your position with an appropriate degree of skepticism, so while it frustrates me to leave the matter at rest while I am convinced that your position is untenable, I don’t see any benefit in continuing to participate in this debate.
Continental configuration is not an unnecessary “additional mechanism”. It is a well known factor—see:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ice_age#Position_of_the_continents
Thanks for the link, though. It will be interesting to see whether their ideas stand up to peer review. If so, it seems like bad news—the authors seem to think the forces that lead to reglaciation are due to kick in around about now.
OK, then—bye!
Do you have a feeling for how much of the planet would be temperate if it were warmer?
Imagine http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Temperateness with the bands further towards the poles.
And a bit further away from the equator.
The reason for the shift to the term “climate change” over “global warming” is that climate zones would shift. Places that were previously not arable would become so, but places that previously were arable would cease to be. It would require a significant restructuring of our civilization to chase around the climate zones with the appropriate infrastructure.
Looking at a map …the warming occurs quite a bit more near the poles—and over land masses. So, mostly Canada and Russia will get less frosty and more cosy. That seems good. It would be hard to imagine a more positive kind of climate change than one that makes our large and mostly barren northern wastelands more productive and habitable places.
Right—over tens of thousands of years, probably. The Antarctic is pretty thick.