Space/Science — HabitableZone

Space/Science » in reply to Part 1: Global Warming and Sea Level Change READ TO THE END before responding

re: Global Warming and Sea Level Change
TB — (archived)

Given that the computer models of the IPCC accurately predict reality, the results may be as they predict.

Meanwhile:

This is Greenland this year.

Scientists working in Antarctica believe in AGW, but have a more complex view of what might happen down there. Antarctic sea ice extent has been hitting record levels, and they don't seem to think Antarctica is going to melt even if the IPCC temperatures do come true.

The overall planetary sea ice extent right now is actually above the 1979-2000 mean, after hitting a huge low last year. I have no idea why there has been such a huge swing. Oddly, the big melt last year was universally considered a Sign of the End. The massive freeze this year? Just a glitch. Go figure.

None of these items is proof that things are NOT going to go the way the IPCC predicts. But the environment does not seem to want to neatly follow the script, either. I've noticed the same thing with the ozone hole.

We need to be careful, and not make this a crusade.

The tendency of governments in a perceived crisis is to respond with something amazingly stupid and counterproductive. We almost did something amazingly stupid with the first Kyoto Agreement, and those who did sign it aren't doing so well with it now. There are even more stupid ideas out there. I quoted a paper not long ago declaring that we're all doomed if we don't reduce our carbon output to zero.

I have no problems with reasonable actions to move us away from burning fossil fuels. There are valid reasons to do this even if CO2 was no issue at all. But keep things reasonable, and remember that the map isn't the territory.

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