We're Melting

My husband, Ron, forwarded me an article the other day: Putting the Green Back in Greenland. Ron liked the piece because he's not so sure that global warming is caused by humans, and the article sets forth a different perspective than Al Gore’s in An Inconvenient Truth.

I have a hard time believing that with over 6 billion people on this Earth we aren’t having a big effect on global warming, but Ron thinks the planet would be going through this climate change humans or not. Anyway, he sent a response to the article which was published on AgoraFinancial.com. His words were thoughtful and I thought I’d share them here:

"Well, the media must be doing an excellent job in stirring the masses into an appropriate frenzy if any discussion from the other point of view leads to such virulent reactions. No doubt this means we will allow the government to pass all sorts of nonsensical laws to try and protect the planet from its energy-hogging inhabitants.

I think we fail to realize how big and old our planet is, and history needs to be measured in millennia, not decades.

Personally, I don’t know what impact our actions have on the planet, but I don’t believe the evidence is there to say with high confidence that our actions are having a primary impact (as some scientific report supposedly stated). I just can’t imagine that we have the evidence on a topic as complex and massive as climate change on planet earth.

But this debate does leave me in a quandary, as I try to live a relatively earth friendly lifestyle—recycle, take public transportation, only 1 car between my wife and me, etc., so I am in support of conservation and environmental efforts. At the same time, I am very suspicious that scientists really know what impact we humans are having on the planet. If the hysteria motivates some to become more environmentally friendly who otherwise would remain insensitive to the environment, should I be thankful for the hysteria? That is, does the end justify the means?

Of course, my concern is that we pass laws and statutes that end up doing more harm than good.

I enjoy the Rude Awakening, and I hope you will continue to flesh out the whole story on these complicated and sometimes politically charged issues. I may not always agree with your viewpoint, but I appreciate the perspective."

Ron R.

So there you have it. Pretty eloquent isn’t he? I’m thinking maybe he should be the writer in the family!