Thu 15 Mar 2007
another inconvenient truth: aliens pollute Martian atmosphere
Posted by me under brief thoughts , politics , rants[7] Comments
We’ve all suffered through Al Gore’s mind-numbing monotone rambling as he warns us of the impending horror that awaits the CO2 polluters in his “Inconvenient Truth.” Al’s Hollywood groupies even gave him an Oscar for his stellar performance. Who didn’t enjoy the evocative, emotional montages of stiff Al, brow furrowed, feverishly typing on his Mac laptop? Who doesn’t appreciate wild, pop science without scientific rigor?
I’ve watched the moving documentary. Al claims to have 150 years of temperature data to back his assertions. Really? 150 years? How accurate/precise were the mercury thermometers back then? Science was pretty primitive 150 years ago. That was before radio, before antibiotics, before calculators, before Einstein, before cars, before scientists declared tobacco hazardous, and WAY before the digital computer. People still believed in blood-letting, Coke had cocaine in it and the national science periodicals had an exposes on finding water with dowsing/divining rods. I contend that we have maybe 50 years of reliable (+/- 1 degree) temperature data.I know, I know, Al talks about highly reliable ice core samples with dissolved CO2 that allow us to go back 720,000 years. Maybe. But let’s take a closer look at some of that data: noaa.gov From the abstract: “High-resolution records from Antarctic ice cores show that carbon dioxide concentrations increased by 80 to 100 parts per million by volume 600 +/- 400 years after the warming of the last three deglaciations.” Let me emphasize: CO2 increased 400-600 years AFTER the glaciers receded. I’m not saying that the absorption spectra of CO2 doesn’t trap infrared radiation, I’m only saying that his global warming trend data might not be as straight forward and conclusive as he claims.
Has the Earth has also been getting warmer in recent years? Sure. It is part of a natural cycle? Maybe. Are humans the primary cause of the increase in temperature? Maybe not. Check this out:
Simultaneous warming on Earth and Mars suggests that our planet’s recent climate changes might have a natural ‘? and not a human-induced ‘? cause. Mars, it appears, has also been experiencing milder temperatures in recent years. In 2005 data from NASA’s Mars Global Surveyor and Odyssey missions revealed that the carbon dioxide ‘ice caps’ near Mars’s south pole had been diminishing for three summers in a row. Habibullo Abdussamatov, head of the St. Petersburg’s Pulkovo Astronomical Observatory in Russia, says the Mars data is evidence that the current global warming on Earth is being caused by changes in the sun.
Let me summarize: climatology is clearly a VERY difficult science. The national weather bureau, with their hoards of supercomputers, still cant tell me this weekend’s weather with great certainty*. (Those pesky butterflies flapping their wings in China keep causing storms over here.) To think that Al Gore can reliably forecast the weather in TEN or TWENTY years is close to absurd. You decide. Let’s discuss.
In only slightly related news
“NASA has created two virtual flyovers of the Mars rover landing sites using 3D imagery from the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (New Scientist story here). The images were made using the most powerful camera ever sent to another planet, MRO’s High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment (HiRISE). The three-dimensional information is obtained by taking pairs of images from slightly different vantage points as the spacecraft orbits the Red Planet.
Oh and happy Ides of March
Yes, Dan, the reluctant engineer and I have spoken about global warming recently.
* I know that Climatology and meteorology aren’t the same thing. They are, however, closely related.
Very well put, Ryan. I need to give it a bit and let it sink in prior to writing a long response, but rest assured, a response is in the works.
–William
Hey Ryan! I’m surprised no one else has commented, maybe it’s your amazing ability to form a persons opinion for them. I have to admit, it is a good writing tactic. Although, I have a few items to bring up prior to agreeing with you.
Let’s start with Mars. You state, prior to your delve into Mars warming, that Al uses science that has not undergone any scientific vigor, yet you reference something from a scientist that, also, has not undergone any scientific vigor. In this aspect, you two seem to practice the same untested and unconfirmed science.
You also make it seem like Al Gore is blaming the entire “Global warming” enivornmental issue on just greenhouse gases. This, too is not the case. While yes, other sources external to humanity and outside of this planet may contribute to the warming and cooling of our climate, there is still a strong possibility that greenhouse gases are, somehow, in some slight way, contributing the speed and/or increase in the temperature of the earth.
In fact, studies show that greenhouse gases do, in fact, contribute to the increasing temperature of the earth by blocking the escape of heat through our atmosphere.
Now, I do agree with you that the documentary is leaning a bit too far on just greenhouse gases, but you can’t disregard it all because someone who is political twists his information.
I, too, do not believe that humanity can have such a drastic effect on the temperature of the earth. To make an example, a single volcanic blast releases more greenhouse gases into the atmosphere than years of humanity and our anti-nature ways. We have some effect, but really, we’re just along for the ride.
Ta-Ta!
–William
[...] It’s getting warmer and you know what that means: it’s the annual Spring fund raising campaign over at my local public radio station and involves lots talking and begging with the promise of really cheap “thank you” gifts. If you call now and donate just $250 with a credit card, we’ll send you this amazing multi-use potholder– guaranteed to beautify any kitchen or RV. [...]
What the heck is that last comment doing there?
why is it getting warmer? Because of YOUR EMISSIONS, silly!
PUBLIC INFORMATION STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE SALT LAKE CITY UT
945 AM MDT WED AUG 1 2007
…JULY 2007 WAS THE HOTTEST MONTH ON RECORD IN SALT LAKE CITY…
FOR THE MONTH OF JULY 2007…SALT LAKE CITY HAD AN AVERAGE MONTHLY TEMPERATURE
OF 84.0 DEGREES FAHRENHEIT. THIS MAKES JULY 2007 THE HOTTEST MONTH ON RECORD IN
SALT LAKE CITY…BREAKING THE PREVIOUS RECORD OF 83.4 DEGREES FAHRENHEIT…SET
IN JULY 2003.
THE MONTH INCLUDED 11 DAYS WITH TEMPERATURES 100 DEGREES OR HIGHER…WHICH
RANKS 5TH ALL-TIME…24 DAYS OF 95 DEGREES OR HIGHER…WHICH RANKS 1ST
ALL-TIME…AND 29 DAYS OF 90 DEGREES OR HIGHER…WHICH TIES FOR 4TH ALL-TIME.
THE TOP FIVE HOTTEST MONTHS ON RECORD NOW STAND AS FOLLOWS:
JULY 2007: 84.0 DEGREES FAHRENHEIT
JULY 2003: 83.4 DEGREES FAHRENHEIT
JULY 2006: 83.1 DEGREES FAHRENHEIT
JULY 2002: 81.9 DEGREES FAHRENHEIT
JULY 1960: 81.2 DEGREES FAHRENHEIT
[...] * I’ve talked about global warming before [...]