Jan-Jul 2010 was the warmest average land surface temperature ever recorded

Is this climate change or just weather pattern?

  • climate change is real

    Votes: 11 39.3%

  • just weather, you'll see

    Votes: 10 35.7%

  • don't know

    Votes: 2 7.1%

  • don't care

    Votes: 5 17.9%
  • Total voters
    28
Quote from Arnie:

You and I will probably never see eye to eye on this subject. It sounds plausible that there is some AGW. I just don't agree that is the reason for MOST of the warming or that all of the effects of GW will necessarily be negative. The one thing I see consistently from your side of the debate is any consideration of mitigating factors and a pell mell atitude that we MUST do something. Your own post basically says we're screwed. Do you really believe we can significantly reduce man made CO2 enough to counter AGW in the next 30-40 years with China, India, Brazil and all of Africa about to enter their growth stage?
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You are right about one thing - I am pessimistic that sufficient action will be taken to avoid a global temperature rise of at least 4C. Even more pessimistically there is a very real chance of 5C, 6C or even more by the end of the century. At the latter levels, there is the possibility of the collapse of at least portions of civilization and the near certainty of the 6th great extinction event in the planets history.

The best chance (and the cheapest option) is the widespread deployment of nuclear power to clean up electricity generation. Renewables are unlikely to cut it economically and have engineering issues with their variability as generators of baseload power.

The cost of electricity needs to be reasonable to encourage it's use to replace fossil fuels in transport, heating, industrial processes and advanced recycling technologies. Then there are also all sorts of issues with land use in agriculture, deforestation etc. There's no disputing that it's one hell of a job however you look at it.

There is some reason for believing that the cost of nuclear power can be brought down to a level that makes it's use compelling. Smaller modular reactors, new Generation IV technologies and increasing capability to factory build these things (like aircraft) could do it. We shall see. Having said that the Generation III light water reactors that are the current mainstay are price competitive. The latest IEA report on the cost of electricity generation finds nuclear to be about the cheapest of all forms of electricity generation - especially so in Asia.

As for the BRIC countries (and friends), China, India and Russia are all heavily committed to nuclear energy. Of course fossil fuels are still the mainstay, but I think the leaderships of these countries are not fools and do recognize that expansion of nuclear is the only feasible way of guaranteeing energy security, regardless of global warming. I also think they are well aware of the dangers of a warming planet.

China has just announced the investment of $175 billion dollars over the next ten years to build a "nuclear city" - a gigantic technology park covering nuclear education and training, production of components of nuclear reactors, technology for other uses of nuclear science in industry and agriculture etc etc.

The way things are shaping up, Asian countries - China, India and South Korea in particular - will in ten or fifteen years become the world leaders in nuclear science and engineering. There is some cause for hope here.
 
You mean this Al Gore? :p

<img src=http://www.elitetrader.com/vb/attachment.php?s=&postid=2928278>

Quote from jem:

Temperature going up before CO2 according to ice cores - but how can that be if Al Gores says CO2 causes warming?
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Quote from Trader666:

Biological carbon emissions have no impact only because they're part of a closed system and come through food chains from plants which got the carbon from the atmosphere in the first place.
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Precisely. Burning fossil fuels or any old carbon adds into what is a supposed to be a closed system in the short term and can throw off the balance.

What exactly that will do remains to be seen.
 
I wonder if there were a bunch of hysterical bedwetters running around trying to scare everyone during the medieval warm period or earlier warm periods (which were warmer than today btw).
 
Chicago just set a new record for consecutive days above 80 degrees which stood at 44 days. The previous record was set in 1955. Back then it was called a really hot summer. Today it's the end of the world. Yes sireee, that climate, it does change.
 
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