tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6343163817426504212.post8853559758916920189..comments2023-08-15T14:13:25.881+01:00Comments on The Simple Pastor: Climate Change: Why I'm convincedPhil Whittallhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02924050376023993196noreply@blogger.comBlogger3125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6343163817426504212.post-23802982250309964732009-12-21T20:25:56.043+00:002009-12-21T20:25:56.043+00:00Hi Anonymous
Thanks for the comment - I guess it a...Hi Anonymous<br />Thanks for the comment - I guess it again comes down to who do you choose to trust? So the science from the IPCC http://www.ipcc.ch/publications_and_data/ar4/wg3/en/spm-ensspm-b.html has some pretty strong evidence - here are the highlights<br /><br />1) Global greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions have grown since pre-industrial times, with an increase of 70% between 1970 and 2004<br />2) Between 1970 and 2004, global emissions of CO2, CH4, N2O, HFCs, PFCs and SF6, weighted by their global warming potential (GWP), have increased by 70% (24% between 1990 and 2004), from 28.7 to 49 Gigatonnes of carbon dioxide equivalents (GtCO2-eq)[2] (see Figure SPM.1). The emissions of these gases have increased at different rates. CO2 emissions have grown between 1970 and 2004 by about 80% (28% between 1990 and 2004) and represented 77% of total anthropogenic GHG emissions in 2004.<br />3)For instance, the amount of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere has increased by about 35% in the industrial era, and this increase is known to be due to human activities, primarily the combustion of fossil fuels and removal of forests. Thus, humankind has dramatically altered the chemical composition of the global atmosphere with substantial implications for climate. (http://www.ipcc.ch/publications_and_data/ar4/wg1/en/faq-1-1.html)<br /><br />It seems to me that they have the weight of evidence behind them...Phil Whittallhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02924050376023993196noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6343163817426504212.post-67170417711167738852009-12-21T19:38:05.566+00:002009-12-21T19:38:05.566+00:00Sorry but the reason many people are climate skept...Sorry but the reason many people are climate skeptics is that the science is just not convincing. It isn't about guilt or money or anything else, we just want the truth. The climate changes naturally so we ask Are humans responsible for changing the climate? The Believers say yes so we ask for the proof; They show us pictures of melting glaciers and polar bears. But these are evidence of climate change only, they are not evidence that CO2 is the cause. So we ask again, show us proof that CO2 controls climate and we go around and around in circles again. The skeptics want to know the truth that's all.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6343163817426504212.post-65055602469649443682009-12-21T19:29:37.659+00:002009-12-21T19:29:37.659+00:00There's nothing more annoying than the phrase ...There's nothing more annoying than the phrase "I'm a scientist I'm impartial". Scientists are as human as the rest of us and it would be naive to suggest that people working for or against the argument are unswayed by factors such as pleasing those who fund them.<br /><br />My understanding of the debate is that climate change itself is uncontested (in fact there's never been a time in the Earth's history when the climate hasn't been changing) the questions are how significant it is and what control does humanity have over the process.<br /><br />However your penultimate paragraph brings it brilliantly into perspective. The science is largely irrelevant when you consider how strongly God has spoken to us about living in simplicity and contentment.Tobynoreply@blogger.com