Is The Planet Feinting Us On Global Warming?

I've written a few brief posts on here re global warming. And, had a few lengthy discussions in the comments section about the causes and evidence or lack thereof. Ultimately, I personally support a position of taking care of the planet before mother nature boots us off of her dominion for our misdeeds. And, because I don't exactly enjoy eating poisoned food, drinking poisoned water or breathing all of the pollutants from China. Yes, there is substantial evidence much of the west coast air pollution in the U.S. is from China. And, because green technology is good for business. Unlike all of those people who argue that green technologies are bad for business, they are actually going to drive substantial innovation, productivity, employment and economic growth. Who doesn't love that?

Here's the "G"-rated one minute closing to George Carlin's stand up act on saving the planet. The whole act is really quite hilarious but it's also not "G"-rated so as not to offend anyone, you have to view it on Youtube.



I have a friend who works for a very large scientific research institution and every time global warming comes up, he bellows in disbelief. I also hear a similar roar when it comes to the concept of peak oil. He has actually shown me some substantial research that points to the possibility the world may never run out of carbon-based fuels. Not conclusive but interesting research now that every self-appointed expert is telling us high oil prices are pointing to peak oil. To go off topic a second, it's interesting to note Michael Economides, a professor at the University of Houston and frequently quoted expert on energy, has said Saudi Arabia could increase production by fifty percent if they needed to. Not overnight but with access to western oil technology and major investments over a period of years. I've never believed peak oil and am more confident than ever high energy prices are significantly affected by Wall Street traders.

Anyhow, back to global warming. So, my skeptical friend sent me this link a few days ago. It seems there is evidence from some leading climatologists that the melting of the global ice caps could lead to another ice age. So, does this mean An Inconvenient Truth is an inconvenient mistruth? Might Al Gore have to give back his Nobel Prize? Or is the new question if humanity is going to cause a new ice age?

"According to Robert Toggweiler of the Geophysical Fluid Dynamics Laboratory at Princeton University and Joellen Russell, assistant professor of biogeochemical dynamics at the University of Arizona -- two prominent climate modellers -- the computer models that show polar ice-melt cooling the oceans, stopping the circulation of warm equatorial water to northern latitudes and triggering another Ice Age (a la the movie The Day After Tomorrow) are all wrong.

"We missed what was right in front of our eyes," says Prof. Russell. It's not ice melt but rather wind circulation that drives ocean currents northward from the tropics. Climate models until now have not properly accounted for the wind's effects on ocean circulation, so researchers have compensated by over-emphasizing the role of manmade warming on polar ice melt."