GLOBAL WARMING

[SARF]

Do you believe in this theory..?
Is it just an excuse to tax the sh!te out of people..
Is the 'Green' industry an unstoppable machine now..
Do you live 100 feet above sea level, not give a sh!t and are looking forward to being beachfront in 50 years.?

 

[Interpol Shrimper]

If the UK gets a climate like Spain over the next 100 years, who am I to complain?

Of course it's another excuse to hike taxes onto the populus. £1,300 p.a. per household according to most sources!

Typical UK penalise the people who most aren't at fault politics!

 

[Matt the Shrimp]

Yesterday, it was 20°C in London.  All the trees are still green - very few of the leaves have fallen off.  And yet tomorrow it will be the beginning of November.

It never used to be like that when I was a kid - and that's not some rose-tinted view of life.  November was cold, wet and miserable.  Not 20°C and sunny.

The UK's climate has changed in our lifetime - and it's mankind that's responsible for it.

Don't get lost in the government's inevitably ham-fisted way of trying to respond to the problem, or in Gordon Brown's rapacious desire to tax the life out of us.  That doesn't mean it isn't a problem.

It is.

It's up to us - do we want the sort of planet that will have hurricanes and natural disasters on a frequent basis, where millions die in Africa (and we get to pick up the pieces), where flooding occurs on these shores annually and all the trees and animals we grew up with disappear?

I don't.  I rather like the green and pleasant land of yore - and that's why it's up to all of us to do our bit.  Turn off the telly.  Turn down the thermostat.  Buy British produce in the supermarket.  Walk a little more often and leave the car at home.

The government isn't going to tax the @rse off you for that, are they?

Global warming is an international problem with an individual solution - i.e. it's up to every individual to do their bit.  After all, the consequences of not acting don't bear thinking about.

 

[Mad Cyril]

Quote[/b] (glasgowsufc @ Oct. 31 2006,08:31)]Typical UK penalise the people who most aren't at fault politics!

So you don't drive a car and your house is lit and heated by solar/wind/hydro/geothermal means then?

 

[Mad Cyril]

Quote[/b] (Matt the Shrimp @ Oct. 31 2006,08:56)]Yesterday, it was 20°C in London.  All the trees are still green - very few of the leaves have fallen off.  And yet tomorrow it will be the beginning of November.

It never used to be like that when I was a kid - and that's not some rose-tinted view of life.  November was cold, wet and miserable.  Not 20°C and sunny.

The UK's climate has changed in our lifetime - and it's mankind that's responsible for it.

Don't get lost in the government's inevitably ham-fisted way of trying to respond to the problem, or in Gordon Brown's rapacious desire to tax the life out of us.  That doesn't mean it isn't a problem.

It is.

It's up to us - do we want the sort of planet that will have hurricanes and natural disasters on a frequent basis, where millions die in Africa (and we get to pick up the pieces), where flooding occurs on these shores annually and all the trees and animals we grew up with disappear?

I don't.  I rather like the green and pleasant land of yore - and that's why it's up to all of us to do our bit.  Turn off the telly.  Turn down the thermostat.  Buy British produce in the supermarket.  Walk a little more often and leave the car at home.

The government isn't going to tax the @rse off you for that, are they?

Global warming is an international problem with an individual solution - i.e. it's up to every individual to do their bit.  After all, the consequences of not acting don't bear thinking about.

Did u no th@ using text spk 2 post on forums uses much less electricity & is btr 4 the environment?

 

[shrimperman]

Don't get me started, my whole dissertation at Uni was on global warming.

I eventually plotted my own very complicated theory on the subject which I really can't be arsed to indulge so heres theins and outs. Essentially, the world goes through cycles of warming and cooling at different periods in different places. My theory relates strongly to this and infact at present we are just going through a period of warming. Remember that infact other places of the world right now are infact also cooling. The warming and cooling factors do not have to happen in any particular sequence however, it would make sense that if one place cooled another place warmed so the Earth's med temperature is balanced. It's an unexplained theory but some say there is strong correlation with natural disaters such as volcanoes erupting and earthquakes.

The man-made global warming factor is of course a concern but not to the degree which has recently been publicised by our very own Mr Blair. There is a considerable correlation in the Earths warming and the release of fossil fuels into the atmosphere and you can't help but think that this is the only reason why the Earth is warming. I'm not saying that the scientists are wrong, I just think that there is an over-reaction and maybe we should look at the bigger picture over hundreds of centuries of warming and cooling rather than just the effect since the Industrial Revolution.

 

[Interpol Shrimper]

Quote[/b] (Mad Cyril @ Oct. 31 2006,08:56)]

Quote[/b] (glasgowsufc @ Oct. 31 2006,08:31)]Typical UK penalise the people who most aren't at fault politics!

So you don't drive a car and your house is lit and heated by solar/wind/hydro/geothermal means then?

Not at the moment

Oh & although the house is heated by North Sea gas, it is one of the most environmentally friendly new builds I've ever come across. You probably couldn't stand up in the loft if you're over 3ft tall as there's so much insulation up there!

 

[Desert Shrimper]

There was a debate on the radio last night where a professor from The University of London basically backed up Shrimperman's theory. Potentially we could just be "between Ice Ages" and what we're experiencing is all part of natural climate change, peaks and troughs that occur over thousands of years. He also poured scorn upon the idea that recycling, turning lights off etc will make a jot of difference to the issue.....

 

[Bluesmanager]

Of course it's a flaming problem! Give it 100 years at this rate and Southend'll be Canvey.

 

[Mad Cyril]

I have no problem paying extra taxes in order to reduce the UKs impact on global warming.

It's frustrating that other countries (China and the US for example) refuse to lift a finger.

I would like Tony blair to consider building a Centre Parcs style dome over the UK so that we can enjoy the fresh air we have paid for.

 

[SARF]

The Global warming lobby has hedged its bets by changing the name of the problem to Climate change.. Thats brilliant piece of P.R. its covers any eventuality.. Bit windy? well it must be carbon emissions, rains all spring? blame the Cars..
Also our 2 per cent contribution to the global outpourings mean any reduction here will make fk all difference , other than making us all poorer.. Surely tax breaks for 'green' stuff would make more sense than taxing the sh!te out of everything that moves.. Unless of course its just a revenue raising issue..
And also what is 'green' .. Electric hybrid cars are certianly not green, are trains greener that planes? There are a lot of pre concieved ideas out there that are accepted as fact , when quite often they are not..

I agree with Matt the Shrimp on doing more walking and buying local stuff, but on the grounds that it makes local life more pleasent, rather than 'possibly' saving the planet for 6 generations hence..

 

[Matt the Shrimp]

Quote[/b] (Mad Cyril @ Oct. 31 2006,09:02)]Did u no th@ using text spk 2 post on forums uses much less electricity & is btr 4 the environment?

 

[southendstrett]

My philosophy has always been the same as shrimpermans.
We had an environment seminar at work, and when I said that I thought it was just another load of old tosh to get more money out of us, I was laughed at, even when I explained the cyclical theory.
Recycling makes sense, purely from a waste not, want not point of view, but when you have to start washing your bean cans etc. then I think it's counter productive.
When the lights go out at Piccadily Circus and Times Square, then I'll turn my microwave off standby.

 

[Hong Kong Blue]

Quote[/b] (Matt the Shrimp @ Oct. 31 2006,08:56)]Yesterday, it was 20°C in London.  All the trees are still green - very few of the leaves have fallen off.  And yet tomorrow it will be the beginning of November.

It never used to be like that when I was a kid - and that's not some rose-tinted view of life.  November was cold, wet and miserable.  Not 20°C and sunny.

The UK's climate has changed in our lifetime - and it's mankind that's responsible for it.

I don't have any proof, but I'm convinced global warming has occured since the last ice age.

 

[Desert Shrimper]

Quote[/b] (SARF @ Oct. 31 2006,10:03)]The Global warming lobby has hedged its bets by changing the name of the problem to Climate change.. Thats brilliant piece of P.R. its covers any eventuality.. Bit windy? well it must be carbon emissions, rains all spring? blame the Cars..
Also our 2 per cent contribution to the global outpourings mean any reduction here will make fk all difference , other than making us all poorer.. Surely tax breaks for 'green' stuff would make more sense than taxing the sh!te out of everything that moves.. Unless of course its just a revenue raising issue..
And also what is 'green'  ..  Electric hybrid cars are certianly not green, are trains greener that planes?  There are a lot of pre concieved ideas out there that are accepted as fact , when quite often they are not..  

I agree with Matt the Shrimp on doing more walking and buying local stuff, but on the grounds that it makes local life more pleasent, rather than 'possibly' saving the planet for 6 generations hence..

Excellent post.

 

[sufcintheprem]

I generally feel that recycling is a fairly good idea and now that they are collecting virtually all manner of waste from my front door, it seems ideal to me.

As for carbon emissions from cars, I can't imagine that cars pumping greenhouse gasses can be much good for anything or anyone. I don't drive personally and aside from getting to football on a Sunday I don't have much need to.

Frankly, I'm more surprised that the incredibly exorbitant price of owning and operating a car has not forced people to stop being so lazy anyhow and wonder about the sanity of people who still drive to avoid a ten minute walk to the shops or the indignation associated with public transport.

Also, further to what someone else mentioned, there's so little impact Britain can have on world carbon emissions that it seems to be faiirly fruitless. Until America is run by a government with a real commitment to environmental issues or China shows a morsel of social responsibility, it all seems rather pointless us fretting about how we're going to ruint he world for our grandchildren.

If the world's at any risk at all, it is China, America, Russia, etc. that are going to ruin the world for the.

Would't mind a seafront place though....

 

[chaco27saf]

Quote[/b] (Matt the Shrimp @ Oct. 31 2006,08:56)]Yesterday, it was 20°C in London. All the trees are still green - very few of the leaves have fallen off. And yet tomorrow it will be the beginning of November.

Well, I can't really comment on the climate change in the UK, but Colorado is the same right now. For the last week it has been warm and sunny, and so far we have had only a couple inches of snow. However, last February Denver had some of the coldest temperatures on record, with lows as cold as -30. Oddly enough, last Christmas was probably the warmest it has been in my life, the high was about 80 degrees farenheit IIRC. At the time I thought it must be a record for the city, but we were still a couple off the all time high which was set back in the 1870's. My point is that weather is unpredictable, with or without global warming. On any given day, in any given year, the weather can be very different from what it is expected to be like. In the past ten years I've seen it snow it June, and be warm and sunny in January.

Quote[/b] (The Bloke in the Pram Shop @ Oct. 31, 2006, 09:53)]Potentially we could just be "between Ice Ages" and what we're experiencing is all part of natural climate change, peaks and troughs that occur over thousands of years.

Technically we are still in an ice age, and will be in one until the polar ice caps completely melt. Global warming is definitely occuring, the only question is whether the human impact is major or negligable.

Personally, I'm for reducing man-made greenhouse gases in any way possible, because it is much better to be safe than sorry on this issue.

 

[Mad Cyril]

Quote[/b] (chaco27saf @ Oct. 31 2006,11:28)]Personally, I'm for reducing man-made greenhouse gases in any way possible, because it is much better to be safe than sorry on this issue.

Don't tell us, tell George W.

 

[sufcintheprem]

...or tell the hordes fo Southern voters who seem to have elevated him to power.

Oddly enough, I was about to read an article about the Coloradan (??) representative just before I got my ManU ticket. Salazar or something similar. The title of the piece was "There's electoral gold in those hills" so I guess they suspect that the Rockies might be an opportunity for the Bush administration to be ousted.

 

[Shrimp in a Kilt]

Quote[/b] (sufcintheprem @ Oct. 31 2006,10:58)]Also, further to what someone else mentioned, there's so little impact Britain can have on world carbon emissions that it seems to be faiirly fruitless.  Until America is run by a government with a real commitment to environmental issues or China shows a morsel of social responsibility, it all seems rather pointless us fretting about how we're going to ruint he world for our grandchildren.

If the world's at any risk at all, it is China, America, Russia, etc. that are going to ruin the world for the.

Two issues with this.

Firstly, it is a pretty sorry state of affairs when what we do is governed purely by self interest and not by what is right. Our pollution is contributing, be it by a relativily small percentage, to future problems that impact disproportionatly on the very poor in this World. There should therefore be no question that we have to act to minimise that impact regardless of what others do.

Secondly, the UK does still carry some weight in World affairs. If we are to have any hope of influencing others to minimise their carbon emissions, then we have to be seen to be leading the way. It is hopeless to moan about the USA, Russia, China and India if we ourselves are not acting.


This thread has been riddled with cynicism about Global Warming. While a cynical attitude can be helpful, and any society needs its share of cynics, in our society cynisism has become fashionable to an alarming extent, and in my opinion it is too often a thin and convenient disguise for self interest. The case for Global Warming/Climate Change has been pretty much made as far as the vast majority of scientists is concerened, and as has been said in this thread before, we CAN'T AFFORD to ignore it - the consequences of being wrong are far too serious.