So what?
Let's assume Al Gore and the environmentalists are correct for just a moment. The temperature will rise. The ice will melt. So what? Well, by golly, that's some of the best news I've heard. I'm serious. Global warming, if it's occurring, may be just about one of the best things that can happen to our world, according to three interesting facts I've discovered.
First, imagine just how much damage is done by hurricanes. Think of the billions of dollars lost each year rebuilding flooded cities, and the scores of deaths. New Orleans, anyone? Well, according to the Cato Institute: “global warming is likely to increase winds, several kilometers aloft, that actually destroy hurricanes.” So global warming equals more upper-atmospheric winds that lead to less hurricanes. I don't know about you, but that sounds pretty darn good.
Second, something global warming activists often argue is that increased temperatures lead to the loss of endangered species. Well, interestingly enough, according to National Geographic (no skeptic of global warming) on October 16, 2008, “Warmer waters around Antarctica could actually benefit a threatened population of gray nurse. . . sharks . . . ” Man-made global warming leads to higher populations of certain endangered species. I have a new bumper sticker idea.
Let's assume Al Gore and the environmentalists are correct for just a moment. The temperature will rise. The ice will melt. So what? Well, by golly, that's some of the best news I've heard. I'm serious. Global warming, if it's occurring, may be just about one of the best things that can happen to our world, according to three interesting facts I've discovered.
First, imagine just how much damage is done by hurricanes. Think of the billions of dollars lost each year rebuilding flooded cities, and the scores of deaths. New Orleans, anyone? Well, according to the Cato Institute: “global warming is likely to increase winds, several kilometers aloft, that actually destroy hurricanes.” So global warming equals more upper-atmospheric winds that lead to less hurricanes. I don't know about you, but that sounds pretty darn good.
Second, something global warming activists often argue is that increased temperatures lead to the loss of endangered species. Well, interestingly enough, according to National Geographic (no skeptic of global warming) on October 16, 2008, “Warmer waters around Antarctica could actually benefit a threatened population of gray nurse. . . sharks . . . ” Man-made global warming leads to higher populations of certain endangered species. I have a new bumper sticker idea.
I can see it now: “Save the sharks, Burn more fossil fuels.”
Third, the evidence seems to suggest that global temperature increases will lead to greater food production and increased economic prosperity. Consider this: the majority of fresh water is currently trapped in Ice Bergs, and huge portions of the worlds' land is currently inaccessible desert – frozen desert. Well, a new study, reported in National Geographic, suggests that vast areas of land previously unusable are now becoming productive: “Rapid thawing brought on by global warming on the world's largest island has opened up new opportunities for agriculture, commercial fishing, mining, and oil exploration... Dairy cattle have recently been reintroduced . . . [and are] expected to yield 29,058 gallons (110,000 liters) of milk annually. . . [the Island's] melting ice cap has triggered a rush for diamonds, gold, and other metals as mining companies prospect previously covered mineral-rich rocks.”
What island is this? Greenland. And there was a reason the Vikings named it green –- it once was green! Antarctica, Afghanistan, the Asian plains in Mongolia and China, Siberia and the Ukraine, huge tracts of Canada, Scandinavia, even northern states lile Michigan, Montana, Ohio, the Dakotas, and Minnesota, could all become more productive with even a few degrees warmer temperatures!
Not only that, but the Cato Institute notes that regions already used for agriculture are improving: “. . .observations confirm that human-induced warming takes place primarily in winter, lengthening the growing season.” Think of how much money we lose on salting roads, clearing icy accidents, missing work and school for snow days, and road construction in the summer to rebuild weakened infrastructure? We could get that time and money back with shorter winters created from Global Warming!
Furthermore, “Satellite measurements now show that the planet is greener than it was before it warmed. There are literally thousands of experiments reported in the scientific literature demonstrating that higher atmospheric carbon dioxide concentrations -- caused by human activity -- dramatically increase food production.”
We've seen how global warming could lead to less hurricanes, bolstered population among endangered species, shorter winters, and increased food production. I find it very interesting that historians and climatologists note a correlation between increased temperatures in the early 1400s that corresponded with larger populations, economic prosperity, the rise of the middle class, and oh... I dunno... the renaissance.
The truth is, any environmental change is accompanied by a multitude of impacts, both negative and positive, but if we allow it, the Ultimate Resource of human ingenuity will continue to allow us to adapt to each future challenge. Unfortunately, for politicians and a media that profit from sensationalist alarmisms and for scientists that receive increased grant money the more dire they make a situation look, the numorous, potentially positive effects of global warming become the real inconvenient truths.
Third, the evidence seems to suggest that global temperature increases will lead to greater food production and increased economic prosperity. Consider this: the majority of fresh water is currently trapped in Ice Bergs, and huge portions of the worlds' land is currently inaccessible desert – frozen desert. Well, a new study, reported in National Geographic, suggests that vast areas of land previously unusable are now becoming productive: “Rapid thawing brought on by global warming on the world's largest island has opened up new opportunities for agriculture, commercial fishing, mining, and oil exploration... Dairy cattle have recently been reintroduced . . . [and are] expected to yield 29,058 gallons (110,000 liters) of milk annually. . . [the Island's] melting ice cap has triggered a rush for diamonds, gold, and other metals as mining companies prospect previously covered mineral-rich rocks.”
What island is this? Greenland. And there was a reason the Vikings named it green –- it once was green! Antarctica, Afghanistan, the Asian plains in Mongolia and China, Siberia and the Ukraine, huge tracts of Canada, Scandinavia, even northern states lile Michigan, Montana, Ohio, the Dakotas, and Minnesota, could all become more productive with even a few degrees warmer temperatures!
Not only that, but the Cato Institute notes that regions already used for agriculture are improving: “. . .observations confirm that human-induced warming takes place primarily in winter, lengthening the growing season.” Think of how much money we lose on salting roads, clearing icy accidents, missing work and school for snow days, and road construction in the summer to rebuild weakened infrastructure? We could get that time and money back with shorter winters created from Global Warming!
Furthermore, “Satellite measurements now show that the planet is greener than it was before it warmed. There are literally thousands of experiments reported in the scientific literature demonstrating that higher atmospheric carbon dioxide concentrations -- caused by human activity -- dramatically increase food production.”
We've seen how global warming could lead to less hurricanes, bolstered population among endangered species, shorter winters, and increased food production. I find it very interesting that historians and climatologists note a correlation between increased temperatures in the early 1400s that corresponded with larger populations, economic prosperity, the rise of the middle class, and oh... I dunno... the renaissance.
The truth is, any environmental change is accompanied by a multitude of impacts, both negative and positive, but if we allow it, the Ultimate Resource of human ingenuity will continue to allow us to adapt to each future challenge. Unfortunately, for politicians and a media that profit from sensationalist alarmisms and for scientists that receive increased grant money the more dire they make a situation look, the numorous, potentially positive effects of global warming become the real inconvenient truths.
Nice work Herr Gaiser :).
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