I just headed over to the New Blog Showcase to see if there were appreciably more entries than when I was there on Tuesday (there are now 6 rather than just two). The first one listed showed this blurb:
"Global warming over the next hundred years could trigger a catastrophe which rivals the worst mass extinction in the planet's entire history, according to new evidence unearthed by scientists at Bristol University. The researchers have discovered that a mere six degrees of global warming was enough to wipe out up to 95% of the species which were alive on Earth at the end of the Permian period, 251 million years ago. Up to six degrees of warming is now predicted for the next century by UN scientists from the intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, if nothing is done about emissions of the greenhouse gases, principally carbon dioxide, which cause global warming. "
So I clicked the link and went to the blog and here is the entry in its entirety:
Global warming over the next hundred years could trigger a catastrophe which rivals the worst mass extinction in the planet's entire history, according to new evidence unearthed by scientists at Bristol University.The researchers have discovered that a mere six degrees of global warming was enough to wipe out up to 95% of the species which were alive on Earth at the end of the Permian period, 251 million years ago. Up to six degrees of warming is now predicted for the next century by UN scientists from the intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, if nothing is done about emissions of the greenhouse gases, principally carbon dioxide, which cause global warming.
So, not only is the entry so short that it is itself an excerpt of itself, but it's also that leftist-hysteria, the-sky-is-falling nonsense that completely overlooks the fact that it contradicts its own premise...
Premise: Evil Humans are Destroying the Planet
Evidence: The same thing happened two hundred and fifty-one million years ago...
...and this is possible--how?
Now, maybe if they were using this as an example of what happened to Atlantis...wait--were there even humans on Earth two hundred and fifty-one million years ago? Evil, polluting, greenhouse-effect CO2 producing humans? No? Are you sure there weren't cave men with SUVs burning fossil fuels? Because if that's what causes the planet's temperature to rise, and there weren't any when it happened then....
You know, these bozos are probably correct that another Ice Age is coming--and if it's been two hundred fifty-one million years since the last one, then we're probably due. But to pretend that there is anything we can do to prevent the planet from continuing in its natural geologic cycles is like starting a U.N. Committe to prevent earthquakes, volcanic eruptions and typhoons.
I can just see the LoL wackos lining up to link to this nonsense.....
Posted by Susie at November 27, 2003 06:35 PM | TrackBackA couple of comments:
First, global warming would make a mess of things. Sea levels would rise, and coastal cities would be flooded. So far, accurate.
Second, carbon dioxide is indeed a greenhouse gas, and is the main reason why the surface of Venus is hot enough to melt lead.
However, this is the first time I've heard that the Permian extinction is thought to have been caused by global warming. Compare this with the extinction of the dinosaurs, which is thought to have been caused by global cooling brought about my a major meteorite impact.
Further, it is likely that the Earth is still in the middle of an Ice Age (which began two million years ago), though we are currently in what is known as an "interglacial period", a period where the glaciers temporarily withdraw before advancing again. Indeed, many scientists were worried about a new Ice Age as recently as the 1970s. (Not to mention the Nuclear Winter scenarios of the 1980s.)
So global warming would merely serve to take us out of the ice age, which would be a good thing unless you've invested heavily in Florida ocean-front property.
But the global warming hypothesis isn't nonsense, as such; it's just that both the evidence and the predictions are still in doubt.
Posted by: Pixy Misa at November 27, 2003 09:43 PMI agree with you, Pixy. I guess I wasn't clear in my objections to the post--they are using evidence that the earth warmed up a long time ago to convince people that all life (or 95%) will be destroyed when it warms up again, unless we stop creating carbon dioxide.(Of course, the quickest way to reduce carbon dioxide is for everyone on the planet to stop breathing, so if we really want to save the planet...)They are also attributing the so-called global warming to human activity, when their very evidence indicates that the planet warms and cools on its own and has been doing it for gazillions of years. So to say that human activity in the last 50 or 100 years has had any effect on a cycle that lasts millions of years is premature at best and deliberate scare tactics with an eye to donations at worst...
Posted by: Susie at November 27, 2003 10:05 PMYou nailed it. General Douchebaggery has this one as their pick of the week. Although I'm amused to see that the blogger turned down their invitation to join the LoL.
Posted by: Harvey at November 27, 2003 11:23 PM"...starting a U.N. Committe to prevent earthquakes, volcanic eruptions and typhoons."
Oh great, now you've given them the idea...
Posted by: Ted at November 28, 2003 06:49 AMSusie, your problem is that you are trying to apply logic to environmental causes. If you stop thinking about it and just get emotional instead...only then you can begin to appreciate the cause.
Posted by: King of Fools at November 28, 2003 10:09 AMLOL! Silly me! Thanks, Your Majesty, for pointing that out!
Posted by: Susie at November 28, 2003 10:47 AM