Category Archives: Current Events

Global Warming Debate

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climate change blue marblePonderer has presented compelling arguments in recent commentaries about global warming and the impacts of carbon dioxide emissions from man’s activities. We have had a frequent back and forth discussion on the subject, and Ponderer has provided data-based responses to my skepticism. I trust Ponderer’s integrity and intellect (both scientific and personal) completely, so why do I continue to cling to my “denier” status (although with less conviction than before)?

I’ll begin by explaining that Dr. Petr Beckmann was a patient of the medical practice where my wife worked as a nurse, and she told him I worked at the Rocky Flats plant that manufactured parts for nuclear weapons. He agreed to meet me and a colleague to discuss his pro-nuclear energy views, and I found him to be a fascinating man. I signed up for his “Access to Energy” newsletter and became more impressed with his brilliance the more I read. Continue reading →

The Next Economy and America’s Future

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aftershock 1Aftershock – by Robert B. Reich

There are many ways to learn about Reich’s views on the economy.  He starred in a recent documentary, in theaters last September http://inequalityforall.com/.  A lengthy interview with Reich regarding the movie is here.  He has also been interviewed in many places; I recently heard him on the Commonwealth Club radio program.

I suggest you read his book.  It is current (copyright 2010, 2011, 2013) and, especially in the appendix, has informative graphs that present well on my e-reader.  The short book (136 pages in the main body) is so packed with information that it makes for a long review.

Reich says the basic bargain of America is that workers receive a proportionate share of economic growth; that wages correlate with productivity.  He disputes Fox News’ Bill O’Reilly who called him a communist who secretly adores Karl Marx: “I’m not, and I don’t” Reich says.  “Inequality is inevitable and desirable.  It gives people incentive… But at some point inequality of income and wealth becomes so wide as to harm society.” Continue reading →

Global Warming and Climate Change: A Scientific Phenomenon

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climate change blue marble

NASA’a famous “blue marble” picture of Earth

I’ve found the global warming/climate change debate to be frustrating.  The Earth is too large a system to grasp intuitively.  In such a large system, anyone can “cherry-pick” a small subset of data to illustrate any point.  Many discussions seem to distill down to:  “You’re lying!”

I posted on the social aspects of the debate previously.  Today I will discuss the science of global warming and climate change.  (“Global warming” refers to average global temperatures while “climate change” refers to the effects.)

climate change lower atmosphere

Makes my eyes cross (and this chart isn’t even very complex)

Global warming is complex enough to make my eyes cross.  It involves many parameters that must be examined over decades and preferably centuries.  I will primarily use information from http://www.skepticalscience.com/.  This site provides the largest and most accessible collection of responses to global warming objections I’ve found.  SkepticalScience has a handy glossary with mouse-over pop-ups in the text.  For example, ice sheets, ice shelves, glaciers, and sea ice are different things.  While unabashedly defending mainstream climate science against “climate myths”, the site also provides a more exhaustive list of objections than anywhere else I’ve run across: 174 of them!  There are also comments from pro and con readers.

I leave you to explore as many of the 174 objections as interest you.  Here is a sampling. Continue reading →

Global Warming: a Social Phenomenon

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climate change blue marble

NASA’s famous “blue marble” picture of Earth

RF_alum and I (the Ponderer) are long-standing friends.  We worked together in technical fields at the Rocky Flats Plant, a nuclear weapons facility that has since been decommissioned.  We worked on weapons and in the environmental clean up.   We both encountered our share of people pushing political agendas by misrepresenting science.

While we have much in common, we also have disagreements.  We thought we would disagree on GMOs, but found ourselves in about the same place after doing our independent reading on the subject.  Global warming is a topic that refuses to yield a similar satisfactory result.  Ponderer is a “warmist” and RF_alum is a “denier”.  We both dislike these terms (they present caricatures) but since they are used in popular discussions, we’ll use them, too. Continue reading →

Humans Use Tools; So Do Alligators

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“It’s the first time the use of a tool has been documented in reptiles, according to the study published in the current edition of Ethology, Ecology and Evolution.” cnn.com  It seems the gators gather sticks on their snouts, then lie quietly in the water waiting for a hapless bird to try to perch.  Lunging suddenly, the gator grabs the bird.  They use the stick ploy more often during nesting season when birds are collecting sticks for nest-building.

Once, we humans tried to define ourselves as the animals that use tools.  Then we discovered chimpanzees use tools, then that birds use tools.  Now alligators.  If we insist that being human is not a matter of degree, but requires a unique capability, perhaps we can say humans are the animals that compose poetry.  That may work, at least until we understand porpoise languages. Continue reading →