I don't much care...

Started by ccanelos, 01/23/2009 03:10PM
Posted 01/23/2009 03:10PM | Edited 01/23/2009 03:44PM Opening Post
I happen to believe that evidence supports that human activity is contributing to global warming. I also happen to appreciate the skeptical questioning by those who believe otherwise. We need critical thinking on all matters before us, that’s what we hold most dear in science.

However, I find that I don’t much care whether it is or it isn’t human caused. We should be changing the way we live on the planet, not just because of this threat, but because intrinsic value of having a clean environment is that it is good for us, both economically and for our health.

If the threat of global warming, human caused or not, scares people enough to change their ways, frankly, I’m fine with that. We do a lot of things to prevent the “what ifs” in our lives, why not this one? The statistical likelihood of my house burning down is small, for instance, but I still keep smoke detectors and fire extinguishers handy just in case.

If the threat, even the possibility of human-caused global warming causes people to embrace alternative, renewable energy technology and to conserve the amount of energy they use in the first place, I'm fine with that too.

This is a darn small planet overall, by not limiting the emission of man-made greenhouse gases, even if we are not contributing to global warming, we are contributing to the degradation of air quality, water quality, and mucking up a great deal of plant and animal systems, with which we ourselves are symbiotically connected. If the United States doesn’t take the lead on this issue, emerging industrial nations never will. If we ignore this, we are effectively peeing in our own well. Bottoms up, folks.

Sweet the coming on
Of grateful evening mild; then silent night
With this her solemn bird and this fair moon,
And these the gems of heaven, her starry train.
--John Milton

Posted 01/23/2009 07:36PM #1
Point taken but we should stop talking about the planet. The planet is a ball of silica and iron with a molten core and a thin crust of rock. On top of that is a coat of dirt from which we get most of our food. Over that is a tiny wisp of gas without which there is no life here. This isn't about the planet, or the environment, it's about the atmosphere. It's very easy to screw that up. It's also very easy to fix it.

-drl

Christine Canelos Welsh said:

I happen to believe that evidence supports that human activity is contributing to global warming. I also happen to appreciate the skeptical questioning by those who believe otherwise. We need critical thinking on all matters before us, that’s what we hold most dear in science.

However, I find that I don’t much care whether it is or it isn’t human caused. We should be changing the way we live on the planet, not just because of this threat, but because intrinsic value of having a clean environment is that it is good for us, both economically and for our health.

If the threat of global warming, human caused or not, scares people enough to change their ways, frankly, I’m fine with that. We do a lot of things to prevent the “what ifs” in our lives, why not this one? The statistical likelihood of my house burning down is small, for instance, but I still keep smoke detectors and fire extinguishers handy just in case.

If the threat, even the possibility of human-caused global warming causes people to embrace alternative, renewable energy technology and to conserve the amount of energy they use in the first place, I'm fine with that too.

This is a darn small planet overall, by not limiting the emission of man-made greenhouse gases, even if we are not contributing to global warming, we are contributing to the degradation of air quality, water quality, and mucking up a great deal of plant and animal systems, with which we ourselves are symbiotically connected. If the United States doesn’t take the lead on this issue, emerging industrial nations never will. If we ignore this, we are effectively peeing in our own well. Bottoms up, folks.
Posted 01/23/2009 07:54PM #2
My own views closely match yours - whether or not humans are causing a global warming crisis, there are plenty of good reasons to reduce our consumption of non-renewable resources and stop polluting the planet.

As long as public policy on global warming pursues these objectives with a balanced view of our economic health, I can live with an ends-justifies-the-means argument. As much as I'd prefer a more honest presentation of the science, I can take some comfort in knowing that environmentally-friendly results will come from the enflamed rhetoric of the day.

"Praise the Lord for the expanding grandeur of creation, worlds known and unknown, galaxies beyond galaxies, filling us with awe and challenging our imaginations." 2007 Reform Siddur