Global Warming, the new worldwide watchword for political change. While it is true that climate averages vary, one does not need to look too deeply into the recent past to see the folly of such so called “theories”.
As a young teen in the 1970’s I can remember ice skating in November in the Boston area,a few days after Thanksgiving, and for certain the first week of December. Treks to my downtown High School on the “T” were often cold and bitter, the bank thermometer at Fields Corner Station reading -26C day after miserable day in 1971. As a matter of fact during January of 1971, the temperature never rose above freezing for over 25 days in a row!
Of course this sparked the then fanciful theory that the new “Ice Age” was upon us. Yes! I recall maps in the newspapers and magazines depicting major US cities under a thick blanket of ice 2-3 stories high! After all, pollution was curtailing the suns’ energy from reaching us at its’ full potential and we were all doomed! This “theory” went on throughout the 1970’s , culminating in a book called “The new Ice Age” , it even had a forward by the CIA,depicting how this new climate “change” would kill crops, cause mass migrations of entire populations and ruin economies….starting to sound familiar? I thought so.
My point is this, weather follows definite patterns, which vary from time to time. There are periods of extreme cold as in the late 1800’s and the 1970’s and periods of warmth, as we are are seeing currently,(actually as of the mid 1990’s temperatures have stabilized worldwide and even grown cooler, even as CO2 has continued to increase.) Only a very small shift in our Suns output dwarfs any effects that man has done in the past century.
The latest rage seems to be energy efficient light bulbs of the fluorescent type. Yes save the environment Fromm doom, buy a new bulb at 5-6 times the cost, and by the way do realize you have a problem waiting for you when they need to be discarded, as these new bulbs contain mercury, which is harmful to you, your pets and the environment! Don’t forget to call hazmat when you drop one on your kitchen floor! Ah ! the law of unintended consequences!
Reality always trumps reactive thought.
