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"May I suggest to all a terrific, page-turning novel State of Fear by Michael Crichton? Although this is an engaging fiction piece, it is full of non-fiction, data from the likes of NASA, The Goddard Space Institute, Columbia University, and Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Oak Ridge, Tenn., among others. "It might interest you to know that the news that Antarctica's ice is increasing, on the whole, was already present in this 2004-copyrighted tome. Perhaps you might add to your question with another, "Why aren't we hearing about this in American newspapers?" "If, says one of Crichton's characters, the elements of our atmosphere were measured in terms of a football field, nitrogen would take us from the goal to the 78 yard line. Oxygen would take us from there to the 99-yard line. Most of the yard remaining consists of argon. Argon takes us to within 3 inches of the goal. Only one inch of the remaining three is made up of carbon dioxide. One inch in 100 yards. "In the last 50 years, we're told, carbon dioxide in the atmosphere has increased. But in this analogy, it has increased only 3/8 inch, "less than the thickness of a pencil," meaning that it is "a miniscule change in our total atmosphere." "Articles worldwide would lead one to believe that all scientists "believe in" global warming, yet the lead climatologist at MIT says that we are only going through a natural cycle. Other scientists in agreement include those at Harvard, Columbia, Duke, Virginia, Colorado, University of California-Berkeley and other top universities. "Current temperatures are roughly the same as those in the 1930s when we, supposedly, were not emitting the kinds of greenhouse gases we're emitting now. There seems to be more correlation between the "urban heat effect" and temperature rising than there does between carbon dioxide levels and temperature rising. "For instance, New York City with all its asphalt and concrete, has increased 5 degrees Fahrenheit in 178 years while Albany, less than 140 miles away has declined one-half degree in the same time period. "The two cities' carbon dioxide levels were identical, but Albany got colder. West Point, between the two geographically, was unchanged. "New York's population growth is much more likely to account for the difference (a growth of from 120,000 in 1815 to more than 8 million today). "In any case, those willing to look at data from
scientists on both sides of this issue, leaving personal bias and
preconceived notions aside, will find the question "what to believe"
easier to answer. A good start is the fast-paced piece of
fiction/non-fiction called State of Fear." |
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