Re: All this global warming weather we've been having...
Ob,
My comment was specifically directed at this thread, and the notion somehow that the recent cold snap is somehow indicative that global warming doesn't exist.
No reputable scientist will conclude that any specific weather event is directly related to global warming, or that there is a "direct" link between one phenomenum and another. The best you are likely to get is some percent probability that one is linked to another. It is far too complex a science.
What you are likely to get is measurable data that says, on average, that the earth has been warming, on average, and CO2 levels are at historically high levels and seem to be continuing to rise, and that computer models suggest there is a link between the two, and if the earth continues to rise in temperature, there are likely to be serious ramifications to that.
No serious scientist is going to say that if we do X, it will definitely produce Y result. Unfortunately science simply doesn't work like that. If you require irrefutable absolute evidence, when that happens, it will be too late.
No one can say with absolute certainty what effect lowering carbon emissions will immediately have, or how much will produce what effect, but it is known that human activity puts more carbon in the atmosphere, that the current levels are at historical highs, and that reducing carbon emissions are unlikely to be detrimental, are very likely to impede this process.
It's worth a try in my book, even if it is solely based on the old Boy Scout notion of always leaving a place no worse than you found it.
Oh, and since the lumber industry in North America tends to plant 6 new trees for every one harvested, they as an industry on balance probably help this situation more than they hurt it.
