Cleaner Air Adds To Global Warming 751
shmlco writes "In the "You Can't Win For Losing" department, an article on the BBC web site is reporting that reduced air pollution and increased water evaporation appears to be adding to man-made global warming. Research presented at a major European science meeting adds to other evidence that cleaner air is letting more solar energy through to the Earth's surface.
Burn fossil fuels, you make things worse. Clean up your act, and you make things worse. Is it time to set off a few nukes and see if nuclear winter can cool things down?"
Bad idea (Score:5, Funny)
Uh-uh. Last time I tried that on Sim Earth, my planet was overtaken by sentient robots. Of course, the robots eventually get taken out by carnivirous plants, but is that really much of an improvement?
Must be due to the (Score:5, Funny)
We must completely ban the use of... (Score:0, Funny)
Heh (Score:4, Funny)
I nominate Idaho for Nuclear Whipping Boy
Re:Don't agree with global warming (Score:2, Funny)
Yes the world is overpopulated.
Re:Don't agree with global warming (Score:5, Funny)
Re:not that far off (Score:5, Funny)
Re:That's not a bad idea... (Score:3, Funny)
I keep trying to get "Launch Solar Shade" passed, but I can't get the votes - I have the energy market cornered and Lal, Santiago and Zakharov have decided that they don't want to trade with me.
I am going to nerve staple those bastards if I ever get my hands on them.
So I set off a few planet busters (Score:5, Funny)
Re:Don't agree with global warming (Score:3, Funny)
Re:Is fatalism in again? (Score:2, Funny)
"Just because you are self-aware, you cannot draw a conclusion of abilities of others to be self-aware. My GF's dog is self aware, and so are her cats."
Is your second sentence some kind of sarcasatic counterexample of how you can't draw a conclusion about the abilities of others to be self aware, or do you not realize that you're contradicting yourself? If you can't draw a conclusion about the abilities of others to be self-aware, how do you know your GF's dog is? That's at least as crazy as the poster saying that humans are the only self-aware species.
For my part, I think there's some chance dolphins are self-aware, which is why we need to watch them very, very, carefully to see if they're doing anything sneaky. I think Gorillas and co. can be brought into the fold as extremely dumb humans if we give them a chance, but dolphins are different. I just don't trust them.
Re:No Surprise... (Score:2, Funny)
Increase in temperature = More water evaporating
Vapourous water = Clouds
More clouds = Less sunlight getting through
Less sunlight = lower temperature
The point being that there is a sense of balance in place. Yes, we're messing things up, but there are some checks and balances that lessen the impact. That's not to say we should keep on polluting, but that the situation IS reversible if given time.
This argument has little value. Look:
The point is, only a global analysis of the situation says can say whether the first approximation (falling to the ground) can be mitigated or not, and is serious or not. The "global analysis" in the falling case is checking whether or not you have a parachute on your back (=enough drag?), or you are a cat or not (=really serious?)
In the global warming debate this "global analysis" uses scientific tools and knowledge, which, unsurprisingly, are best mastered by scientists working in that field.