If you have lived in Tucson Arizona since the 1960s, you have been witnessing that record low temperatures happen much less than they were from 1910 to 1960. The City of Tucson's population is also growing and with an increasing number of people comes a proliferation of concrete and steal. As more buildings and roads are built a heat island develops. Asphalt and concrete absorb heat at different rates depending on how dark the item. Typically the darker the concrete the more heat it absorbs. Lighter surfaces will reflect heat or absorb less heat than darker objects. So as Cities expand, so does their heat absorbing, paved areas; therefor since most major cities are growing, it is believed that heat islands will also increase. Perhaps this contributes to Earth's average mean temperature increases.
The snow is melting on Mt. Kilimanjaro, Kenya. This is a fact. Another fact is that the rain forest at the base of the mountain is being shredded, thus less moisture is whispped up the mountain, less moist air becomes cooled, and less snow is replenishing white caps. Could the fact that the destruction of the local ecosystem have contributed to glaciers dissapearing on Kilimanjaro and not Al Gore's Inconvenient Truth?
Are we witnessing Global Warming or are there other explanations where areas of the Earth is getting hotter or cooler like in Punta Arenas (at the tip of South America), where they have a GISTEMP station record posted on the wall which shows a long-term cooling trend? The middle of Antarctica is also cooling and large glacier sections are getting thicker.
Those are some arguments against Global Warming.
Is global warming a real threat or are there other factors that may explain why the mean surface temperature of the Earth is getting hotter?
Honestly, who cares?
As we watch pundits, politicians, and arm chair politicos debate over whether global warming is a fear tactic to change behavior or a legitimate scientific concern, we should rise above the muck and consider the other reasons why we should design cities so they do not place added strain on resources and the environment, for example. We should consider what products we procure especially when they could come from a rain forest slaughter mill or which region we need to patrol to protect our petrol-chemical intrests. As my friend comments below, humans need to rethink how their behavior affects the environment.
It's not only about Global Warming. It's about how we perceive ourselves in relation to the Country and to the World. Is our job to take care of the bordered fencing on our plot of land? Is our only concern that Conner, Sally, and Alex make it to soccer and cheer practice on time while mom looks for a second job to pay down last year's Holiday expenses? Or should our concerns expand beyond the mind numbing noise, endless chatter and bleeding mass media headlines that help keep us captivated and distracted?
I'm picturing an Ostrich with its head in the sand right now where its wallet, its way of life, its values and its substance is being compromised. It has been sold that having a head in the sand is American, it's good for the economy, and will help fight terror.
It's so much more than Global Warming.
Rethink U.S. goals
by Omar Masry
It seems like every day, I can open up the Register to a healthy debate over the ramifications of global warming and whether global warming even exists or if it's even the fault of humans. As a city planner, I sometimes wonder if it even matters anymore. The climate is changing in ways we can't simply reverse, no matter our intention, and whether it's due to humans doesn't undo the present. What matters more to me, especially as a veteran of the Iraq war, is how dependent we are on unstable areas for the energy that powers so much of our economy.
It's time to ask: Where is our space race? Where is our generation's challenge? Where is our paradigm shift to rethink American?" Heck, even crotchety oilmen like T. Boone Pickens are saying it's time for change. Surely, that change has to be something more than the next iPhone.
Omar's comment is published in the Orange County Register:
http://www.ocregister.com/articles/doctrine-oil-congress-2091254-fairness-newspapers
1 comment:
Great post Moe.
Somehow, as a society and world culture, we've become more and more self indulgent and hedonistic, more self centered and less community centered. Especially, we've lost the orientation of thinking about how what we do will affect our grandchildren. An illustrative example is the widespread use of disposable plastic shopping bags instead of reusable shopping bags. Another illustrative example is buying new plastic bottles of water, drinking the water, and dumping the bottles. Even worse is buying water shipped from France or Italy to San Diego. That's just mindless self indulgence. One bottle of water doesn't make much difference, but that type of indulgence multiplied by billions of times a year is turning our beautiful home, Earth, into a polluted dump.
What a bummer to think about. I think I'll take my Hummer out for a drive to get mellow again.
David C
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