May 14 2008
Global Warming Is Not Global, Sorry Senator McCain
The fact of the matter is if you look at the data the ‘global’ warming phenomena is not global – it is centered over one (obvious) region of the world). Check out this map of the global temperature variances for March 2008:
Notice the clear hot spot over Asia, which just happens to be host to half the world’s population and the most populated countries on the planet? Now look at America – which is pretty much running on average. Does anyone think removing C02 from America will change what is happening on the other side of the planet? Clearly it will not. Yet America is the largest per capita producer of C02 (we have big carbon foot prints), but our region of the globe is not warming?
McCain is our candidate, but he is not perfect. And in this case he is dead wrong. I will happily vote for him because I do think McCain is open to reason. I can see him facing scientific facts and adjusting his position. I don’t see Clinton or Obama deciding victory in Iraq is now an option we should pursue. The choice is clear and obvious, despite McCain’s misunderstandings on ‘global’ warming.
Good post, AJ. It’s a shame you don’t share more of McCain’s “centrist” positions with us.
75,
If all you have are whiny insults which I have to read while going through the thoughtful and informative comments others leave here I have a solution to this problem.
Want me to exercise it or should you just take a rest and get hold of yourself?
There is an interesting paper out showing that land use change is the greater modifier of local climate and I would suggest that Asia has been undergoing massive land use change as it urbanizes.
Link
AJ, why does that matter now? Once you’ve taken the road of treating an ally the same as a left-wing nutbag, on one lone subject I’ll add, and then telling that ally that he needs to let the subject go, even when that ally is only responding to the subject from your original post, and then accuses said ally of insults when the original insult is clearly there in your original post, but said ally says nothing about said insult because he has a spine and can handle the hot kitchen, what makes you think your ally even cares to try helping you anymore? Feel free to ban me, my friend because I’ve learned all I need to know about “conservative independents”. Too bad, too. I really used to respect and enjoy your site. I never in my wildest dreams thought you’d go to water over a disagreement. Again, sad.
CP,
It would make more sense. When you build over the land you lose a lot of CO2 processing due to the reduced plant life, which can then create regional green house effects.
75,
You whine too much. No one on the side of comprehensive immigration called Malkin or Tancredo RINOs, Traitors, etc.
Really, I am sick of reading your comments – take a rest.
Fine, AJ. It’s your ball.
Thanks 75. Come back in ten minutes, but realize I am not happy with the schism – it exists. And many of us begged those who launched the purity campaign not to, because we could see the train wreck it would cause.
My problem is when folks confuse my observing the disaster with supporting it. And my problem is those who caused it won’t make amends.
Don’t lay the problems of the GOP at my feet – I am not even a Republican! And if Hannity and others want me to stop calling myself conservative – fine. I will be an Independent – as I have always been. If the far right don’t like my views they don’t need to associate with me at all. I could care less.
Never have liked being in groups, too much of a lone wolf type.
You and I will never agree on the causes of this particular schism so with that being said…I suggest you just forget about it AJ, it’s a molehill as far as I’m concerned or at least until the election when we’ll know for sure.
As for any personal schisms, just remember, it’s a hot kitchen but in my opinion, the hottest kitchens produce the best food. Ever watch “Hell’s Kitchen”? 😉
AJ,
“No one on the side of comprehensive immigration called Malkin or Tancredo RINOs, Traitors, etc.”
No you just called them other names like amnesty hypochondriacs, purists, etc. Tit for tat.
“My problem is when folks confuse my observing the disaster with supporting it. And my problem is those who caused it won’t make amends.”
Of course you have never considered that some believe that it is people like you (moderates, centrists, indys) who created the problem…you aren’t making amends to them why should they to you? It’s called a difference of opinion.
And now for something completely different – say, the actual topic of “gl0bal warming” –
Global warming is not a problem, but global cooling may be. I know, this sounds as ridiculous as snow in Baghdad – which happened for the first time in 100 years on Jan 11, 2008.
picture of the sun today, see any spots?
http://sohowww.nascom.nasa.gov/sunspots/
Yes, we all know we’re at a solar minimum, but this one isn’t acting like it’s supposed to. You can see it on the charts here:
http://solarscience.msfc.nasa.gov/SunspotCycle.shtml
Maybe things will work out. But do some research on the “maunder minimum” and you will find that sunspots are linked to solar output.
Well, at least if this is true it’s going to become obvious fairly soon. I rather expect the northern hemisphere to experience the coldest winter in decades in a few months.
ACU’s rating for McCain:
http://hotair.com/archives/2008/05/14/acu-releases-2007-ratings-mccain-gets-a-b/
I wish you would tone down your rhetoric a bit. To say McCain is ‘dead wrong’ is to assume that you are dead right. This is a debatable issue. I for one have come to the conclusion that a government mandate to force car makers to make more fuel efficient cars, although initially making cars more costly, would have had the positive effect of easing the burden people are now feeling with the high cost of gas. I’ve come to the conclusion that some government mandates, when properly timed, can have an overall positive economic impact. We all knew that higher gas prices were coming but most people are reactive and in cases like this the government should be proactive.
Kam, it’s the government’s “proactive” policies that have gas high priced in the first place. Now you are approving of them to be “proactive” to repair their own mistakes at our expense. Socialism is never the answer, no matter how soft it is peddled to the public.
Looks like Asia, Middle East, and Europe are having the higher temperatures. Not sure why that would be?
Another side issue of interest might be “carbon sinks”. For some reason our forests in America serve as great “carbon sinks”; not so much in Europe. Wonder why that is? There is also some ideas being developed for man made carbon sinks.
Look, as far as McCain goes……
I don’t like that he is in the global warming camp as a Presidential candidate because he has such power in forming policy in that position. On the other hand, it helps soften the Repub image that Democrats have falsely painted over the years (don’t care about the environment). Maybe something good could come of it…..because I trully believe Republicans should own this issue.
McCain is always saying that “suppose we are wrong and man does contribute to global warming” as his reason for taking action. He could have also argued the opposite. Suppose he is right…..it is “money for nothing” and only delays global warming by days while destroying economics, causing food shortages, and having devasting effects on poor countries.
I would like to see someone say that their policy as President is “action based on sound science that takes the entire global effect into consideration”.
McCain is 100% a green candidate; but, he also has a mind that can reason. Although I don’t think he is stuck on this issue.; I think he would be very slow in turning around on it. So, I am not hopeful.
——————————————–
Money for nothing —
If countries in Europe stick to current projections, they will postpone global warming by just days and waste billions: why not spend that on aid now?
http://commentisfree.guardian.co.uk/bjrn_lomborg/2008/05/money_for_nothing.html%5DGuardian/UK
Green Tax Revolt in Britain
http://www.chronwatch-america.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=50831
Kamwe, I see a point in playing up to it as well, although there’s a risk of buying in like this. First of all, there’s no need now to demand that CAFE standards go up – the market is taking care of that much faster than the government ever could. Have you seen any sales numbers? SUV sales are dropping like a rock, as are all low mileage vehicles. Unfortunately, American car companies placed financial bets on large cars (bigger profit margins) to a far greater extent than Toyota, Honda, and Hundai have, and so now American car companies are in financial freefall along with their SUV’s. (Seen the stock price of Ford lately?)
I don’t think it matters much what government does now – within 5 years, I will be very surprised if there is a single American car company left. Oh, the names will exist – GM may be a subsidiary of Toyota, Mazda may take control of Ford – but that’s all. High CAFE standards might speed up the process, but it really doesn’t matter in the long run.
As far the global warming stuff – I’m convinced that the theory is going to completely fall apart in 2 – 3 years. So the way to play it is to come up with some kind of good show for the people who are True Believers, make them think we’re doing something while we’re really just stalling for time until the whole thing can be dropped.
Government’s unusually good at that sort of thing.
A proactive government is why we have high gas prices in the first place.
“Yet America is the largest per capita producer of C02 …”
China is now the largest producer of CO2 — see for instance:
China now no. 1 in CO2 emissions; USA in second position
http://www.mnp.nl/en/dossiers/Climatechange/moreinfo/Chinanowno1inCO2emissionsUSAinsecondposition.html
“Since 2006, China’s CO2 emissions from fossil fuel use and industrial processes (cement production) have been larger than the emissions of the USA. With approximately 8% higher emissions than those of the USA, China now tops the list of CO2 emitting countries.”
The U.S. was the largest producer per capita (as of 2002 — the latest data I could find):
National carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions per capita
http://maps.grida.no/go/graphic/national_carbon_dioxide_co2_emissions_per_capita
but this may have changed since 2002, and the fact that Saudi Arabia, Australia, and Canada were second thru fourth makes the per capita production a quantity of questionable utility to me.
The last time I plotted some data at the NOAA site, it was pretty obvious that they were still using the data with the Y2K bug in it.
What makes the admission that China is #1 so significant is that China has been faking and hiding the numbers from outlying areas for over a decade now in order to make them look good.
They don’t put sensors in areas where they don’t want to, so they record no emissions there – but how do those people get heat and cook their food? Most common method in the countryside is still to burn wood or raw coal, a little more available than wood in China.
1 billion people burning little piles of coal every day – zero controls – and yet that doesn’t count, since it’s not measured. That’s the scientific data that this “US is #1 polluter” meme is based on all along.
If it’s fallen apart now, it’s because China’s emissions have gotten far too huge to paper over. I wouldn’t be surprised if soon (and if we are looking at real numbers) China and India together will be responsible for over 50% of the CO2 output of the planet.
Of course, the US is #1 meme is necessary to convince the US to shut down industrial production. In truth, we could shut down every generator, close every factory, park every car, and it would just be a drop in an ocean that would never notice.
We’re not big enough to do anything about this anymore, no matter how much we want to.