Scientists Warn of Coral Bleaching in Caribbean

[PaulChristenson]

Well, of course we cannot completely stop the natural warming and cooling cycles of the earth, but some effort should be made to reduce the human influence on the current rapid rates of warming. Oil and car companies will never change as long as we are willing to hand over our money to them for the products they sell now. They need to be financially motivated to change.

Amen to that...

 

[archman]

There's some very nice legislation in the U.S. being proposed to curb emissions from lawnmowers and other small-engined stuff. They put out a lot of pollution.

Of course, the congressman that lives next to the big U.S. lawnmower factory is fighting this legislation tooth and nail.
http://www.allaboutlawns.com/lawn-mowing-mowers/lawn-mowing-and-the-environment.php

Recently, the EPA has found Senator Bond's safety argument untenable. Now the big lawnmower company in Missouri is threatening to outsource production if they have to install catalytic converters. Round and round the debate goes...

 

[jbilicska]

Usually legislators are elected by the voters, and are receptive to voter opinions. Writing letters and signing petitions still has its merits. Nowadays, you can do a lot of this online.

I recommend signing up with WWF's "take action" network. They'll send you email alerts on upcoming legislation, and if you give consent, will send e-letters on your behalf to your local congressmen.
http://takeaction.worldwildlife.org/action/index.asp?ms=wwf_header

'Course, if you're not from the U.S., this particular option isn't so useful.

Thanks for the website that's one I never saw before.
Joe B

 

[cheddarguy]

At least the U.S. is making an effort to reduce pollution,what about countries like China and India where thier populations dwarf ours.

 

[archman]

At least the U.S. is making an effort to reduce pollution,what about countries like China and India where thier populations dwarf ours.

They're 30-50 years behind us and western Europe. That 30 year-mark is a big cutoff, as it signifies when significant environmental legislation really started to get going in the U.S.. Catalytic converters, Clean Air Act, Clean Water Act, pesticide bans, blah blah.

At least China's actually reporting its big environmental accidents now. It used to be hush hush.

China's also looking into energy-efficient technologies, to supplement their massive power demand upswing. This is a good idea in long term planning.

I think India wants more nuclear power plants. Most environmental scientists support nuclear, as the wastes (however nasty) are discrete and containable, and the power-generating efficiency is very high.

 

[mrdawson]

At least the U.S. is making an effort to reduce pollution,what about countries like China and India where thier populations dwarf ours.

Making an effort? haha, how do you explain the failure of the united states to sign the Kyoto treaty then?

 

[mrdawson]

At least the U.S. is making an effort to reduce pollution,what about countries like China and India where thier populations dwarf ours.

Sorry in advance about the double post... Forgot to add something.
Although these countries populations dwarf the US, the US is still by far the worlds the largest contributer to greenhouse gas emissions.

USA: population of world (4.6%) world economy (30%) CO2 emissions (24%)
EU countries: pop of world (6.35) world economy (23%) CO2 emissions (14%)
China: population of world (21%) world economy (3.2%) CO2 emissions (13%)

 

[jimbojones]

I think it is 100% amazing that anyone, politicians, scientists, etc can believe that we as man have any influence on how something as complex as the planet earth functions. No matter how much CO2 we release, no matter how much coal or oil we burn, we are insignificant to the catastrophic effects of nature (Katrina is case in point). Try to not be an alarmist and look at the facts. The earth is cyclical in everything, tides, weather, everything. We cannot stop it, we cannot retard it we cannot even speed it up.

Just my 2C.

This is the reason we are in this mess. People cannot understand how 6 billion people together can change the world. We are have nearly burnt half the oil in the earths crust, that represents reversing millions of years of a natural process, the conversion of biota to oil, in less than 100 years. It is amazing to me that in the pop culture there is this idea that there is debate over global warming in the scientific community. There really isn't. The only debate is over exactly what is going to happen in the long term. we know its happening, we know atmospheric CO2 is rising, and we know burning fossil fuels is the cause of the increase (its called the Suess effect, It would take more than a message board post to explain it). We know sea temps are rising, we know surface temps are rising, we know ice is melting and sea level is rising, and we know it is happening faster than ever before in geological time. What has been happening in the past few years has far exceeded any of the mainstream expectations. We were too conservative in our models. even the oil companies are admitting to it at this point. Anyone who has spent time diving in the past 10 years or so has seen what is happening in the tropics. I was in St Barts last fall and I was shocked at what I was seeing while diving...dead coral everywhere.
My credentials
BA - Environmental Science/Geology
MA- Energy and Environmental Analysis
PhD - Environmental Geography/Economics
Ultimately it doesn't matter though because personally I don't think we will take the necessary action until it is too late.

 

[mrdawson]

This is the reason we are in this mess. People cannot understand how 6 billion people together can change the world. We are have nearly burnt half the oil in the earths crust, that represents reversing millions of years of a natural process, the conversion of biota to oil, in less than 100 years. It is amazing to me that in the pop culture there is this idea that there is debate over global warming in the scientific community. There really isn't. The only debate is over exactly what is going to happen in the long term. we know its happening, we know atmospheric CO2 is rising, and we know burning fossil fuels is the cause of the increase (its called the Suess effect, It would take more than a message board post to explain it). We know sea temps are rising, we know surface temps are rising, we know ice is melting and sea level is rising, and we know it is happening faster than ever before in geological time. What has been happening in the past few years has far exceeded any of the mainstream expectations. We were too conservative in our models. even the oil companies are admitting to it at this point. Anyone who has spent time diving in the past 10 years or so has seen what is happening in the tropics. I was in St Barts last fall and I was shocked at what I was seeing while diving...dead coral everywhere.
My credentials
BA - Environmental Science/Geology
MA- Energy and Environmental Analysis
PhD - Environmental Geography/Economics
Ultimately it doesn't matter though because personally I don't think we will take the necessary action until it is too late.

Great expansion on all points I have made so far, Thanks!

 

[usnadiver03]

Well, of course we cannot completely stop the natural warming and cooling cycles of the earth, but some effort should be made to reduce the human influence on the current rapid rates of warming. Oil and car companies will never change as long as we are willing to hand over our money to them for the products they sell now. They need to be financially motivated to change.

"Financially motivated"--so by this I am going to guess you mean that we should start charging compainies to make gasoline vehicles. Perhaps we could levy more taxes and fines on an area of our economy that is already maxed out (only about .10 of every dollar that you spend on gas goes to the gasoline companies...given their recent media attention about their profits...imagine what the federal and state governments must be making on the taxes?)

You all can throw every advanced degree in ecological studies. But falling just short of actually being G-d or Mother Nature, your authoriy to tell me that the sky is falling is absolutely unfounded. Scientists practice science for the sake of science. As a result, they create their own self-licking ice cream cone. I think that if I worked for the EPA, I too would be telling everyone how bad it is and all the plans to save our children, otherwise, I might be out of work.

Don't get me wrong, I believe is reducing unnecessary pollutants and species protections, but I think people get carried away. 6 billion people may seem like a lot, but I believe that in every instant where an area is on the verge of over population, the earth reacts in turn by "down sizing."

If you feel better about sticking to every business owner because they make money, then go ahead and lobby away. Just be sure that you are sure what you are saying is actually going to make a difference.

Sorry for the long winded response....I have to go and get ready to dive Cozumel and Grand Caymen in two weeks...