Al Gore Wins Nobel Peace Prize and Praise from South African Scientist (click at title to entry, thank you)
...“I was very pleased to hear it. Frequently, obviously, the people that receive the prize are very deserving. But the avenues in which they receive it aren’t always as directed towards our moral survival and the kind of thing that can unite all the nations, globally, looking after life on the planet…I think the Nobel Prize committee has done something absolutely wonderful to incentivize (sic) people to provide a role model, to make people aware that despite all our political conflicts and differences and so on we can really all work together and work on climate change and the other environmental matters,” he says....
This is by far the most serious issue of the day. Human Induced Global Warming has caused the accelerated deterioration of Earth's biotic benevolence called Climate Change. This is NOT a political issue as the scientist from South Africa has called it. Although due to the vast change needed in economic focus away from using carbon fossil fuels that cause the catatrophic carbon dioxide emissions which has reduced all the 'climate protecting ice fields' to nearly zero; it frequently has been mistaken as one.
Political issues are a matter whether taxes go to pay for roads, the next breed of jet fighter, an ungrade to public schools across the nation, convention centers or the next school that needs to be built. Political issues surround the approval of zoning regulations, affordable housing and whether or not the police department needs new cruisers. Climate Change is not a debateable issue. It should never have become a marginalized issue in the politics of any country, least of all the USA. Unfortunately when it comes to the USA, money translates into political power and therefore frequently is laced with corruption placing obsolete sources of energy in place when in fact the country simply needed to change the way in which it obtained energy and acquired transportation.
Climate Change is a matter of fact. Fact that the Repulican Party of the USA has denied for nearly five decades and has postponed any movement to resolve of the issue based in sound science. To understand the brevity of Human Induced Global Warming and it's 'abrupt' result in Climate Change try this experiment at home. You'll need a thermometer that records all the way to 100 degrees C. In other words, you'll need a scientific thermometer that also goes below 0 degrees C. If you can't do the physical experiment because you don't have the necessary equipment it is easy to understand this with simple imagination.
Ready?
Easy one.
Let's walk through this experiment as if we were in my kitchen. I have just taken a pyrex glass bowl from the cupboard and placed it on the countertop. I am emptying ice cubes, a large amount into the bowl. I have a scientific thermometer about 18 inches long and a quarter inch in diameter lying on the countertop at room temperature. I place it in the bowl and the temperature changes from just above 23 C (74 F) to 0 C (32 F). I leave it there to be exposed to the heat of the room at 23 C (74 F).
As time passes the ice begins to melt and while the melting is occurring the thermometer remains at a reading of 0 C (32 F). There is still some ice in the bowl, the room temperatures is still comfortable at 23 C (74 F), so I'll come back in awhile and check it again.
After time I return, the air conditioner in the room is off while the temperature outside starts to climb as the afternoon sun is now reaching it's highest peak of the day. I look at the bowl and the ice is nearly melted. The thermometer continues to read 0 C (32 F), but the room temperature is now at 24 C (76 F). Starting to feel a little uncomfortable.
It's now 2 hours past the highest sun of the day and the inside room temperature is 26 C (80 F) and the room is uncomfortable. The bowl on the countertop has completely melted ice and the thermometer still reads 0 C (32 F), but, the water is starting to lose it's chill. So, the water in the bowl only received a complete melting of ice recently and the 'latent' exchange of heat that changes ice to water is still lingering. I'll check it again in an hour.
An hour later, the bowl is no longer cold or cool, the water is getting warmer as the room is also getting warmer with no relief from the heat until the sun goes down. The room temperature is 27 C (81 F) and I am sweating while standing still. The thermometer in the bowl is now registering 6 C (43 F) and rising.
In another hour the room temperature is 28 C (83 F) and the water temperature is considerably higher at 18 C (65 F). The latent heat exchange between the ice and water is dissipating and the water is now taking on the temperature of the room.
After another hour the water has completely lost any residual coolness and the room temperature and water temperature are the same at 28 C (84 F). You probably can guess the rest, but, I'll take it a little further.
There is no relief from the heat of the room and the ice I had available to place a cool cloth on my neck is all melted and the water left at my disposal to drink is now as hot as the room I am standing in. I am uncomfortable and sweating with nowhere to turn for relief without energy draining measures by making more ice in the freezer or turning on the air conditioner. Those measures are artificial relief to the heat because when over burdened they are no longer available to provide comfort or SAFETY from Climate Change as resulted from Human Induced Global Warming.
The 'idea' that humans can survive due to technology after Earth has used up it's ice reserves is a bizarre idea. The modern comforts that allow those that can afford it, the 'idea' they are SAFE from Climate Change because they have state of the art air conditioner is like a miner finding Fool's Gold and thinking he/she struck it rich.
This damatization is based in the knowledge of what actually happens to water/ice. It is the same dynamics to what is occuring with Earth's climate. Only no one wants to hear it because they have no viable solutions that will change their reality overnight allowing everyone to just flip a switch from deadly heat to comfortable climate by changing to solar or wind in a weekend project.
The threat of extinction of species on Earth, including the species homo sapien is real and is a result of the greed as revealed in Hardin's "Tragedy of the Commons." The greedy of the USA have allowed themselves the luxury of over grazing the potential of Earth to cope with high carbon dioxide levels caused by the consumerism of 6.6 billion people in the year 2008. While the USA is the best equipped to switch to new forms of energy and car production without missing a beat to it's economy, the 'Old World Greedy" are dominating the Executive Branch and nearly dominating the USA Senate and prohibiting the knowledge of decades of sound science to finally find importance in changing the way Earth is loading with CO2.
Al Gore from his earliest days in government has realized the importance of this issue, taken the science seriously which clearly indicates there is no way of 'extracting' high volumes of carbon dioxide from the troposphere without extreme measures that are, still today, untested and in most conservation circles unthinkable. Al not only deserves this award, but, I find it most gratifying to realize he and a huge group of scientists share the same goal. An admirable goal.
Climate Change isn't just about losing fish species or plant species to heat, it's about preserving a place for humans to live and thrive. It's real. It's urgent. There is no time to waste and quite frankly an inauguration of a Climate Friendly President of January 20, 2009 seems just too far away given current climate data. It can't happen soon enough, because, unfortunately the best minds in science aren't given more consideration than the most corrupt politicians in the world.
