Have you seen where these rich guys ever reach a point where they have 'enough'? Do they ever stop trying to get ever more wealthy? Why doesn't Mr. Gore, and a few of his wealthy, and equally committed friends privately fund some of the changes he's calling for, or subsidizing those who wouldn't profit much until the masses get on board?

How about going out and helping thousands of households get off the grid across the country. Real working examples of what's available, costs, savings, and what you get to live with. So much easier to spend other people's money, isn't it.

Kind of curious, Al Gore came within just a few hundred votes of being president, why didn't he try again? Look at the completion? He would have had to work very hard to get the votes this time. Obviously I'm not a huge fan, but he would be a much better president then whatever we get stuck with in November...

 

Does contributing all proceeds from his book the Inconvenient truth count?

 

I hear a whole lot of old bags arguing about the weather. STFU, post data, postulate theories soundly based on that data and stop arguing. This forum banter is about as functional as pissing into the wind; All you end up doing is releasing some liquid and needing a shower! Again all this environmental concern going around your locality or the world in general serves one and only one purpose and that's to fuel worry about our own asses. Mother nature is in absolutely no danger of any kind whatsoever and it's our own human arrogance and ignorance that puts us in the place of believing we are the cause of what it is we go through every day. The only thing that needs saving is us, and not in a biblical sense. We've been around no more than at max 200 thousand years. That's not even a geological speed bump, nothing the human mind hates mores than coming to terms with our own passing. Not one thing we have as a species, society, or culture come up with can as yet do anything about it. We are slaves to time and nature more so than nature is our slave in our time.

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Uhm...you do realize that you are essentially advocating a privately funded welfare system to go along with our highly successful government operated one.

A couple of decades ago some people found out that Hugh Hefner was worth $100,000,000 and were pissing and moaning that it was just damn rude of him not to share out that wealth with the poor. So, old Hef responded (very appropriately) that, he could indeed give away his 100 mil to all Americans (about 200 million at the time), giveing each man, woman and child...$0.50 and leaving his Playboy empire dead broke.

Given enough wind, you'll get your shower...what's more, it will be golden!

But, it's true. The human race isn't even a pimple on the butt of nature and no matter what we do or what happens to us (regardless of how dire that may be) is of zero consequence.

So, the best we can do is to try to figure out what's best for our survival and do it (I guess it's fortunate for the "dumb" beasts of the planet that what's best for us is also best for them). Griping about what Al Gore should or should not do is really of little help. Hugging a tree is of little help. Having an, "Earth Day" is of little help. Studying the science and developing working strategies and trying different things...that may not be our ultimate salvation but, at least it's likely to help....some...

 

Not what I had in mind. I meant that he should go out and set up example homes, so the neighbors and communities could see first hand what can be done. Even if the people around these examples don't copy the concept homes, they'll adopt some of the energy saving features. You don't power a home directly off solar panels or wind turbines, you run off batteries. Which means you have to conserve power, use more efficient appliances. There is a lot more to it then just handing out the money. It's a different way of thinking, a different sense of responsibility. It'll teach people to conserve, or they'll have to wait until the batteries recharge. Could make a good reality type show. Giving someone the equipment to get off the grid is only part of it, the homeowners still need to change their lifestyles. It's the attitudes about energy usage that needs to be changed. On the grid, you get all the energy you want, just have to keep writing the monthly check.

 

You need to take a visit to C.A.T. in Wales.

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Does contributing to yourself really count? If he's the founder/CEO of the organization, and still controls the money, it's still his money. He just pays less taxes.

Kind of reminds of Hilary Clinton's campaign loans. She spent $12 million of her own money, on her own campaign, lost, and wants the money back. If she can get her $12 million contribution back, does that entitle everyone who gave here money to a refund as well? She spent the money, but will she actually have lost the $12 million at the end of the day?

Do you see what I'm getting at, these people flash the money around, but never really let go. Both Democrats...

 

While I agree that that topic is a shenanigan that should be closely looked at...it really does stray pretty far from the topic of glaciers and how they relate to global warming.

 

The point is that we are going into a warming trend, but the extent and predictions of impending doom are debatable. Where is the evidence that this trend is going to be so much worse then anything in the past? What was the limiting factor in the past? There must have been some reason for the previous warming trends to stop, and a cooling cycle to begin. Some glaciers are showing signs of melting, but a new glacier is forming on St. Helens? Is it over already?

The Global Warming should not be the focus, it's going to continue on course. It's just being used by the the tree-buggers get more people on the green-planet movement. I don't agree with scare tactics, con-games and scams, as means to get people to clean up our planet, and quit wasting resources. I fully agree with the goals, just not the deceptive methods of this particular group.

Wasn't the hairspray hole in the ozone layer back in the 70's suppose to letting too much heat energy out over the polar region? And we were heading to a new Ice Age, if we didn't stop using aerosol propellants?

 

I think that was the point during the age of the dinosaurs and wooly mammoths. Creatures that just mucked around...cluelessly...and accepted whatever fate befell them.

But, we've evolved to the point of being able to not only be aware of the phenomenum but, to be able to quantify it and act on it. Even the liberal arts majors, with their naive, tree-hugging philosophy at least get the concept, if not the science

To me, the point is to go after it aggressively. If the ultimate result is failure and extinction...well...in the dying gasp of the last human, he/she can at least proudly say, "We gave it our best shot".

My understanding of the ozone layer was not so much global warming as a UV protection issue. Is ozone a greenhouse gas? Being so high up, would the ozone layer even trap or release heat in such a way as to affect the surface in anything other than marginally compared to the carbon thing and other surface heating factors?

 

I'm just waiting for the first flight to the mars colony Shipping to get parts is going to be a bi*** though

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MechTronics

World of Warcraft is a disease

 

That's what machine shops and rapid prototyping systems are for.

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Time out for a little treehugging levity...

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Ron

 

It's being blown out of proportion as a motivator for a good cause. If everyone were to junk all the inefficient or pollution generating gadgets, with in the time frame Al Gore states that we must act, it's going to create one huge pile of crap. Automobiles can be crushed and remelted, all the plastic, oil, grease, rubber and crap just burns off, releasing what into the atmosphere. So much cleaner then just driving them... Jump blindly if you want, many do, but will we die because we might have caused or accelerated a natural phenomenon, or we die by our own junk and garbage we created, trying to buy a few more years. Regardless of the cause, we are all going to die eventually, no one lives forever. People have been searching for a magic elixir to prolong life, for a very long time, and willing to pay any price.



I'm not too clear on the ozone issue, just remember it was on the news a lot, and the grown ups discussed it frequently. I wasn't even in my teens, and had little interest. Pretty sure Ice Age was involved though.

 

...Are you absolutely certain that, "hugging" is the only thing he's doing to that poor tree?