I have no doubt that a trend of global warming exists. I am not sure that it is fair to say that it is a problem we must wrestle with.
To assume that it is a problem is to assume that the state of Earth's climate today is the optimal climate, the best climate that we could have or ever have had and that we need to take steps to make sure that it doesn't change.
He didn't have to wait long for his punishment:
Jerry Mahlman, a former top scientist at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, said Dr Griffin's remarks showed he was either "totally clueless" or "a deep anti-global warming ideologue".
James Hansen, Nasa's top climate scientist, told ABC News: "It's an incredibly ignorant statement."
Dr. Griffin, welcome to the club.
Griffin's statement reflects a lack of thought on the subject. I agree that it's not clear this is a problem we must wrestle with because I don't think we can do anything about it. However, no climate is the ideal climate because the earth's climate is constantly changing. The ideal climate to a dinosaur is different than to a human. He is totally missing the main point of the fears about global warming: that the changes will be too rapid for the existing ecosystems to adapt and that humans will suffer in the short run. Of course a new climate will be formed which will be ideal to the new plants and animals that evolve in it (over thousands of years). But the plants and animals that exist in the today's climate won't be able to adapt and will perish. Griffin, based on his statement, has no grasp of this.
ReplyDeleteClearly the earth is warming and has been since the Ice Age. The question is, is human activity accelerating it and, if yes what can we do about it? This is unclear on both counts. The effects of global warming on humans and the environment in general are impossible to predict. But Griffin's take on the "ideal" climate is laughable.
I think Dr. Griffin is agreeing with you: he's saying that there is NO such thing as an ideal climate.
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