Stephen wrote: > >"Global cooling could develop on Earth in 50 years." What's the third word >along - "could"? > >So it's as least as much an unproven hypothesis as the current global >warming one is. And given that this info is over a year old, I don't see >much publicity about it, Surely if this is true, it would be a cause for >more immediate concern. > >Global warming may not be as bad as we think. I'd be happy for it to be >wrong. But at least thinking about it has us trying to use less of our >limited resources, developing better technology and maybe even polluting >less.
Hello all, I think in general both are probably right in a way (global warming and cooling). I've seen lots of articles (sorry I don't read peer-reviewed articles, just articles that take highlights of reviews) that have stated that with increased warming in the general North Atlantic, ocean currents become disrupted; these currents help to keep warmish water in the vicinity of Western Europe and North America. Stop or slow these currents and the jet stream which keep the arctic air way up North dip down and you have localized cooling. We saw that very vividly last Winter; it went from very warm winter to extremely cold even down to florida. If that happens a little longer each year and there is an increased snowfall then that can lead to an increase in areas that could have longer winters, longer snowpacks; there was a year in the 1800's where it snowed every month of the year. So it seems even in a time when it could be much warmer in many places it could trigger localized changes which could make it colder. This is important orchid-wise because our native orchids could be drastically affected (just keeping it a little orchid-related) with changing weather patterns, whether they be warmer or cooler, or a mix of both. Not trying to be offensive in any way, but the amount of publicity something receives has no bearing whatsoever on the amount of reality that is involved. It could be that nobody likes the direction those studies suggest, and it won't empower somebody politically to espouse them. We are still basically guessing on what could happen with specifics, other than stating that if certain conditions remain constant everywhere could have certain problems; heck weather people can't tell what is going to happen three days from now! I think I would not be buying land in low-lying areas but would not discount anything else changing quickly around the North Atlantic either. The new developed countries aren't going to stop using energy that will increase pollution (not saying they shouldn't use it, not my call) and that will continue to cause problems very quickly. just my opin, charles -- charles ufford oriskany, ny usa _______________________________________________ the OrchidGuide Digest (OGD) [email protected] http://orchidguide.com/mailman/listinfo/orchids_orchidguide.com
