I was watching National Geographic this weekend and saw a show about Dubai and how they are making more islands. Yes, man made islands. I remember hearing about the islands they made that look like a palm tree but never heard how it turned out. Apparently it turned out well and now they are making the world islands. Now dumping all this sand and rock into the ocean to make islands and the breaks to protect ehm from the currents and storms; wouldn't this alter the sea level? In science they taught us that if you place something in water, the water rises to compensate for the object. Now if we were talking only one island…but we aren't. If I remember correctly the newest man made island project consists of 300 islands plus the break that encircles it.

That is more than enough to make the sea level higher, don't ya think!

Some say that we need to stop adding to the global warming by ceasing the use of gas powered engines and stop using coal for energy. I say ‘sure’ we should all do this, in fact, to start I say that first those that have said this should lead the way my turning their automobiles over to a junkyard or at least, the ENGINES that use that type of ‘bad’ power sources. You can’t say, ‘well, I only use MY car to drive a mile or so, I ride a bike otherwise. That is the same as telling a VEGAN that while you support not using animals for food, you do so by ‘only’ eating that burger once in awhile! IT IS THE SAME HYPOCRACY! Either you go all in or you stop complaining that people aren’t doing it! I told a person working at Whole Foods that I only eat meat sometimes; they told me I was STILL part of the problem until I quit eating meat COMPLETELY! I agree, until I stop eating meat, no matter how little it is, I am supporting the slaughter of ALL animals for food, as long as I drive a car, no matter how little I drive it, as long as it is using gasoline, I am part of the problem. Until I stop BEING part of the problem, I actually have no right to tell or expect others to ‘do as I SAY do and not as I DO!

Comments? I am mostly sure I am looking at ONE person in particular, but I bet he or she (not naming names here) will respond other than to say how our president is as bad as it gets, but not actually taking the blame for his (or hers, still not naming names) is really doing by driving that car around Baltimore (or wherever he or she lives and works).

That is ‘all’.

L OL, despite climate change, he is one that is growing and has been growing a very long time. I saw this and thought of you, AK. Now I don't have to come visit you and build volcanoes!!!!

But, perhaps someone knows something different?

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/25311529/&GT1=43001

this is one quote from the story:

"It hardly matters to those in the path. Just ask the people of New Orleans who survived Hurricane Katrina. They are living in a city where, 1,000 days after the storm, entire neighborhoods remain abandoned, a national embarrassment that evokes disbelief from visitors."

Alright, I got an 'idea' that would not only wean us all of the oil, but it would also keep the farmers farming FOOD for us! What is this source of biofuel"? Well, it is not only something growing out of control, but it is resistant to every eradication effort thus far attempted on it!!! It is the Kudzu vine!!!!

Why not use it? It apparently doesn't need much to grow, heck, won't even have to fertilize the dang stuff! Of course, that would also make the South a 'powerhouse' again, so I guess 'The South WOULD rise again, wouldn't it!

Ughhhh, it was 112 yesterday. We spent the whole day in the pool  so it wasn't so noticeable.

But today is supposed to be 113 a nd I have to work, so I can't enjoy the pool. The heat just radiates off the pavement also making it feel like your in an oven!

To top it off my daughters graduation is outside thursday night! The ceremony starts at 6pm, it will still be 110 at least. (it was over 80 at 4am this morning).

 I wonder if I can talk the boss into working from poolside until it cools off? I know he'll laugh hysterically but it's worth a shot.

Polar Bears don't need to live on sea ice to survive! I've been saying this all along, but no one wants to believe it until it starts to happen. It's sad this had to happen, but up here when an animal poses a threat to an entire population we protect humans.

WARNING - granted I am glad no humans were hurt, I should warn you about some of the pictures they have. I really wish they would have just reported the story, there was no need for them to put the pictures on there too.

http: //newsminer.com/news/2008/mar/28/polar-bear-killed-fort-yukon/

I'm asking for it by posting this, but I'm posting it because I'm sure MAD will enjoy it, as well as most others on this site.

NOTE: I will post this then no longer read this thread. I may be starting a fire, but I will not fuel it.

http://www.newsbusters.org/blogs/n oel-sheppard/2007/11/07/weather-channel-founder-global-warming-greatest-scam-his tory

I mean cmon people wake the hell up. We are pawns in the global warming crowds agenda. They come up with this fake science and ignore real science. Anyone that does not agree with global warming is chastised and called names. They can never argue the point on facts and facts alone. There major argument is it was funded by the oil companies. Who cares unless you can dispute the finding of that study then STFU because it was funded by an oil company is not a valid argument. Oh ya and why have the global warming crowd changed it to climate change. Because they have no case.

Now this from the NOAA

The average temperature across both the contiguous U.S. and the globe during climatological winter (December 2007-February 2008) was the coolest since 2001, according to scientists at NOAA’s National Climatic Data Center in Asheville, N.C. In terms of winter precipitation, Pacific storms, bringing heavy precipitation to large parts of the West, produced high snowpack that will provide welcome runoff this spring.

A complete analysis is available online.

It is not paid for by any oil company.

So NOW what?

Oh here we go AGAIN! Didn't Russia get the memo that there is NO 'Global Warming' but rather a 'Climate Change'? Therefore that 'new' name INCLUDES an Ice Age in our future.

So I am 'between' storms right now, but so you know what the weatherman said last night? He said the amount of rain that dropped so far in these past storms was just about enough to STOP claiming a DROUGHT in this state! Apparently the last storm dropped a foot of rain PLUS a lot of snow on the mountains! Hmmm so much for a 'bad' climate change!

So, here I am on California's Central Coast. It is raining, and is supposed to RAIN another week; AND when I look out over the bay to the mountains, they are COVERED IN SNOW!!! Did I mention that there are people stuck on the GrapeVine because the passes are SNOWED over? They are having to be rescued and placed into hotels/motels until this passes over, NEXT WEEK sometime! Oh what a BEAUTIFUL Climate Change we seem to be going through. The reservoirs are starting to fill up, the skiing is coming back in a BIG way, and things are look GREAT! Of course; I LOVE the rain, love listening to it, love walking in it, I even love DRIVING in it. The snow? Well, I actually DON'T like snow, it is too cold. But some people do, I guess. What are you gonna do, can't MAKE them NOT like it! Same with those people that like Sailing! What are you gonna do about THEM? 

Here's the latest scoop -

They're no longer calling it Global Warming but Climate Change.

Every top accredited scientific institution, even the Pentagon, agrees that:
1. Climate Change is Real
2. Humans are Behind It
3. Left Unchecked it Has the Potential to Escalate into the Greatest Global Catastrophe Mankind has Ever Known.

Whenever the carbon level rises, the temperature rises as well. Man has been producing massive amounts of CO2. 70,000,000 tons is the amount we put into the atmosphere every single day.

In the past 20 years, 15 were the hottest on record and each year is hotter than the previous.

Some projections have the Greenland ice sheet melting in merely decades raising sea level 20 feet. The West Antartic ice sheet collapses that's another 20 feet. 40 feet sea level rise puts coastal cities, which house the majority of our population, completely under water. It is thought that it will happen within 100 years and possibly in half that time. A quarter billion people in China alone are at risk. There would be a billion refugees world wide and fresh water shortages, wars (over fresh water), famine and drought.

The only question now is what we are going to do about it.

It is apparently snowing here!

WASHINGTON — A moderate La Nina is expected to continue through spring, bringing wet conditions to the northern Rockies and continued dryness to the Southeast, government climate experts said Thursday.

La Nina is a cooling of the tropical Pacific Ocean that can cause changes in weather patterns around the world. It is the opposite of the better-known El Nino, a periodic warming of the same region.

The monthly update from the Climate Prediction Center calls for the moderate La Nina to continue into spring. Currently sea surface temperatures range from 2 degrees to 3 degrees Fahrenheit below normal in studied parts of the Pacific. This reduces rainfall over the ocean, and there are stronger-than-normal easterly winds blowing at low levels.

That indicates the likelihood of above-average precipitation over Indonesia and below-average precipitation over the central and eastern equatorial Pacific, forecasters said.

For the contiguous United States, potential effects include above-average precipitation in the northern Rockies, the Pacific Northwest, the Ohio and Tennessee valleys, and parts of the Great Lakes region. Below-average precipitation is expected across most of the South, particularly in the southeastern states.

© 2008 Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

So, I'm looking at how 'Global Warming' is the cause behind Mt. Kilimanjaro's lack of snowfall. I also am looking at the same global warming causing the lack of rain in the Amazon. But wait a minute, back in ELEMENTARY school, we learned that trees cause greater humidity which in turn cause more rain/snow. Is that still how it works? If so, perhaps it ISN'T global warming that slowed the rain fall in those two areas. Perhaps it is the amount of LOGGING that has been done in those spots over the years! I don't know, but IF trees bring the humidity, and enough humidity creates rain (or snow depending on the altitude) perhaps this ISN'T Global Warming at all, perhaps it is just old fashioned MANKIND wanting more WOOD without REPLACING what was used! Thoughts? Oh, and by the way, would LESS trees ADD to the amount of co2 IN THE ATMOSPHERE? It is the TREES that breath that, right? Just a thought.

IF you can prove SCIENTIFICALLY that the global warming is definately caused by humans, and are willing to have your theory tested, YOU can win $150k!!! So far, since the inception of this contest, NOT ONE PERSON HAS BEEN ABLE TO CLAIM IT!!! Perhaps it is YOUR turn! Oh yeah, just saying they won't pay is NOT proof that there IS or ISN'T Global Warming caused by man, it just means YOU aren't brave enough to claim YOUR prize!

http://ultimateglobalwarmingch allenge.com/ 

But I told ya so.  GLOBAL WARMING MY BUTT!!!!! Nice to see SOMEONE out there remembered what is going on in the center of this planet!

http://news.yahoo.com/s/lives cience/20071213/sc_livescience/magmamaybemeltinggreenlandice;_ylt=Agyq2v.5MgMlYx _yA3Wdzo0DW7oF

Climate Talks Moving Toward No Rules for China, India

By Kim Chipman

 Dec. 7 (Bloomberg) — China, India and other developing countries probably won't be required to take on legally binding commitments to cut their greenhouse-gas emissions under a new climate-change treaty, a United Nations official said today.

“The debate about binding commitments for developing countries is not off the table, but it's crawling towards the edge,'' said Yvo de Boer, executive secretary of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change, which is overseeing the negotiations.

Almost 200 countries are gathering on the Indonesian island of Bali this week and next to begin talks for a new treaty to replace the emissions-limiting Kyoto Protocol when it expires in five years. The negotiations are focused on the question of how much developing nations should contribute to efforts to curb global warming, a debate that's raged for more than a decade.

The U.S. has refused to join the 1997 Kyoto accord in part because China and other rapidly emerging economies aren't required under the treaty to make the same pollution cuts as industrialized nations. The U.S. and China are the world's largest emitters of global warming pollution.

[b]China and other developing countries say they shouldn't be required to meet the same standard as developed countries[/b] because they are in the early stages of trying to fuel economic growth to pull billions of people out of poverty. The European Union and environmentalists agree, though they say they want to see stronger efforts from the countries in a new climate accord.

No Commitment Needed

“[i]China doesn't need to commit at this time[/i],'' said Artur Runge-Metzger, head of climate strategy for the European Commission. “What we expect from China is massively improving energy efficiency.''

Both industrialized and developing countries so far are “talking a lot about real measurable and verifiable'' steps emerging economies can take to curb emissions without taking on mandatory reductions, de Boer told reporters today. Those measures include improving energy efficiency and working toward renewable energy goals, he said.

Such actions would be “capitalized at least in part through international financial flows,'' de Boer said.

Financial incentives could come both from a global carbon emissions trading market and “government-to-government'' cooperation, de Boer said.

The focus on providing greater incentives for developing nations comes as countries such as India argued earlier this week that climate talks shouldn't even start before industrialized countries lived up to their previous promises to help poorer nations deal with the effects of climate change.

They are concerned that developed nations will forget their commitments at the same time they expect more to be done by poorer nations, de Boer said in an interview yesterday.

“In a way it's a double whammy where commitments from the past aren't met and going into the future something may be arranged that could hurt them economically,'' de Boer said.

So, I ask, 'Why SHOULD we care IF there are ANY other countries that don't HAVE to care?' To me it is the same as telliing a poor person that they don't NEED to follow the SAME laws THAT the RICH do, BECAUSE THEY ARE POOR!!!' Where does THAT make sense?!?!

No really, in the 80s I was scared of nuclear war, thanks to a certain, badly written movie about nuclear war and surving it in the mid-west (lot o' nightmares from that one!), in the 90s I was frightened of GANGS and DRUGS! Thank you Clinton for shipping the gangs OUT of LA and INTO MY county and town (BTW, all that happened was instead of LESS gangs, MORE were created where there was NONE before!). And now here we are in the '00s! We 'survived' the computer viruses from the end of the century (remember that? Not ONE plane dropped out of the sky when the year rolled over, did it?), And of course, 9/11 was also a big fear event (although, didn't this same group try to blow up the WTC earlier? Didn't work so much then, but we didn't go to war with anyone over it either (and STILL never caught the guy that masterminded THAT one either).

Now, I hear the Globe is going to overheat! The waters will boil away, the air will become unbreathable to humans, etc. AND, as if that wasn't enough to be scared of; SOME MEDICINES COULD CAUSE DEATH!

AND EVERY political group PROMISES a change, but so far NOT ONCE HAS THIS CHANGE HAPPENED! NOT ONE TIME!

But wait, it goes on - apparently workiing GRAVEYARD SHIFTS can cause CANCER!!!! UUUUUUGGGGGGGGHHHHHH!!! When will it EVER end? Who do I have to go 'POSTAL' on to STOP this FEAR MONGERING, mongering that has been going on FOREVER!!!

http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20071206/sc_afp/australiaclimatewarmingkangaroooff beat;_ylt=AiAWnuLHg1TqcFiH1mQgtDkiANEA

Growing up in Southern California, I was always aware of two things: Summer time was hot and winter was NOPRMALLY wet! In addition to this knowledge, I also knew that MOST of the water in CA came from the Colorado River and without that water, the southern part of California would revert BACK to the DESERT it is! With me so far? Good, because now it gets 'dicey'-

EVERY year that I can remember there has been a drought! Not some years, EVERY year! Again, without that river from Colorado, there is scant water to be drank. Alright, now let us look at a few 'truths' -

EVERY plant native to southern California is drought resistant, not because it was 'man bred' that way, but because NATURE made them this way. Hmm, must mean there has ALWAYS been little water down there. Now, with that knowledge; EVERY year there has been 'water conservation'! Not some years, EVERY year. Great idea for an area always short of water, right? So, IF this area IS a natural desert that DOESN'T have mch water, wouldn't it also make sense that part of the reason California is seeing LESS water for the people is because the POPULATION has grown WAAAAY larger than what could be kept up with? It IS a desert, how much water could be saved to keep everyone drinking? That is, what is the break point where the number of people is too many to support? How close are we to that? Wy do people keep moving to California and putting mpore of a strain on the drinking supply, and then complain that there ISN'T enough water?

Seems to me that IF people looked at a map, not a road map, but that other kind, the one that shows the vegetation of an area, people would easily see they are moving to a DESERT!!!!

Anyway, come on and move out here, just be warned, IT IS A DESERT WITH DESERT LIKE WEATHER!

Just a few questions I'd like to see answered. . . .

1) China has recently surpassed America in carbon emissions. Why aren't you guys nagging the Chinese?

2) Why is the current global climate the most desirable one, when Earth has experienced climates both warmer and cooler than the current period, all of which life, including human life, has thrived in?

How long have we been scientifically measuring climateology data? 100 years? 150 years at most?

3) How accurate were thermometers 100 years ago?

4) The Earth is 4.5 billion years old. So out of 4.5 billion years of potential data you're going to make scientific judgements based on 100 years worth of collected data?

5) Mars among other planets in the solar system have been recently proven to all be undergoing global warming at this period in time. If no Man is present on those planets, then how do you explain their global warming trends?

6) If the Global Warming model is so certain, then why wasn't the Global Cooling model of the 70's equally as certain?

7) Doesn't all plant life on Earth require CO2? By restricting CO2 emissions, aren't you effectively choking trees? Doesn't every form of animal life on this planet exhale CO2?

8) Paleoclimatology shows that the deserts in Egypt were once lush rain forests thousands of years ago. And that change took place long before the advent of any internal combustion engines. If that was a natural climate change, then why is this change now not a natural climate change?

9) Today on the news they said that tomorrow there will be a slight chance of rain. A slight chance? It's tomorrow! If these guys can't give us a definite forecast for what the weather will be like tomorrow, how on Earth can anyone give an accurate forecast of what the weather will be 40 years from now?

10) Do current global Warming models based on 30 year old data take into account the newly discovered Tasman Outflow ocean current?

11) Do people have the right to question, and be skeptically critical of, the idea that man is causing Global Warming?

Ask any of these questions, and you will be answered only with insults, troll accusations, and many eye rolling emoticons.

They will behave in a manner which suggests that either you don't have the right to ask these questions, or they will treat you with pity as some poor lost soul that hasn't yet been shepherded by Al Gore.

But actual answers to these questions are rarely forthcoming from the enviromental extremists.

Because what they have is not true science that is open to criticism and skepticism, instead what they have is their own religion or belief system, where no critical questioning is valid in their eyes.

Ok here's my take on this subject. I don't if it is global warming or nott but something is definatly up with the environment. We'll get a foot of snow on Monday but its all melted by Tuesday morning. The Great Lakes are drying up, the water levels here have never been lower than they are now. The summers are cooler than normal while winter is warmer than it should be, something is off. Is it global warming? I don't know, but it could be, isn't it worth looking at?

Four words: Global Warming My Arse!

 http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070921/ap_on_sc/neptune;_ylt=AiwLj3SC LAukzjNjeS1iVfGs0NUE

LOLOLOL, I NEVER trusted that Bullwinkle!!!!

http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20070822/sc_afp/sciencenorwayclimate_0708221912 34

Story is tooo long to place here, but here is the LINK!!!!

http://www.businessandmedia.org/specialreports/2006/fireandice/fireandice.a sp

6 days in the Shenandoah mountains, biking, hiking, and kayaking with my son. Biked over 30 mountain miles, up and down Skyline Drive. Rode One time pedaled ALL UPhill for 3 miles and went back downhill for 6 exhilarating minutes at speeds up to 33mph, never having to pedal once. Hiked over 12 miles to waterfalls and in light rain at times loving every minute of it. Saw a bear right at the trail head on the way back yesterday. Biking saw one too, it saw us first and BOLTED like lightening (boy can they get up and GO Fast!!!). That was funny, a bear scared of two guys on bikes. Saw another and got Great shots of it reaching up into a tree for berries. Saw a wild turkey, a rare peregrine falcon just a few yards away. Saw hundreds of butterflies Up Close! Saw a great horned owl in broad daylight just 75 yards away and of course all the deer (dozens and dozens of them) including something we hadn’t seen in the past 10 years going to our cabin in that slice of heaven - a doe nursing her fawn! And today paddled down 12 miles of a river that’s running dry but still some fun. Played in the rapids, paddling back up in the eddies to reuse the same rapids, the few that are left, and surfed the waves standing still in place with a little balancing to make the most of each one.

Then we return from those 6 days, camp fires to keep us warm even in the early evening when temps dropped to the 60’s, low 60’s and even into the 50’s some nights… It’s OVER 100ºF here! Heat index will be