[ RadSafe ] Re:"State of Fear"

[BLHamrick at aol.com]

In a message dated 2/20/2006 6:41:21 P.M. Pacific Standard Time,  
Grant.NIXON at mdsinc.com writes:


The  majority consensus in the scientific establishment is that global
warming  is the current physical trend, irrespective the causes.
Moreover, the  weather is becoming decidedly more extreme/volatile. The
evidence that this  conforms to a majority viewpoint can be seen  almost
everywhere.


The trouble I have with all of this is, it seems to me, significant global  
climatic changes would only be apparent over very long time periods (on the  
order of tens of thousands of years), so I can't really understand why we would  
be projecting a trend on the basis of decades of data, or even a few hundred  
years worth of data...unless, of course, you subscribe to the "Day After  
Tomorrow" Hollywood school of climatology.  I would expect to see variation  in 
the interim, even quite significant variation.
 
I also think humankind has a tendency to think it is much more important  and 
influential than it really is.  All of this leads me to believe that  while 
we may be experiencing some unusual, short-term trend (if indeed we  are), it 
is no more than that, and we are likely not the cause.
 
Barbara