THE FACTS PAGE

  Dispelling the myths is easy when the facts are made clear. After a recent lecture to a small group of students and visitors I had a police officer share a sentiment with me that I found disturbing for it’s stupidity. It was so ignorant that it blew my mind, but it also reinforced the fact that the public is vulnerable to many misconceptions and fraudulent ideas. The officer had asked about my book and then stated that he did not believe in global warming. I was floored but also a bit disturbed. If you are that ignorant you should not be working in Law Enforcement in my book. To be a good police officer requires an ability to be observant and to have a good memory as well.  This person is a Sheriff in Sarasota Florida, and I suppose the only blessing in all of this was that as poor as his mental skills and lack of thinking were, at least he is in a smaller city where being a good observer and able to remember things is not a life or death type of skill set like it is in other larger cities. But it made me think. Because IF an officer can be that ignorant and childlike in his primitive ideas of the world, there is likely a large segment of the population that is also under the same illusions about the world around them.

   It is true that there are many people either duped by myths or ignorant of the truth when it comes to nature, conservation, and the legalities of ecology. So this will help to set the record straight.

GLOBAL WARMING: Is it happening? Is it true? Yes and Yes! Of course it is true. It is not a question unless you are galactically stupid! Now why would anyone think that global warming is not true or not happening?

  It stems from several sources. The first is an inability to remember or observe and retain the world around you. What do I mean by that? I have lived all over the world and remember many decades quite clearly. I remember the summers and winters and over all weather of the 70’s, the 80’s, the 90’s, the 2000’s etc. So I noticed ( quite clearly ) the temperature changes and weather changes as the decades have gone by. But some folks cannot remember this or did not pay attention. It is what I call the “Growing Child Syndrome”.
   If you have a child and that child is growing, you will not really notice on a day-to-day basis. Of course the clothes shopping and grade advances will tell you the child is growing, but you don’t generally notice it. Then one day a person that you have not seen in 3 years stops by for a visit and comments on how much your child has grown. In a flash your mind races back to the last time that they saw your little one and you realize just how much of a change has gone by.
   If you had a group of astronauts who had been in space for 30 years and returned to the planet. Within 6 months a comment that most of them would make would be “What the heck happened to the weather?” I can promise you that.

   The second reason that someone might be in denial is because they have bought into the power and utility companies “science conspiracy” explanation. Petroleum and other industries do not want people to believe in global warming. Why? It is bad for business. Industries that produce harmful greenhouse gases and destroy ozone and pollute the environment don’t want to be scrutinized by the public, because if enough of the public catches on, then pressure may be applied to the political system, and laws and regulations change. This equals loss of profits and in some cases the destruction or entire revamping of an industry. This is very costly and puts the industry in a bad light. So it is important to turn the spotlight away. And where better to turn it than science? Scientists making conspiracies to influence the masses. For funding, or extending their research grants. Makes a great excuse.
  It’s not true, but it does sound good on paper. It is further exacerbated by the fact that many scientists are competitive and petty when it comes to grants and funding. The behavior supports the theory. But the idea is still nonsense.

   So let’s say you do not have the memory or observation skills to perceive the weather changes, and you have heard the conspiracy ideas and it sounds viable to you. How can you trust what scientists are telling you? Don’t! Become your own scientist. If you can read this, your “theory” concerns are over. You can read. So don’t worry about the fact that the scientific community is almost entirely 98.2% unanimous in their understanding and agreement about global warming and climate change. Instead read what the farmers say or the census takers say. Read an almanac or farmers almanac. In fact read several.
  Oh low and behold, what will you find? GLOBAL WARMING! Imagine that. It is actually that easy. If I seem a bit sarcastic it is because I think that ignorance has reigned long enough. It is hard to see folks who are in the dark on something that is a proven fact and so simple to verify. So much for the arguments about Global warming! There is no argument. Global warming is real, and anything said to the contrary brings to mind a flashback of the police officer and his statement. And what shot through my mind was the old saying “It is better to keep your mouth shut and have people think you a fool, than to open your mouth and remove all doubt.” Enough said.


WE CANNOT DESTROY OR HARM THE ENTIRE PLANET: Wrong! We have been steadily impacting the planet for the last hundred years to an extreme. Our pollution is being dumped into the water system and it goes into the oceans where it reenters the chain of life. Chemicals and toxins that our industrialization has introduced unnaturally into the marine eco-system.
   In the United States in the mid-west agricultural run off from fertilizers that are over used bleeds into the Mississippi river and then drains down into the Gulf of Mexico. The toxic nitrogen creates a dead zone in which only bacteria and microorganisms survive or thrive. I link to the increasing “Red Tide” that often kills off vast areas as it drifts into coastal regions of various states and countries.
  We are decimating species. And let me bring that into a size perspective for you. We live on one third of the planet. We are decimating the populations of animals that take up two thirds of the planet.
  We are causing the extinction of more species in the last 60 years than have been naturally exterminated or gone extinct in the last 100,000 years! We have created a hole in the ozone layer through our use of fluorocarbons and other pollution. Methane, Carbon Dioxide, and so much more. All destroying our atmosphere. Disease and toxin related illness on the rise. Species vanishing including critical species. These are species that we MUST have in order for the ecosystem to survive, and thus for us to survive as a species.

  So how do you verify this as a fact? Study! It is not hard to find the information. Look up extinct species or consult with biologists or species specialists. Talk to paleontologists and you will soon learn about extinct species in the past and recent past. Read books. It is such a simple thing to verify the species statistics.

  Talk to climateologists and meteorologists. Some folks ( for whatever odd reason ) are reluctant to listen to scientists. But it is a rather silly when you think about it. If you wanted advice about your electrical system you would not ask your Doctor about it. ( Unless he happened to be an electrician ). You would contact an electrician and get the advice of an expert. If you wanted help with a financial problem you would not ask your local grocer. You would ask an accountant or financial planner or money expert for assistance.
  We contact specialists for specialized information. It is as simple as that. So if you want to find answers about the ozone or global climate or weather problems the choice is an easy and obvious one. Logic is such a simple and effective tool for problem solving.