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LongeyeMom · 05-08-2008, 08:37 AM

My son has been working on this topic for his IB History all year. Has probably read 1000 plus pages and had to report on ALL sides of the issue. Some of the things he(and I) learned, in no particular order;

Its called climate change, not global warming, because some places will get warmer, some colder.

If you chart the average mean temp of the earth starting from the last 1000 years, you notice a spike that corresponds with the beginning of the industrial revolution. This is when combustion engines were invented and CO2 was added to the atmospere. Ever increasing amounts of CO2 have increased the rate of warming.

There are exagerations and silly statements on both sides of the issue. One of each: Twenty feet of sea level change in 50 years. God would not have created a world that cannot heal itself.

The number of scientists, religious figures, business people, politicians, military people, that do believe it is happening is increasing.

The effects will be gradual and are already occurring. Tropical diseases appearing in temperate climates. Floods in some places, droughts in others. Bird migratory patterns changing. Growing seasons for crops changing. Even purchases of clothing is changing.

Yes it will be expensive to do something about it, But it will be even more so to wait. Katrina is a good example. It would have cost less to keep up with the levy repairs than it will to repair all that has been lost to the flood.

The psychology of dealing with it is fascinating. People cling strongly to their beliefs. No one wants to deal with a change that means they have been living wrong and have to do things differently. It is human nature.

Time will truly tell.

05-08-2008, 08:37 AM	#58
LongeyeMom New Member Join Date: Apr 2008 Threads: 2 Posts: 25	My S's year long IB Project on Climate Change My son has been working on this topic for his IB History all year. Has probably read 1000 plus pages and had to report on ALL sides of the issue. Some of the things he(and I) learned, in no particular order; Its called climate change, not global warming, because some places will get warmer, some colder. If you chart the average mean temp of the earth starting from the last 1000 years, you notice a spike that corresponds with the beginning of the industrial revolution. This is when combustion engines were invented and CO2 was added to the atmospere. Ever increasing amounts of CO2 have increased the rate of warming. There are exagerations and silly statements on both sides of the issue. One of each: Twenty feet of sea level change in 50 years. God would not have created a world that cannot heal itself. The number of scientists, religious figures, business people, politicians, military people, that do believe it is happening is increasing. The effects will be gradual and are already occurring. Tropical diseases appearing in temperate climates. Floods in some places, droughts in others. Bird migratory patterns changing. Growing seasons for crops changing. Even purchases of clothing is changing. Yes it will be expensive to do something about it, But it will be even more so to wait. Katrina is a good example. It would have cost less to keep up with the levy repairs than it will to repair all that has been lost to the flood. The psychology of dealing with it is fascinating. People cling strongly to their beliefs. No one wants to deal with a change that means they have been living wrong and have to do things differently. It is human nature. Time will truly tell.