Sneidley wrote:
Just curious, just how high are these "increased temperatures" that you mention? I live in Chicago area, and we just had one of the hottest summers on record, but our temps her were no where near what My son has in Phoenix. His family seams to really like the weather out there. So, my question is, How much higher and won't we just get used to it?
Get used to it? Higher temps mean, for one thing, much less oxygen is capable of being dissolved in water. Fish use dissolved oxygen to live, and will die in the water with decreased oxygen. This tragedy occurred this summer in some Midwestern bodies of water. In Colorado, the increased temps of water required that fishing bans be imposed during the daytime because fish could not stand the additional stress of being caught and released.
Agricultural crops will suffer also from additional higher temps. Areas where food is grown now will become too hot.
This summer in Colorado the temperatures were consistently higher to the point where the tomatoes would not set blossoms.
The earth is a closed system as far as heat is concerned. Many of the temperature moderating features of the earth are being destroyed or keenly denigrated. For example, the melting of ice covered areas of the earth destroys the heat reflecting properties of the formerly ice-covered areas. The melting then exposes the darker land, which is heat absorbing, causing a higher thermal storage, which in turn causes more ice melting, and so on.
Once the earth gets to a tipping point, there will be nothing that can cool it down. It is sort of a thermal inertia that once gets beyond a certain point in heat, there is no turning back.
Consider this analogy:
If you have a closed environment like the earth, say a large warehouse with an air conditioning system, once the warehouse gets too hot, the air conditioner can no longer cool it. It's a simplistic analogy, but it helps to understand the idea.
The original post was not a distraction, but a sad tale of Congress being bought by industry polluters. It has nothing to do with Obama, you myopic morons. It has to do with grasping reality.
Mr. Mittens, if president, will have no concerns or respect for the earth, or for our environmental health, or for our personal health. He makes no bones about it, either. He is the man for the polluters with no articulated plans for "jobs", the "economy", or anything else. Just more money for the rich. Did you watch the Mitty viddy? Sad commentary by the man himself.
For the life of me, I am unable to understand the short shortsightedness of some of the members here. It doesn't have to be either or. We must have a rational balance. Rich Man Mittens has no clue about much of anything, like environmental policy, foreign policy, economic policy, health care policy, military spending, or anything else- except money for the rich.
Actually, I think he's your man because he is as clueless as you are.