Global Warming is Not Global Weather
WASHINGTON – Weather – Cold weather across North America over the past ten days have many climate change sceptics scoffing at the concept of global climate change. Part of the problem perhaps is that each time there is a hot summer day, newscasts are loaded with dire reports on the impact of global warming and climate change, equally each cold day in the winter sees climate change skeptics push the envelope that the entire idea is foolish.
The simple reality is that there is a huge difference between a weather forecast and climate change. Climate change is constant. If there had not been global warming, Thunder Bay would be sitting under a massive depth of glacial ice.
Dr. John Holden, who is President Obama’s expert on climate change explains that the real issue isn’t looking at short term weather, but the longer trends. Holden says that it is very likely that simple explanations are not going to suffice, when it comes to long term predictions.
There are many possible factors that contribute to climate change. From Britain, the Met Weather Service shares “Natural variations in the climate and longer-term changes due to human activities are increasingly affecting us and the environment we live in, such as the availability of fresh water, food security, our health, and social and economic infrastructures. Tackling these issues to ensure that society is sufficiently resilient and prepared requires the development and delivery of operational climate services – climate information prepared, interpreted and delivered to meet society’s needs”.
The constant process of denial or unquestioned following of science ignores the reality of today. When we take weather and mistake it for climate change which both sides of the debate keep doing, we are ignoring reality, and making poor decisions. It is just like the people who turn up their heat, and turn on all their lights for Earth Hour. Their end result is wasting energy, money and resources.
Climate and weather are both cyclical in nature. Just as nature runs in cycles, so too does climate.
We as a society need to realize waste is not good and should not be acceptable.
Technology toward Saving Money for Business and Home
From the standpoint of governments, homes, and business, there is a lot benefit to using less energy. It simply costs less. There is of course the added benefit of a reduction of the carbon footprint of an home or business operation. In many cases the newer technology is changing the demand for power.
Take light bulbs and office lighting as an example. Technology has shifted from the incandescent light bulb to the Compact flourecenet light, and now the shift is toward LED lighting. In an office space, companies are moving from lighting the entire space, to having better and more environmentally friendly light sources at work stations.
Ontario is ending the use of coal, and moving to more nuclear energy, while talking about wind and solar energy options too.
It should be a goal for all of us to work toward solutions. Simple claims that climate change either do or do not exist are far too simple for what is a matter that really should be addressed with respect to the fact and the implications.
James Murray