Monday, March 26, 2007

is global warming a hoax?

::calgary.alberta.canada.temp.0ºC.humidity.86%.overcast::

since environmentalists and the media introduced global climate change as a problem, global warming is constantly a heated debate among the general public. the momentum accusing humans as the source behind the earth's increase in temperature has become frenzied, cumulating with al gore's feature film-umentary "an inconvienent truth". to refute this, publicly acknowledged as a rebuttal from opponents, "the great global warming swindle" was produced by the uk's channel 4 and broadcast on march 8th, 2007 in great britain. thanks to the web 2.0, we are able to readily watch this entire production online. click here for an alternative google video version.

The Great Global Warming Swindle


in this documentary, one of the key arguments against humans being the cause of global warming suggests that the entire global warming process began well before the industrial revolution. there is no doubt that temperatures have increased over the last century, however the larger part of this temperature move was prior to the era where humans used planes, trains, and automobiles. also, one of the climatologists interviewed concluded that co2 in our atmoshphere was not lead temperatures upward, but rather lagged to movements in temperature. that is to say that temperatures rose ahead of co2 levels as opposed to increases in co2 leading to increases in temperature. this british documentary created so much buzz that locally, the calgary sun has written an article summarizing the content, which can be read here.

the conspiracy theory behind the global warming hoax is that it is an elaborate political movement that is intended to create barriers to entry preventing undeveloped nations from competing economically. in short, the current economic superpowers are trying to hold developing nations down.

by no means is this film the be all or end all of the climate change argument. however if the intention is correct, it will certainly spur the discussion further. as expected, articles have already surfaced attacking the credibility of "the great global warming swindle". check here for this article written by the uk publication the independent. and so the fight ensues.

so what are my personal thoughts on this? additionally, i feel that humans are very short-sighted by nature and the true effects of climate change are much greater and extend much further than any of our lifespans allow us. so yay or nay, doesn't matter to me.

-YLee

No comments: