Global Warming Evidence: Positive vs Negative, and Why You Should Listen to the Scientists not the Pundits

People react to the "now" ignorantly, personally, and opportunistically, so hot temperatures and wildfires breed cries of "global warming is upon us" by the ignorant and by those whose job it is to promote an agenda (most notably environmentalist groups and individuals like Al Gore, notably a politician but NOT a scientist), and  in the snowy winter of  '09-'10 many ignorantly supposed that the climate was actually getting colder, while some with an agenda cried "12 inches of global warming" (Virginia GOP) and "Al Gore's new home" (Sen. Jim Inhofe’s (R-OK) family, building a snow igloo in D.C.).

Michelle Malkin correctly points out the ephemeral nature of weather as noted by reputable scientists: (Global Warming Blame-ologists Play with Fire By Michelle Malkin, Jul 06, 2012). Unfortunately she does not point out that those on BOTH sides of the issue choose to use weather to support their own agendas, as I noted above.

"Global Warming" is a political football, as is "Climate Change" now, too. Rarely mentioned, especially by those who proudly count themselves as "deniers," is that global warming is why we are where we are now as a civilization, mainly because we are in an "interglacial" period during the current ice age, between glaciations, so for now the Earth has a largely temperate climate that is very friendly to us. The current debate is actually about whether humans are speeding up the process (anthropogenic global warming) or not.

"Climate Change" is not a synonym for global warming, either, because of course the climate can get colder, cold enough for a new ice age to occur, as well as get warmer, but many in the media and in special interest groups are using it as such.

Climate change was not scientifically established as a "fact" until about a hundred years ago, largely through research done by the scientist Ellsworth Huntington. Subsequently, exhaustive research has shown that Earth's climate has changed a great many times over the aeons, and that in our current age, the Quaternary, Earth has gone through several cycles of glaciation and interglacial warmings. A link has been established, theoretically at least, between the location of a land mass over a pole (such as Antarctica is now) and a cycle of glaciations like we currently find ourselves in.

This means that whether or not humans are "causing" or influencing global warming we are likely headed towards another glaciation period. "When" is yet to be determined.

Immediate effects are pertinent, however, because we live in the "now." Warming or cooling NOW can affect our lives in many ways, such as where we can grow crops and thus our ability to feed ourselves, where we can live, the availability of fresh water.

A body of evidence exists supporting increases in surface temperatures over several decades, but does not really show the cause, if there is even only one. Often there are multiple causes for a particular effect, and climate is a very complicated thing about which to determine cause and effect. Indeed, we know from evidence that a "global warming" event can increase the size of some glaciers even while most are reduced in size. And global warmings and coolings can be ephemeral, too. The "Medieval Warm Period" and the "Little Ice Age" each only lasted 300 and 500 years respectively, a mere pixel in the overall image of the Earth's existence.

There remains much to find out about climate change and its causes and effects. Careful scientific research can tell us much, eventually. Short term, there is no harm in living "greener" and there are a great many benefits. If we foul our own nest, the Earth will eventually clean it up but we won't be around to see that happen, and it's unlikely any humans will if we befoul the Earth extensively. It would be a good idea to try to live responsibly and enjoy the fruits of the Earth NOW.

Higgs Particle found? and not in the U.S.

The Large Hadron Collider found very strong evidence of a form of the Higgs Particle.
Meanwhile, Fox News made fun of the statement by the President that this was evidence of justification for governments to spend money on science.
??????
Perhaps the Fox people think the U.S. would have made it to the Moon first with private funding only.
I would also note that the LHC was originally slated to be built in Texas, as the Superconducting Supercollider, but the U.S. government did not choose to fund it after budget problems. (A simplification, to be sure). All discoveries by the LHC might have been made in the U.S., and earlier than this.

5 Day Timelapse - Waldo Canyon Fire - June 23rd-28th

This is a very good video. At about 7:00 minutes is when the conflagration starts that forces our evacuation. The cars in the foreground are on I 25. You can see the AFA Chapel right of center. You can see the active quarry that is above Mountain Shadows closer to the left side of the screen. That is about 3 miles from our house. Credits by the creator of this video are in the video itself.

Martin Hanczyc: The line between life and not-life | Video on TED.com

Martin Hanczyc: The line between life and not-life | Video on TED.com
Reveals the possibility of the formation of life out of randomness.

School success comes in different degrees

"Reform Education" is a political football, like so many issues are now. Unfortunately, there are actual young Americans in the middle of that playing field, and some of them are being trampled.
I teach at an alternative school, and many of my graduates have gone on to make something of themselves, they are taxpaying citizens rather than wards of the state, but they came to my school because that result wasn't likely should they have stayed at their previous "traditional" schools.
This article holds up another such youngster who just needed the chance.

Published in the Denver Post earlier this year...
School success comes in different degrees
By Michelle Ancell

More than 3,600 students just graduated from Cherry Creek School District. Many of the graduates won scholarships, were honored for their grades and were bestowed with mementos for their achievement.
But Chris Moore, also a 2011 Cherry Creek School District graduate, wasn't one of them. Moore graduated in a tiny ceremony earlier this year as his grandparents and dad watched.
There were no special cords draped around him for his grades, no special honors for sports or extracurricular activities, and no scholarships. But sometimes simply getting out of bed and arriving at school is an accomplishment. And sometimes putting one foot in front of the other, going to class and staying out of trouble is nothing short of a miracle.
In an era when adults are highly critical of education, and we're pushing for more, bigger, better, we sometimes forget that the test scores, the grades and the achievements are products of the kids themselves. Those kids are a product of their environments.
The lucky ones never have to worry about divorce, mental illness, money, the war in Iraq, sexual abuse and other social ills.
But we still expect achievement and growth from kids who do experience hardship — the kid with a learning disability, the one with the alcoholic mother, the one who was raped. Kids with heartbreaking stories go to our schools, too.
So the question becomes: What is outstanding performance? How do you define achievement? I wonder about the successes we reward, and how we can start looking beyond ratings and statistics to appreciate the successes of public schools.
Which gets me back to Chris Moore. Earning a high school diploma is a tribute to the determination and resolve this quiet kid carries. It's a nod to the staff at his school, the Special Programs Center (or PREP), an alternative middle and high school program in the Cherry Creek district.
Earning a high school diploma is a tribute to Moore's mother, who helped him find PREP and wouldn't let him drop out.
Life got complicated for Moore when he was in middle school and discovered his once high-achieving big brother smoking pot and taking crystal meth. Chris watched the drugs eat away at his brother's ambition and swore that drugs would never take him down, too.
But Moore didn't fit in at his traditional middle and high schools. He dropped out for a while. "The kids I'd known forever got into drugs, too," he said. "I felt so alone."
Then his family suffered financial hardship, including the loss of their house. Moore and his dad worked side-by-side at Dairy Queen for awhile, then both moved on to Sunflower Farmers Market. Neither was too proud to stock shelves or wipe counters.
His mom finished some community courses and landed a well-paying job as a surgical assistant.
"When he arrived at PREP, Chris was quiet and pretty much kept to himself," said his counselor, Carolyn Crouch. "But we gradually saw a change in him. His grades improved. He emerged as a leader on campus. Chris was vocal about his positive life choices, not drinking or doing drugs."
His first-quarter's grades at the school were the highest he had in years, nearly all A's. But the night before his first prom, Moore's mom died of a heart attack.
Moore, at 18, lives alone. He plans to join the Army then eventually become a police officer.
Real kids like Chris come into our schools every day. How should we accurately measure their successes? And how should the educators who work with these kids be evaluated? What measure can you place on inspiration and compassion?
Lawmakers and policymakers shouldn't forget to look beyond ratings and statistics when evaluating the success of an institution, or an individual. You may have to dig a little, but those successes are there.
Chris Moore is absolutely a high achiever, and the adults at his school should be commended for helping him have a shot at a bright future.
Michelle Ancell of Aurora is a freelance writer and owner of Write Now Communications.


Read more: Colorado Voices: School success comes in different degrees - The Denver Post http://www.denverpost.com/ci_18194563#ixzz1OWQqV07c
Read The Denver Post's Terms of Use of its content: http://www.denverpost.com/termsofuse

defunding NASA programs

The House of Representatives is about to vote on a bill that will:
   • Cancel the James Webb Space Telescope.
   • Cut 60 percent from new technology development.
   • Reduce proposed funding for commercial crew launches by almost two-thirds.
   • Cut planned flagship missions to Mars and Europa way back.

Please sign the linked petition! Please share this with your other friends!
http://planetary.org/special/action/index_email.html

Congress decries the supposed sad state of public education then proposes defunding major projects in the premier example to the world of U.S. scientific courage and energy: the Space Program!

        FYI: The James Webb Telescope is already built and being tested!
         If they defund it it will be a prime example of congressional waste!
This would be an" I D ten T" error [ ID10T ]

If the Republican party wants to load the Democrats' guns for them then this will do it - the Republicans are already thought of as anti-science.
I don't know who is pushing this cut but they should be ashamed of themselves.
If Democrats are involved they also should be ashamed since they wag the anti-science stick at the Republicans.

This will further outsource science to other countries in the world, and we are already on our way toward status as a third-world science and engineering country.
I don't wish ill on other countries' scientific programs, but I want the U.S. to be at the forefront, not in the rear looking at their butts.