Why don't we just come clean about Global Warming?

[lomiller]

No, we do not “know” this. In fact, CO² is vital for life as we know it. If all the CO² were removed from the atmosphere, nearly all green plants would die off, followed closely by us.

So, does that mean it’s impossible to drown? I mean water is essential for life how could it possibly ever harm you…

Your statement makes about as much sense as saying something like “We know that the Earth is flat.”

Indeed...

 

[Whiplash]

Hey - remember when we found out about the hole in the ozone layer in the 80s and all the nations of the world came together to combat CFCs via treaty - and then we all were enslaved under One World Government?

Geez I wish we coulda just ignored the hole in the ozone layer, I'd trade this one world government for some skin cancer any day!

I liked Red Dwarf's take on the hole in the ozone layer. That being that everyone remembers where they were when something big happens in history. And one example was when they put that big toupee on the Earth to cover the hole in the ozone layer.

 

[Praktik]

ahhh its been too long... I really need to download that again

 

[Praktik]

Hey now! I'm quite sure even the simple Finnish people would thrive under the sure hand of faint King Harald V.

Us Norwegians have never ruled anything and it's about time we got to try our hand at dominion!

As the son of a Finnish mother, I will avow now that the snows will run red with Norwegian blood before I let some fancy shmancy King of Norway call the shots in my ancestral homeland!

 

[SezMe]

No, we do not “know” this. In fact, CO² is vital for life as we know it. If all the CO² were removed from the atmosphere, nearly all green plants would die off, followed closely by us.

This must surely qualify as the Mt. Everest of strawmen. Bob, please cite something, ANYTHING, where complete removal of CO₂ (not CO²) is under discussion.

 

[Dancing David]

Alright, I've gotta call on this. Why is CO² bad for the environment exactly?
Does'nt vegetation and other varied life depend on CO²?

Acidify the ocean?

 

[Bill Thompson]

OK, so a real full one world government might be too much to ask for but, at the same time, what is wrong with the idea exactly?

I can see it is all good and I cannot see any bad.

Better tracking down of criminals.
Better trade.
Better sharing of resources.
Less war.
More nuclear weapons disarming.


And that is just with political stuff. There is a whole world of scientific cooperation to consider. You know, China is left out in the cold with the ISS and that has led them to try to do a lot of silly little expensive gestures to try to boost their own ego.

 

[Bill Thompson]

What changed your mind?

the whole climategate stuff and Nasa data saying that the earth has not warmed since 1989 and has gotten cooler in the last two years.

 

[Bill Thompson]

There are multiple converging lines of data to say that the global temperature seems to be rising. When did they suddenly get overturned?

Did they get new data on lake sediments, tree rings and ice cores?

Yeah, and there are are multiple converging statistics that say the Bermuda Triangle is real. But it isn't.

And there were way too few tree ring samples. I heard that a larger sample debunked the original conclusions.

 

[David Wong]

Yeah, and there are are multiple converging statistics that say the Bermuda Triangle is real. But it isn't.

And there were way too few tree ring samples. I heard that a larger sample debunked the original conclusions.

The fact that all of the world's experts on the subject disagree with you doesn't affect you at all?

Do you go to a doctor when you're sick? An architect when you want something built? Or do you dismiss all experts in the world arbitrarily?

 

[David Wong]

Alright, I've gotta call on this. Why is CO² bad for the environment exactly?
Does'nt vegetation and other varied life depend on CO²?

Vegetation depends on water, too, but floods are bad news.

Too much of a good thing, even a necessary thing, can be fatal.

 

[SezMe]

the whole climategate stuff and Nasa data saying that the earth has not warmed since 1989 and has gotten cooler in the last two years.

The climategate stuff is a tempest in a teapot - a tiny, baby one at that. If that changed your mind you are out of your mind....or don't have one.

 

[SezMe]

Yeah, and there are are multiple converging statistics that say the Bermuda Triangle is real.

Now, that's cool. Linky?

 

[zaphod2016]

OK, so a real full one world government might be too much to ask for but, at the same time, what is wrong with the idea exactly?

1. It is unnecessary- International law, treaties, agreements and alliances already exist, and have existed for hundreds, if not thousands, of years.

2. It demands a homogeneous world- what form of government are you proposing, exactly? Assuming a Democratic Republic, how exactly do you intend to get the Chinese to go for it? Assuming something other than a Democratic Republic, how do you intend to sell this to the western world?

3. Economic inequality must be addressed first- the economic disparity between the first world and third world is enormous. Any world government would be required to tax the developed world to fund services in the third world. Another example: it would be impossible (at present) to govern the entire world with a single "minimum wage" law; it would demand upper-class salaries in the developing world, thus hindering economic development.

4. What about war? Assuming all military was controlled by the same government, the very concept of military is obsolete. Any war would be either a civil war, or the act of terrorist minorities, rendering advanced weaponry needlessly dangerous (at least until an alien invasion). At the same time, total disarmament is equally impossible; crime and law enforcement will both rely on force, and some form of weaponry will survive.

5. What happens when we elect a jerkface? Even in the "best" democracies, occasionally a lousy President is elected (I'm not naming names). Some of the most ferocious fascists in history were elected; democracy is no guarantee of good leadership. At present, even the worst despot is kept in check by other nations. If we remove this balance, what happens when the next Adolph Hitler is elected? Fascist state, or global civil war? Either way, it doesn't sound like much fun to me.

Just one dude's opinion.

 

[zaphod2016]

The climategate stuff is a tempest in a teapot - a tiny, baby one at that. If that changed your mind you are out of your mind....or don't have one.

For those who don't wish to read or can't:

 

[Lurker]

As the son of a Finnish mother, I will avow now that the snows will run red with Norwegian blood before I let some fancy shmancy King of Norway call the shots in my ancestral homeland!

Megadittos! The guy can't even spell his own name right (Harald indeed!) so how can we trust him to run Finland? Meanwhile, the Swedes already got their chance and look what happened, Väinämöinen no longer smiles on us and we are punished with only a few hours of light during the winter months.

 

[Darth Rotor]

4. What about war? Assuming all military was controlled by the same government, the very concept of military is obsolete. Any war would be either a civil war, or the act of terrorist minorities, rendering advanced weaponry needlessly dangerous (at least until an alien invasion). At the same time, total disarmament is equally impossible; crime and law enforcement will both rely on force, and some form of weaponry will survive.

Not quite. What is most likely to happen is that the military and police function will fuse, as it has done in so many third world nations. There are efficiencies to be had ...

What happens when we elect a jerkface?

Actually, the more likely question at that scale is "what are the odds that we don't" elect a jerk face?

 

[Dancing David]

the whole climategate stuff and Nasa data saying that the earth has not warmed since 1989 and has gotten cooler in the last two years.

What data is that?

Just curious.

Can you point to it?

 

[Dancing David]

Yeah, and there are are multiple converging statistics that say the Bermuda Triangle is real. But it isn't.

And there were way too few tree ring samples. I heard that a larger sample debunked the original conclusions.

Wow, that is great, says who?

I can cite my sources if you want.

Tree ring data is not as accurate at representations of temperature, it relects many variables.

And your claim about the Bermuda triangle is specious.

"You heard", that is very funny.

 

[PogoPedant]

Megadittos! The guy can't even spell his own name right (Harald indeed!) so how can we trust him to run Finland? Meanwhile, the Swedes already got their chance and look what happened, Väinämöinen no longer smiles on us and we are punished with only a few hours of light during the winter months.

So that's one vote for (counting my own, of course), and two against, Norwegian hegemony. I'm beginning to doubt the wisdom of democracy.