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Well, global temperatures have been increasing for 30 straight years. And at unprecedented rates. New York is supposed to become as warm as Miami by the end of this century.
How do you explain it?

We're not running out of energy or natural resources. There is ever more food, and fewer people are starving. In 1900, the average life expectancy was 30 years; today it is 67. We have reduced poverty more in the past 50 years than we did in the preceding 500. Air pollution in the industrialized world has declined--in London the air has never been cleaner since medieval times.

Actually, I agree with most of that. But I also think that the author would probably say that Germany was winning WWII since production was going up from 1941 to 1944. You can have the right statistics and come to the wrong conclusion. And though the air in London might be clearer, it is because of the anti-pollution lobby that it is that way. Still, it is one planet. While we may be polluting less in the aggregate in the industrialized world, we are only part of the worlds production of pollution now. The 3rd World is on a tear when it comes to polluting. Their pollution is our pollution.

Honestly guys. Why are you so pro-pollution? What do you lose if there is a little bit less of it? What if the global warming crowd is right?

Despite cleanup efforts, air pollution in the United States continues to cause 30,000 premature deaths, 20,000 hospitalizations and several million lost workdays nationwide every year due to asthma and other respiratory ailments. Scientists say these losses will be increasingly compounded by global warming, which accelerates smog formation and increases the risks of fatal heat stress.

These problems share a common origin: pollution from the nation's more than 1,000 electric power plants. In response, Congress is debating landmark legislation to tighten controls on emissions responsible for respiratory threats and -- for the first time -- limiting the carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions that cause global warming. Dubbed the Clean Power Act, the bill also strengthens protections against acid rain, and adds new limits on mercury, a potent neurotoxin.

www.nrdc.org/globalWarmin...p/fcpa.asp

The science firmly shows that the burning of fossil fuels is causing the earth's temperature to rise at an alarming pace. We can be assured that the resulting costs - property damage through erosion and flooding, loss of native plant and animal species, increased droughts and spreading disease

www.ucsusa.org/news.cfm?newsID=286

Nearly two decades after one of the world's most devastating famines in Africa, scientists are pointing a finger at pollution from industrial nations as one of the possible causes.

The starvation brought on by the 1970-85 drought that stretched from Senegal to Ethiopia captured the world's attention with searing images: skeletal mothers staring vacantly, children with bloated bellies lying in the sand, vultures lurking nearby. Before rains finally returned, 1.2 million people had died.

www.cleanganga.com/develo...rought.php

As a result of human activity, we are losing biodiversity at an alarming rate. Already, thousands of species have disappeared forever.
Extinction is a natural process on Earth. However, as a result of human interference, the current rate of species extinctions is occurring at 100 to 1000 times the natural rate. Approximately 10,000 to 25,000 species disappear every year.

The burning of fossil fuels causes pollution and global warming, both of which put biodiversity at risk.
Scientists predict that global warming will worsen in coming decades, causing big changes in our global climate system. Even now, climate change is already affecting people, plants and animals around the world.
        Half of the volume of Europe's Alpine glaciers has been lost since 1850, and the U.S. government predicts that all glaciers in Montana's Glacier National Park will be lost by 2030.15
www.earthday.net/goals/bi...yfacts.stm

What's Known for Certain?
Scientists know for certain that human activities are changing the composition of Earth's atmosphere. Increasing levels of greenhouse gases, like carbon dioxide (CO2 ), in the atmosphere since pre-industrial times have been well documented. There is no doubt this atmospheric buildup of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases is largely the result of human activities.

It's well accepted by scientists that greenhouse gases trap heat in the Earth's atmosphere and tend to warm the planet. By increasing the levels of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere, human activities are strengthening Earth's natural greenhouse effect. The key greenhouse gases emitted by human activities remain in the atmosphere for periods ranging from decades to centuries.

A warming trend of about 1F has been recorded since the late 19th century. Warming has occurred in both the northern and southern hemispheres, and over the oceans. Confirmation of 20th-century global warming is further substantiated by melting glaciers, decreased snow cover in the northern hemisphere and even warming below ground.

"There is new and stronger evidence that most of the warming observed over the last 50 years is attributable to human activities."

In short, scientists think rising levels of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere are contributing to global warming, as would be expected; but to what extent is difficult to determine at the present time.

As atmospheric levels of greenhouse gases continue to rise, scientists estimate average global temperatures will continue to rise as a result. By how much and how fast remain uncertain. IPCC projects further global warming of 2.2-10F (1.4-5.8C) by the year 2100. This range results from uncertainties in greenhouse gas emissions, the possible cooling effects of atmospheric particles such as sulfates, and the climate's response to changes in the atmosphere.

Global warming poses real risks. The exact nature of these risks remains uncertain. Ultimately, this is why we have to use our best judgement guided by the current state of science to determine what the most appropriate response to global warming should be.
www.epa.gov


What will your increased heating bills cost you?
What will your increased health care costs be to you?
Why not save consumers billions of dollars by creating more efficient cars?

Honestly guys. Why are you so pro-pollution? What do you lose if there is a little bit less of it? What if the global warming crowd is right?