Mark
The precautionary principle is your guide to life then? Sorry, but I just don't buy it. While I accept that CO2 has some minor abilities to capture and re-radiate warmth, its power as a greenhouse gas reduces exponentially with each doubling of its concentration. But this power is dwarfed by the most potent greenhouse gas of all - water vapour. And the means by which water vapour and clouds act to regulate temperatures is not well understood. There is also the complex matter of the impacts of the sun's changing cycles have on our climate - this is also an evolving science and no one can say for certain what those impacts are precisely. personally, I'd rather look at that big ball of nuclear reaction in the sky and think it has more effect on our climate than a few hundred parts per million of a trace gas that is essential for life on this planet. Did you know that at very low levels of CO2 plants go into shutdown mode? It is a very effective plant fertiliser and is artificially controlled in many plant greenhouses at levels around 1000 to 1200ppm to make the plants grow better and faster. So in your perfect world, you'd rather have a cold planet with low levels of CO2 so that the plant growth (and hence food) is limited? Personally, I'd prefer it the other way round.
While temperatures are higher than 50 years ago, the temperature graphs and the CO2 graphs show no correlation whatsover - how do you explain that? And explain that there is no rise in temps in the last 10 years. There is still an increasing trend as you say, but it is flattening. Examination of ice cores show that increases of temperatures in the past lead increases of CO2 by around 800 years rather than the other way round - another inconvenient truth.
And I think we are already living through global economic crisis. Hopefully this might hold back the carbon tax programs somewhat.
Chris, same arguments go for you - the history of mankind shows that civilisations expand in warm climates and contract in cold. What is it about a warmer world - if that happens - that is SO scary for you? What, precisely, do you have to lose, can you please explain? And by the way, I have 3 children and the only thing that scares me is how the AGW nonsense is being rammed down their throats at school and in the media. It is delusional for man to think he can control the climate - this whole thing is more about certain people wanting to control the way we live our lives - we must eat kangaroos, must not fart, we must not drive our cars, we must become vegetarians, we must not breathe out............ and on it goes.
George
yes "Climate Change" is clever marketing on their part to morph Global Warming into Climate Change. Why they needed to add the change on the end is a puzzle as that is what climate does, change, like Time. Why not rename Time "Time Change"? Because it makes no sense that's why.
Here's the UAH satellite temperatures of the lower troposphere from 1979 until September 2008. Doesn't look too scary to me.
