"it doesn't change the fact that the world is warming"

Today December 3, 2009 there was an article in the paper titled "Science advisers grilled over e-mails” by Seth Borenstein. “House Republicans pointed to controversial e-mails leaked from climate scientists and said it was evidence of corruption. Top administration scientists looking at the same thing found no such sign, saying it doesn’t change the fact that the world is warming. The e-mails from a British university’s climate center were obtained by computer hackers and posted online about two weeks ago. Climate change skeptics contend the messages reveal that researchers manipulated and suppressed data and stifled dissent, and conservative bloggers are dubbing it “Climategate.”

To begin with its hard to believe that there are still skeptics about global warming. It is obvious that global warming is all around us especially here in the Northeast. One main sign of global warming is a change in growing seasons, for more than one crop. Lilacs are blooming up to four days earlier as compared to the 1960s and grapes are ready up to six days earlier. Although luckily for the wine producers this is beneficial, this is not always the case. Apples have been blooming up to nine days ahead of schedule and this actually has led to a decrease in apple production. Warmer winters do not always necessarily mean something good. Although to some, increased temperatures might seem great, too much heat and precipitation at the wrong time could be devastating. The dairy industry for instance benefits with cooler temperatures because cows are happier in these climates. When the weather starts to heat up the cows over heat, dairy production decreases, and farmers have to spend more time and money on cooling their cows. If we are working on decreasing our energy usage, this probably isn’t going to be the best thing. Also although with warmer temperatures crop and plants may grow at earlier and faster rates, this also includes things like weeds and undesirable, possibly damaging plants.

Besides an earlier growing season, sea surface temperatures in the Gulf of Maine and the South Shore have increased between 1.1 and 1.6 degrees ferinheit since 1880. Sea levels have increased, ice is out of the lakes up to nine days earlier, snow remains on the ground for a shorter period of time, and there is an increase in precipitation.

In April 2003, a greenhouse gas (GHG) report commissioned by Governor Pataki was released: “Recommendations to Governor Pataki for Reducing New York Greenhouse Gas Emissions.” With only 0.3% of the world population, NY state contributes nearly 1% of the global total greenhouse gas emissions (http://www.ccap.org/pdf/2003-Apr-NYGHG-Chapt1-Intro.pdf). We estimate that NY agriculture contributes roughly 2% of NY total greenhouse gas emissions." With all this evidence its crazy to believe that there are still skeptics out there. I know that some of these people who are skeptics are more or less just trying to ignore the facts because its not affecting them immediately but I still just find it hard to believe. As Szasz from Shopping our Way to Safety puts it, “People may hear that there is trouble brewing, but when they believe they have taken measures to protect themselves from the most immediate way it seems to affect them, it is harder to really care." Also because of these skeptics that refuse to believe in something that is pretty obvious, it leaves others that know the truth picking up their mess. “As Solzhenitsyn so profoundly observed, “Western civilization has spent three hundred years demanding rights, with almost no mention of responsibilities.” First responsibility: Think through completely what you plan to do. Second responsibility: Don’t do it; there are too many people doing it already. You’ll just end up making a mess and who’ll clean up after you?” (A Reasonable Life, Mate).

Next, I really think it’s a shame to see people, especially the scientists we trust and receive the majority of our information from, making things up rather than putting in the time and really doing the research. The news article states, “These e-mails show a pattern of suppression, manipulation, and secrecy that was inspired by ideology, condescension, and profit,” said U.S. Rep. James Sensenbrenner, R-Wis.” Its amazing to see just how far people will go for a little extra money. As Muller discusses in Physics for Future Presidents distortion, exaggeration, and cherry-picking are all used to manipulate information. He even uses an example from Al Gore’s An Inconvienent Truth about how he suggests tornados have increased with global warming when really this is not actually the case. Although the overall amount of tornados have increased, the amount of strong and violent tornados have actually decreased. As Muller summarizes, these people really need to be careful what they manipulate. If everyone soon discovers that things they have believed in for 50 years have been manipulated they might reject the idea totally even though the majority of the information is still the truth. Its hard enough to know who to believe now a days and with all this manipulation, its no wonder there are still skeptics even when the evidence is right in front of their faces.

Although the article concludes “The e-mails do nothing to undermine the very strong scientific consensus… that tells us the earth is warming, that warming is largely a result of human activity,” said Jane Lubchenco, who heads the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration,” it still amazes me that something like this should even be an issue.

Andrew Szasz the writer of Shopping our way to Safety, makes an interesting comment when discussing global warming. He states, "Climate change is affecting wildlife. Species’ ranges have shifted. The timing of species’ reproductive cycles are changing. Many species are said to already be threatened with extinction dur to loss of habitat, fragmentation of habit, poaching, and so on. Climate change, it is predicted, will dramatically increase the rate of species loss.” If this is true for other species, it could be true for our very own as well. This is thought we really need to consider. We need to start taking into account that we are not the only people in the world and stop manipulating important information for our own benefit. It might be easy to lie and get away with it, but what and who is it really benefiting. “As Lewis Mumford said, “Unless we challenge the current American way of life, all we can expect is more and more of worse and worse.”

• "Science advisers grilled over e-mails" by Seth Borenstein, Times Union
• Physics for Future Presidents by Richard Muller
• Shopping our way to Safety by Andrew Szasz
• A Reasonable Life by Ferenc Mate
• Professor Hirsch, Class lecture: Climate Change in the Northeast