I am not sure what amazes me more about global warming -- the lack of responsibility people want to take for their actions or the lack of understanding people have for the hard science.

I use to think there were those that repeated mis-information on global warming for economic reasons but as of late it has become obvious that there is such a quantifiable cost to global warming that any argument that reducing emissions would cripple the economy just doesn’t cut it. Have we Americans become so selfish that we do not care what repercussions our long term actions have?

The hard science is clear; the planet which is over 70% water is affected by the ocean currents and temperatures. The equilibrium for the planet comes from the Great Atlantic currents that bring warm water north and cold water south. This current depends on the salinity of the ocean as the heavier cold salt water travels south deep in the ocean and warm lighter water north on the top.

However as the ice melts in the north, the cold water is not as heavy because it is mixed with lighter fresh water and slows down the Great Atlantic current which lessens the equilibrium process which further exasperates the global warming problem. The process has started and it is up to mankind to reverse the process or we will experience weather that modern man has never seen before.

Thanks, Rudy Andl - I pretty much suspected as much.

Also, there's NO WAY human could put enough Sulpher Dioxide into the air to create the so-called and completely imaginary "acid rain" that the tree huggers claim destroyed broad stretches of forests and lakes in Ohio, New York, Pennsylvania, Vermont, etc.

Soon, W will declare mercury as non-toxic, and we'll all be that much healthier.

What seems to be lost on everyone in all this Hullaballo over global warming is the Earth is just Fine!. What may or may not be fine is the the way humans adapt to the changing climatology.

One thing I am completely convinced of is that it is entirely foolish to attempt to affect some degree of control over the weather. Better off attempting to adapt the the potential harmful impacts of warming if that is the biggest fear.

Not every location on earth will be affected the same.

If water is your issue. Better think desalination. If you're too hot, by a fan or go underground.
If you live in the path of hurricanes, move!
If you are threatened by rising sea levels, move!

In otherwords, these are the things that are within your control. The weather is not. Learn to adapt.
My bet is since we have evolved our brains, weather of our own making will be the last thing likely to kill off the human race.

Time to get ready for the Giant meteor impact. And don't forget to thank the Dinosaurs for the warning.

For William. Your are correct about the earth's natural trends for freezing and heating up. And yes we are bringing on the greenhouse effect much more rapidly. PBS had a program where some scientists claim that we are at an interval stage of the ice age which has not ended andespite global warming, the second half or last stage of the current ice age can begin in 100 years or sooner and perhaps a few hundred years later and that regardeless it is coming. So, who do we believe when presented with this contradictory data?

Not sure what happened since the mid 70's, must be new chance to make documentaries etc. At that time we were being overrun by Glaciers and the coming New Ice Age. But since that one has been done, move on, nothing here.

But then it could also be the normal sun cycle or maybe some of the retained heat from 4000 years ago is welling back up, since it was WARMER THEN than it is now. but never mind....that doesnt compute with Al.

I think the earth is really going to get a lot warmer as a matter of fact down right hot, but it is not going to be because of anything humans do or don't do.

There is no man made global warming. There are no man made pesticides and fertilizers in our water. There is
no smog in our air. There are no man made chemicals in our food. There are no antibiotics in our beef. There is no DTT in the Ocean off of Los Angeles. There is no radioactive fall out. There was no Love Canal. There are no pockets of cancer in this country. There is no mad cow disease. And all of our drugs are safe.

Scientist tell us that the surface of Mars and Venus are heating up as well. Do you think my SUV is causing that, too? Hmmm......What does Al Gore think? For man to assume guilt or responsibility for such things as weather patterns is the ultimate in wrongful humanistic elevation. Someone much higher and more powerful than mankind is in control of the weather.

The mere headlining of the story of the "costs of Katrina in those who would fleece the feds" was disappointing. Reason being, I imagine that due to the lack of sufficient information, many viewers might have gotten the impression that it's only people in Louisiana and Mississippi who are fleecing the feds and that Americans are wasting their tax dollars helping them rebuild.

A full report, however, hopefully would have detailed how nefarious individuals far from the storm zone have been ripping off FEMA.

Unfortunately, there's an example here in Illinois. Over the weekend I read in the Peoria Journal Star that a woman in Alton had scammed FEMA by telling them she was a Katrina evacuee whose 2 children had drowned in New Orleans' flooding. It turned out that not only had she been living in Illinois all the time, she never even had any children.

Regarding the Warren Buffett follow-up--donating to Third World health care and various diseases is all well and good--but this is something the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation has already been doing for years, so it isn't really news.

I am standing by my opinion that Buffett should have donated his $66 billion to Louisiana. Why couldn't he help her health care system, which since Katrina is in Third World conditions, with New Orleans' major hospitals unusable and doctors and patients making due in makeshift medical facilities? How about Louisiana's tortured mental health care system--overwhelmed by the needs of a traumatized populace agonized by an epidemic of depression and anxiety?

Not only would such a donation have lifted the spirits of Louisiana and her people by providing desperately-needed aid at this critical time, it would have been far more newsworthy in that it would have called much-needed attention and news coverage to the fact that 10 months after Katrina Louisiana and her people still need all the help they can get.

Brian:
As an aside I heard you last week on "Wait Wait". I thought you were terrific! I am an avid NBC watcher and PBS listener. Putting the two togeather was a true delight for me.

Well hey, I'm back. Did this issue fade away? Or, are ya still blogging. Consider this: The last action wins. Let's say for instance, that we just keep on keeping on. No one takes the theory that man is causing global warming seriously enough to force massive changes in energy consumption, and in the next 10 or 15 years things remain the same, or perhaps things start to cool down, or they just plain don't pan out the way the extremists say they will. Will we have saved any time, money and energy? The other option is that we adopt all kinds of restrictive behaviors to head this farse off at the pass, and of course the same thing occurs no significant change in temperatures up or down, because for the sake of this arguement there is no man-made global warming or cooling. Can you imagine how drastic the next set of proposals would be, to further curb our use of fossil fuels? And those few people in charge of forcing these restrictions on the United States and the rest of the world would say "See... it's working, so we have to do more!". So now they say "It will too late by then, IF we are right." They admit they do not know, but they want the rest of us to all fall in line. To them I say: just do your best, and leave the real work to the rest of us. If the people that say they really believe this would sell their cars, convert their houses to solar [ha ha] and start using carrier pigeons to communicate,,, we could call them the new amish. JB- Still Out Here in Flyover Country

Last weekend I saw Al Gore's movie, "An inconvenient Truth." Troubling indeed. So troubling in fact, that I decided to verify some of the information for myself from primary sources. My conclusion? Well, I can only wonder why we are still having a debate. Is it true that glaciers all over the globe are melting at an alarming rate? Apparently so. Is it true that a panel of some of the most respected climate scientists alive recently concluded that the Earth is in fact warming? Do they agree that humans are playing a significant role in this warming? Yes. Dig a little deeper and you will discover that according to Sir David King - the UK's chief scientific advisor, and our own Noaa, the atmospheric CO2 levels are now at over 330 parts per million. This level has doubled in the last thirty years and is apparently higher than we have been in over a million years. To those who make an argument based upon the notion that the Earth is simply too big for humans to affect, I say think a little harder. Perhaps we get confused with slogans like "save the planet," and I admit this sounds silly, but slogans such as this are misleading. It is not the planet, but the atmosphere that is thratened. Can humans possible affect the atmosphere? Anyone would agree that a distance of 6 miles is a relatively short distance on an interstate highway. We would all love to be able to work just 6 miles from home I'm sure. What if you could travel 6 miles straight up into the sky from sea level? Well, that is about how thin our atmosphere is. Hmmmm. Lets think about this. Really.

Humm, we are changing marriage into whatever you want. Design our own babies or kill them if they don't suit us. Let's paly God with life and do what ever we want. We're in CHARGE! Or....are we? Sounds like someone is trying to be heard, but others say, no, it's all in our control.

The actions of the conditions of the earth show global warning even if you don't believe. I must look to the President with his great wisdom as he sees no problem quote: Global warming means warming the Global. Now that's the statement of the man who is leadiing the United States. We can do much, much, much, much, much matter.

You know, nothing is like it used to be...even the news business.

It didn't used to be like this and, yes, I think Al Gore is right. I live 7 miles from Long Island Sound, close enough to be included in my area's evacuation planning in the event of a major hurricane. The only problem is I don't have a helicopter.

Call it Global Warming.. call it whatever you want. These truly are the signs of the times. Take a look at everything that is happening around us. The war in Iraq; Iran with their nuclear missiles...just as North Korea wanting to launch their test missiles. In Luke 21:9 it says "But when you hear of wars and commotions, do not be terrified; for these things must come to pass first, but the end will not come immediately.""Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. (currently Israel with Palestine) 11 And there will be great earthquakes in various places, and famines and pestilences; and there will be fearful sights and great signs from heaven.(The tsunami in Indonesia, Katrina in Louisiana, the earthquakes that hit India etc. and now this odd hot and humid weather in Southern California??) In verse 25 it continues to say "And there will be signs in the sun, in the moon, and in the stars;(a recent article came out saying that a huge asteroid is to fly closely to Earth) and on the earth distress of nations, with perplexity, the sea and the waves roaring;(the 12foot swells in Southern California etc.) In the Bible it continues to say, but "Look at the fig tree, and all the trees. 30 When they are already budding, you see and know for yourselves that summer is now near. 31 So you also, when you see these things happening, know that the kingdom of God is near. 32 Assuredly, I say to you, this generation will by no means pass away till all things take place. 33 Heaven and earth will pass away, but My words will by no means pass away.

Instead of a War on Terror, how about a War on Ignorance? The World and Humanity would be much better served. It's sad to see passionate arguments with such grave consequences made while ignoring so much hard data. It shows the glaring flaws in our education system. Remember when some argued that smoking was ok?

The media clearly knows that fear sells copy; therefore if it bleeds it leads. A more sinister point is that certain political factions have built their platform around the perception that they are protecting the ignorant masses that surely cannot protect themselves.

The problem in the world particularly in the USA is selfish individualism. Arrogance is a close second. Could it be that mother earth is upset by selfishly motivate media and politicians spinning destruction recklessly for personnel benefit and is attempting to burn them up? I strongly recommend you concentrate on true love in your families and teach that to your children. Global warming if it does exist at its worst is still a minor problem next to the immoral acts of misguided murderous humanity. It’s cool at my house come on inside and we can discuss it.

Now for the REAL problem of Global Warming: P-O-P-U-L-A-T-I-O-N. Why am I the only one "crying in the wilderness" when it was a discussion on everyone's mind back in the 1960s? "Some" of us decided not to have a lrge. family or even none at all predicated upon the world's ability to sustain life with a quality that matters. I've heard figures of how many people the world can sustain, but if global warming is causing this much problem now, believe me it won't be even near what has been predicted. Let's start discussing this problem now.

Ahh yes.......the great global warming debate. Usually, whenever I read an article regarding this topic I look at the end to see who wrote it. Then I try to find out who funded their research. Sad to say, from the slant of the article in question, the viewpoint of "the sponser" can be predicted with a high probability of certainty. Yep, the old follow the money thing.
That being said and global warming aside, you, yes YOU, being all who read this blurb, need to sit down and think about what you are doing to CONSERVE our dwindling resources. That's right, forget about global warming. It's happening and regardless of the reason, man made or not, the only way we can affect, slow down or modify the outcome is to conserve, conserve, conserve. It's the fastest and most sure way to cut carbon dioxide emissions. ( CO2 is not the worst of the green house gases BTW, that honor belongs to plain old water vapor)
So......are you car pooling? Have you installed a solar panel to heat your domestic hot water? Have you insulated, caulked and otherwise sealed your house? Have you demanded that your landlord install high efficiency heating/cooling equipment? Have you upgraded your own heating/cooling equipment? Have you even researched what's out there today? Do you need a 6 passenger vehicle to drive to work everyday? Are you willing to not be a NIMBY type, ala the Kennedy clan if someone proposes a wind generator by your house? I could go on.......but I'm sure most intelligent readers will get the point.

Until you, yes YOU, dear reader are doing all you can to conserve, I don't want to hear another peep about global warming you. To go on and on about global warming and shrinking resources without actually taking steps yourself to change the situation is nothing short of speaking with a "forked tongue".

What's going with weather? The weather is whats going on- 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, yada yada yada. The question is ARE WE PREPARED FOR THE WEATHER? I have a feeling, Brian Williams, your incredible coverage of Katrina was just an introduction.

Oh, and Brian, please push for some coverage on the success of Medical Marijuana reform. We also need to see some coverage on the industrial hemp manufacturing battle going on.

So much truth was left out of most American schoolbooks, most people do not know hemp seed makes the finest lubricant the U.S. Military reccomends using in its vehicles.

They were never told that hemp is 5 times softer then cotten, and uses a fraction of a fraction of the pesticides. (Cotton is less then 1% of our crop, but uses 50% of the chemical fertilizers)

Keep up the great work man; Push for all sides of the truth.

Y'all need to take a serious valium. 30 years ago it was a new ice age coming. Now it is warming. What will the next 30 years bring? Swings just like this. Humans are so insignificant to the span of time earth has been here. Al Gore shows charts from the past 1000 years. What about the previous 1,000,000 years?

To help readers "get" the human contribution to global warming, simply consider all of the coal, oil, and gas that has been brought to the surface of the earth and then released into the atmosphere as heat and pollution over the last 200 years.

A century ago it would have made a single fire the size of New York state, burning black smoke 24/7. For the past fifty years, the fire would have been the size of Texas, sending up black smoke, 24/7.

The atmosphere of the Earth is extremely thin given the size of the planet, like the thickness of a table cloth on a dining table, for example.

Then, after considering all the coal, oil, and gas burnt, consider that virtually all uses of electricity boil down to a release of heat into the atmosphere.

Then consider the positive feedback loop caused by extreme weather. For example, the warmer the water, the more intense the hurricanes. The more intense the hurricanes, the more trees they knock down. The fewer trees there are taking in CO2 and exhaling O2, the more CO2 there is in the atmosphere so the more it heats up. The more it heats up, the hotter the oceans get, the more intense the storms get, the fewer the trees, the hotter it gets...