[LINK] We live in interesting times.... Or - is the gold standard really extinct.

[Marghanita da Cruz]

Richard Chirgwin wrote:
> Birch Jim wrote:
>> -----Original Message-----
>> From: Link On Behalf Of Craig Sanders
>> Sent: Monday, 20 October 2008 6:32 PM
>>
>>   
>>> humans obviously can't be trusted to run governments or economies or to
>>>     
>> look after the planet....
>>
>>   
>>> ... sounds insane, right? yeah, it does. until you consider that the
>>>     
>> alternative is more of the same, which is even more insane.
>>
>> The thing that worries me is the way everyone believes that they are
>> competent to make decisions on stuff that they know nothing - sorry,
>> very, very little - about.
>>
>> Everyone has an opinion on whether global warming is occurring but who
>> is actually qualified to have an opinion?  It's an incredibly complex
>> system.  The IPCC assembled a couple of hundred trained and respected
>> scientists
>> to look at it and cross reviewed each other's work.  But we would
>> apparently be much better off taking our views from cranky newspaper
>> columnists who wouldn't know the first law of thermodynamics if it
>> burned a hole in their  bottoms.  
> What I still stub my toe on is the sceptics' idea that we're somehow
> talking about something new-and-mysterious. My wife recalls an HSC
> geography question from the 1970s, asking students to choose whether
> they believed warming or cooling was a more plausible climatic response
> to pollution... For mine, I only need to remark that if Jerry Pournelle
> had enough facts at his fingertips to outline the basics of warming in
> about 1973, then the IPCC report has to have more weight than the SMH or
> News Limited columnist...
>> Maybe they consider themselves better
>> at diagnosing heart problems than their heart specialist too, or maybe
>> they could they could redesign their car engines to reduce fuel
>> consumption if they weren't busy this weekend. 
<snip>

It isn't the diagnosis but the treatment that is at issue. Everyone is a winner
with the PBS - the patient and the drug companies.

What has puzzles me about the Global Warming is the downside for Cold
places...would people in Cold climates really be worse off in a
Mediterranean or Tropical climate? I know which one I would prefer. Though I
don't fancy the extreme amounts of sunlight across the year.

In 2006, the snows failed in Germany and they had to ship snow in for skiing
competitions. However, the artificial slopes in the Ruhr valley,  did a roaring
trade. I was trying to find a reference, for this story,  but came across this:

> Interesting imaging technique, but it suggests that the Benelux countries are producing much more CO2 than Germany's Ruhr area, which seems unlikely. The prevailing winds appear to be skewing the result.
> http://www.greencarcongress.com/2008/03/envisat-provide.html

As I quite regularly drive into Canberra, I notice the persistent layer of smog
sitting over the city. This seems to indicate that it may well be Cars rather
than Industry that are creating the CO2. Here's the skiing story: take  your
pick...of online resources.

> Changing Climate Is Forcing World Cup Organizers to Adapt
> Article Tools Sponsored By
> By NATHANIEL VINTON
> Published: November 27, 2006
> 
> ASPEN, Colo., Nov. 26 Ã?Â? High temperatures in Europe have disrupted the Alpine skiing World Cup, throwing the calendar of
<http://www.nytimes.com/2006/11/27/sports/othersports/27ski.html>

> Changing Climate Is Forcing World Cup Organizers to Adapt
> 
> by: Nathaniel Vinton    27 November 2006
> 
> ASPEN, Colo. Ã?Â? High temperatures in Europe have disrupted the Alpine skiing World Cup, throwing the calendar of the sport's pr
<http://www.stopglobalwarming.org/sgw_read.asp?id=12122211272006>

Marghanita
-- 
Marghanita da Cruz
http://www.ramin.com.au
Phone: (+61)0414 869202