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1/3/07 Global Warming How do You feel?


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Are you concerened about Global warming?
I'm concerned about the environment. I am especially concerned that of all the world's industialized nations the few richest ones pump the most garbage into the atmosphere, and guess which of those countries has still not signed the international pact to adhere to stricter environmental control standards? (Hint: It's between the Atlantic & Pacific Oceans, N of Mexico & S of Canada!)

Do you think it is too late to do anything about Global Warming?

No, but I think as the planet works harder to maintain its homeostasis we will see worse things than the hurricane seasons of the past two years.

Have you made any changes in your personal life to try and help lessen the load off our Great Earth?

We have always tried to minimize the drain on resources, from the first house we ever owned, adding insulation and recycling, using the most energy-conserving gadgets and appliances available. We began to use more energy-efficient compact fluorescent lightbulbs when they first came on the market. We have always combined errands requiring we drive. Thermostat never goes over 68 in the winter or below 80 in the summer, and we drive within the posted limit (especially since gasoline is so godawful expensive!).

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Yes I am concerned about global warming and no, it's never too late to take action....Some may not believe that global warming is happening, but I do believe it...I have lived in Chicago all my life and I remember that we used to have four seasons....Our summers were warm, but not extremely humid, at least not until August, known as the dog days of summer...As a kid, I remember my family used to go on weekends during the summer to a lake out in Lake Villa...we would pack up early and go...and I remember always feeling a little disappointed because it was so cold in the morning that I thought I wouldn't be able to go in the water..but by the time we got there, the sun had come up and the weather was always nice and warm...Now our summers are just hot and Humid...I have seen temperatures of 70 and 80 degrees at 7AM...definitely not the summers I remember as a child...Our winters have gotten really hinky too...It's January and today the temps were near 50 degrees...it's supposed to be cold here!! A lot of people I know tell me that it's just because I have gotten older, but I vividly remember the seasons...times have changed and not for the better. I have made an attempt at being more aware environmentally ...I don't drive, I use public transportation to get around, I recycle, and I bought the florescent bulbs for all of the lamps and light fixtures in my apartment and I try not to waste energy...if I ever did decide or could afford to buy a car, I'd definitely purchase a hybrid. I know that's not much, but every little bit helps...

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Our winters have gotten really hinky too...It's January and today the temps were near 50 degrees...it's supposed to be cold here!! A lot of people I know tell me that it's just because I have gotten older, but I vividly remember the seasons...times have changed and not for the better.

That's what had me thinking about this today. I am right over the Illinois border and it is warm out! It is crazy and it really got me thinking more about more things my family can do to help the enviornment. :o

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I am concerned about the weather. We are doning what we can for the environment. Our shop (which is the only one like it in the world) is water discharge free and our air is a million times cleaner than the EPA standards. We only ship out hazardous waste once a year (per DEQ requirement) or we would only have to ship every two or three years. Other shops like ours discharge thousands of gallons of water every day and ship hazardous waste every month.

We laugh when new neighbors move in and promptly chop down every tree in their yard and put in a pool. My trees shade 4 yards and I share my leaves with everyone on the street. I also plant at least one more every year. I have a pond open for birds to drink from all year. I planted trees all around the shop and feed the birds in the winter there (as well as the rabbits, possums and racoons)

I have (unfortunately) gas guzzler trucks, but I need them for the shop. I do keep driving to a minimum and consolidate shopping. So I only fill my tank twice a month. (often less)

We have all energy efficient appliances.

I remember as a child having snow right after Thanksgiving till the middle of March. Easter was springtime weather. August was the hottest month. Now, it's 50 here today in Michigan. July is the hottest month. There is no snow. No forcast of snow anytime soon. Crops will be bad next year because it's not cold enough to kill the bugs and the plants have not gone into winter dormancy. I still have blooming geraniums on the deck.

And the car companys are still dumping in the great lakes. The worlds largest fresh water supply. It is cheaper for them to pay the daily EPA fines than to fix the problem. And when was the last clear day in LA? And how about everyone who moved to Phoenix for the dry air and then planted lawns and trees and have to water them. Humidity is way up there now. And where are the hybrid cars? Why do they have to use so much plastic wrap on CDs?

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I do believe it's happening and no I don't think it is too late. I buy high efficency appliances ( when the old ones break) and try to do what I can. It really takes money to be able to do some things ( like our windows that desperatly need to be replaced) that we just don't have right now.

Realisticly I don't think enough people care for it to be reversed but I think those of us who do might be able to put off the worst alittle bit.

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Life will definitely change on this palnet because of global warming, but life will go on in some form wether we are here or not. :whistle:

You think cockroaches will become interested in miniatures? <she wonders wistfully>

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hi,

i'm agin it.

the seasons are scrambled here, too.

i've lived in central NC for 30+ years. when i first moved here the Springs were my favorite season because they were so long. and pretty and lush. in 2006 i think spring lasted a few minutes and then summer arrived. the summers have been either suffocatingly hot, or oddly mild. a few years ago we had the largest snowfall in over 100 years. last winter was mild, and this one sure is so far.

sad to say, there is no public transport here except for what's available in the relatively-large towns and cities. from what i've seen the southeastern and southwestern US are areas where individual auto transport is routine and pedestrian traffic is exceptional. shopping malls are about the only newly-constructed places that have sidewalks.

heck, no. i don't think it is too late for there to be international action to slow the problem. US leadership is unlikely before the next presidential election.

what am i doing about it? probably not enough (although i very much look forward to voting for somebody whose moral compass is functional). there's a Green dry cleaning business here but unfortunately their work's not yet all that good. i am pretty zealous abt recycling, using flourescents, avoiding use of aerosols with the bad propellants, avoiding buying packaged foods with all the plastic trappings, conserving water, using enviro-friendly soaps and cleaning agents.

and i don't drive an F U V. :whistle:

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This winter weather we are having in the East is really not worrying me right now. It is a side effect of El Nino and the Santa Ana winds (did I say that right?). This happened about 3-4 winters ago. What happens is we get the opposite effect next winter with El Nina!

I think it is too late and it is not too late. I think it is too late to reverse some of the damage that has already been done (the glaciers for example) The glaciers will only get new permafrost when there is a new ice age.

Gardening has changed. The expectancy of when plants will grow and bloom has changed here.

I worry for my children and their children. The way they live will be changed forever and they will have to learn to adapt to that.

I have replaced every single socket in my house with energy efficient flourescent bulbs. I recycle. We have only one car. I do not use aersol cans.

I wish I could do more but some things are financially out of my hands. Newer furnace, new windows, hybrid car, solar panels, etc.

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If we're into helping the environment and "saving" the planet, my pet peeve is disposable diapers! I raised three kids on cloth diapers, rubber or plastic pants and a diaper pail. Day-care centers back then coped just fine, thank you. Between processed food packaging and disposable diapers (& trainingpants) the planet's suffering from our need for "convenience".

OK, I'm climbing off my soapbox & going back to my corner.

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I think global warming is a very real threat, and is separate from the cycles of warm and cold that have been historically noted and mapped...with some exceptions: while there have always been warming and cooling periods (someone mentioned El Nino and La Nina, for example -- two influences on the jet stream, which go on to influence weather across the world)

the historical recordalso shows a larger more insidious warming trend, with serious and irreversable effects on our planet.

About all I can do "globally" is work to elect people in our country (put name of your country here!) who understand science, understand this phenomena, and work to establish policy that is more reflective of the crisis.

Personally there are lots of things we do:

Even though we live in a cold snowy climate, we keep our thermostat lower in winter (around 64) and higher in summer, although the air conditioning is more crucial to me, with a health condition. So I wear fewer clothes in summer, and use fans to more efficiently circulate the air.

We drive a small fuel-efficient car (a Toyota Matrix), and use ethanol-based fuel in it.

We have flourescent lights wherever possible (they don't fit in all the fixtures!) and turn off lights (and the computer, and unplug tvs and other energy-hungry devices) when we're not using them.

We replaced our aging appliances with newer, more energy efficient ones. We couldn't do this all at once, obviously!, but continue to do it as we can. Last summer we bought probably the final new one --a front loading washing machine, which uses less energy, less water, less soap (and a low-sudsing soap).

We restored about 5 acres of our 15 to native prairie, which for us requires low maintenance, and for the land, the benefits are obvious. Not to mention it looks really nice! :lol:

Not everyone can afford to do all these things, of course....but we have to start somewhere. And just reading Al Gore's book can be a good place to start.

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Do I believe the world is warming up? Yes. Do I believe it's a danger? That's a more difficult question. The Earth is not static, it might be more accurate to think of this planet as a living organism, that's dynamic, and changes over time. At one point the Earth was trying to be star, but it didn't have enough of the 'stuff' that stars need to maintain combustion on a stellar level. So it condensed and cooled down, and solidified into a planet, much like the other planets, and all the planets in all the other solar systems throughout the universe.

To consider global warming we can't simply look at how cold it was last winter compared to this winter. Things have to be placed into the context of what Dr. Carl Sagan called 'The Cosmic Calendar'. The entire history of the universe starting at the big bang encapsulated into a single calendar year. To put it in perspective, human written history starts at December 31st, 11:59 and 40 seconds pm. 20 seconds before the end of the year. But what have we, as humans, learned and accomplished in those 20 seconds? More than I can ever post here, but what we have learned that's important here, is to look back to dates prior to December 31 at 235940. We know that ice ages existed, we know something sudden happened that killed off the dinosaurs. We know the climate of the Earth does not remain stable over the long run, Are we affecting our climate? Probably, did the dinosaurs affect their climate? Probably.

The question truly is: Are we Affecting our climate to much and too quickly? The Earth has a resilience that we cannot imagine. But the bottom line is: it's the only home we truly have. We need to proceed with more caution than we have, not to stop, but to be more aware of what we are doing.

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Yes, gobal warming. More cars,more houses.Hybrid cars are out of my pocketbook. Would you believe - and this is the TRUTH- it was in either the Somerset paper or the Johnstown paper a couple of weks ago -- Cows cause gobal warming. Cows! The paper said the gas they pass is worse for the atmosphere than what cars put out. For my part, I try to keep junk to the minimum.Recycle all i can, mulch, save cans, etc. I don't use my car if I don't have to. I don't trash. I give back to the earth..my horses eat grass, I reseed. I plant flowers,don't cut trees. And I agree with Havanaholly. Throwaway diapers are the worse things ever made. I raised 2 kids on cloth diapers. There are tons of diapers thrown away everyday and they aren't biodegradable. The McDonalds in Jersey switched to paper conatiners for their burgers. Helps some. Actually we are the cause of it.My sister in law is English and Scot and lives in Chile and when she came for a visit she was horrified at the waste here,at the food restuarants throw out, at all the waste. Aird even found a use for the rope used for my horses hay bales. It would be nice if people think. Just do your part.Every little bit helps. bergie

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This winter weather we are having in the East is really not worrying me right now. It is a side effect of El Nino and the Santa Ana winds (did I say that right?). This happened about 3-4 winters ago. What happens is we get the opposite effect next winter with El Nina!

Global warming is definately a concern. The weather in the north east and midwest seems to have caught some people's attention, but I agree that it is, at least in part, attributed to the natural cycles of el nino. These weather patterns seemed to trap the cold air, which would normally have moved east and south (from Canada) in the middle of the country. Sometimes it's difficult to tell. But I believe it is a combination of both our effect and natural occurances.

However, I hope the abnormal weather gathers enough attention to kick us into gear. I walk to work everyday, and we recycle in my home, but changes need to be made on a much larger scale.

Keep your fingers crossed that we declare Polar Bears to be endangered! From what I hear, this will set in action laws that wil require us to make changes to protect their environment, which means we will looks for widespread solutions to global warming. We have the technology, we just need to use it.

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Do I think the planet is warming. Possibly. Ground data tends to indicate that it is, but ground data is gathered in urban areas where population, and correspondingly the urban heat island effect, is also increasing. The atmospheric data, that is temps and other data taken high in the sky and away from major areas of human concentration, has not changed as significantly. This seems to indicate that human activity can have a local effect on temps, but the widespread effect is not so great.

As Andrew also pointed out, the planet has is ever changing. There are periods during human history that we have been much colder or warmer than we are now. When the First Americans crossed the Bering Land Bridge, the planet was much colder. That bridge soon disappeared, but the few thousand humans alive at the time did not cause that to happen. During the Roman occupation of Britain, vineyards abounded in Britain. Then things got cooler. Even in today's "global warming" climate, Britain is still not a wine making center. post Rome, things got colder, then there was the Medieval Warming Period, and it got cold again. Climatic change does occur and is normal, and I believe that we have little to do with it.

Yes, I do conserve. I am much more concerned about the fact that at the current rate of consumption, the Earth has only enough known oil reserves to last another 40 years, than I am about climate change. My car gets about 40 miles to the gallon, and I take public transportation to work. I do not live in a McMansion, I live in a small house that is just big enough for us. I believe it is sinful and wasteful to use more than you need when others do not have enough and there is not enough to continue the rate of consumption. Under these conditions, SUVs and enormous, wasteful houses should be outlawed. Celebrities who cry about global warming and tell us we must conserve, then hop into an SUV limo to go to the airport to take a private jet to bring them to one of their three 40,000 square foot homes do not sway me. If they are so concerned, let them cut back to my consumption level and then try to tell me that I use too much. Since we allow this waste to continue, we are obviously not concernd enough.

Jeri

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Get ready Greg! It is starting to get cold outside here in CT. It has been in the 50s-60s at this time the past week and now it is only 39...

I saw frozen water on the ground this morning.

Will snow be far behind?

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Promises, promises, Greg! At this point, I'll believe it when I see it stay for more than 5 minutes!

Going back to the original question: Has anyone tried the Tide Coldwater stuff that is supposed to get your clothes as clean in cold water as in hot? If so, is it worth a snot, or just another moneywasting gimmick? I know it's a small thing, but if it works, it's one more thing I could be doing.....

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The only time I wash laundry in hot water is when it's linens and someone has had a cold. Bleach & hot water will help kill germs. Otherwise I've been washing clothes in cold water as long as I can remember.

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Yeah, like she said. :) I only rarely wash anything in hot water. The most that I might do is wash some linens in warm water, but then a cold rinse. Most any of the detergents will work well in cold water, without paying a premium for some "specialty".

And you need to only use about half of what the manufacturer recommends on the package, unless there are some special circumstances, like an exceptionally dirty pair of jeans or something. Then you might want to soak the jeans for awhile before washing, or pour the detergent directly on the jeans, let it soak in, then wash.

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