How do we cope with climate change?

Me neither, Aaron.

Which is why I am more bothered about what it's going to do to me garden!

 

You have alot of faith in Science which not everyone shares.

BSE cannot be passed to humans, fact from Scientists - They were wrong.

H1N1 Virus is mutated and we will see deaths in the thousands if not hundreds of thousands from Scientist - They were wrong

The list goes on. Science is based upon information they have at the time, over time that information changes as new techniques are found. This might change what they say or it might re-inforce what they originally said.

However I for one, will not blindly listen and believe Scientists. Otherwise why not believe the Scientists, employed by the Cigarette manufacturers who say that second hand smoke is not an issue ? Would you ?

 

The Glazier melting??? As someone who has supported Man U I wish that were true. If you mean glaciers then which one? Most glaciers are retreating and causing great concern. Greenland's is smaller as is Antartica. You are paying higher electricity and gas costs not to pay subsidies but because of supply and demand. Some of you are also straying into another big issue. The reason for recycling is not mainly about climate change but resource depletion. Oil and gas are running out. As resources become fewer and more people want it then the price goes up. If you don't try to find other sources of energy then you become a victim of foreign governments in terms of supply and price. We have virtually run out of our own energy sources. The only thing we have in quantity is wind unless you want a LOT more nuclear power stations _ they don't raise global temperatures but they don't know what to do with the radioactive waste.
I think there is a simple answer to this problem of recycling. We should pay part of our council tax for waste to be taken away but people who seperate it into seperate bins should pay one rate. Those who can't be arsed should pay a higher rate that pays for someone to do it for them. That is a fair way of doing though no doubt somebody thinks that is unfair. I think it is unfair that I am subsidising people who are too lazy to do a simple thing like that.
I think this idea that we should not believe the scientists that the planet is warming is a bit silly. It is a bit like the people who did not believe Columbus and thought he would fall off.
Oh the new government are thinking of a tax to reduce CO2 levels - increasing petrol tax. I have though about that. If I used my wife's car , a new Corsa, to drive 10,000 miles a year at present prices it would cost me £1,000 in diesel (its one of these Eco engines). If you did the same mileage in a much bigger, thirstier car like a 4X4 it wsould probably cost about £3,000. I am not so sure sticking a few pence on a litre would really deter someone who might pay £30,000 for their car in the first place. Remember they also want to stop us using up the finite resource that is oil. My wife thinks they will use the environment as an excuse not for environmental benefits but so they can raise money and not take more tax off the rich.
To go back to the original question I think gardening is going to be a lot more difficult. You think you have a trend for milder winters, which are unusual, and then just occasionally you get a nasty one which wipes out a lot of stuff you had treasured. Sometimes you get rain, rain and more rain and floods like we never used to get. To those who think it wont affect them. I am getting on a bit now, late 50s, but I would not buy a house on a low lying area of the East Coast and certainly anywhere that might be flooded by a river. Years ago they said that River Severn had been tamed by new dams but they have had awful floods in Shrewsbury in recent years, businesses ruined and trouble getting insurance. The floods are more frequent and worse.
Climate Change has always happened. Our present climate is unusual for the earth in that we are probably still in the Ice age but natural changes occur gradually and species are usually able to migrate. We do know that small fluctuations of CO2 content increase the temperature (its called the Greenhouse effect) and we know that man's activities have increased the content. We have higher levels than before industrialisation.

 

We've had the mild winters for several years in a row now, fooling a lot of us into thinking that we can get away with growing tender plants such as Canary Palms outside all year round...then we had a couple of harsh winters that reminded us we live in Britain!

 

Yeah I suppose that's the way it's going to be, Shiney. Changing what you grow, what shelter you provide etc as the growing environment changes. Garden centres will love it - everyone chucking failed plants away and toddling off to replace them!

The other thing I suppose is getting your soil in tip top condition - 'well drained but moisture retentive'. THE Gardening Golden Rule: lots of organic matter!

 

The mistaken view that Himlayers Glaciers would have all disappeared by 2035 and quoted throughout reports. Taken from the BBC website, and I quote "The UN panel on climate change warning that Himalayan glaciers could melt to a fifth of current levels by 2035 is wildly inaccurate, an academic says.
J Graham Cogley, a professor at Ontario Trent University, says he believes the UN authors got the date from an earlier report wrong by more than 300 years." he also went on to say "Mr Cogley says it is astonishing that none of the 10 authors of the 2007 IPCC report could spot the error and "misread 2350 as 2035". "

So point one, the IPCC used incorrect data and these SCIENTISTS told us it was fact and the truth.

Really ? So the fact we have hundreds and hundreds of years worth of Coal reserves under the country should just be ignored then ?

What a strange analogy. People were not given any sensible information at the time due to Religious teachings, which stated that earth was flat. In that period of time it was follow what you are told or be damned for life.

In this day and age are you honestly telling me that I MUST believe all Scientists because if I don't I must be SILLY ? Despite me giving examples and when Scientists are wrong? Do you know that there are some Scientists who deny that Evolution exists, shall I believe them too?

There are so many other things which I disagree with in what you said but what the heck, you are allowed your view, and you can carry on believing the hype given. Myself, however, will not follow like a sheep and not question it, I will will also retain my view that I don't trust the people giving us the information.

 

You can believe the scientific evidence and data collected by the worlds top scientist over a number of years that shows us that global tempretures are growing at an alarming rate or you can believe people who thinks it's just a means of taxation.

Personally I think it's much much more serious than people dare to imagine. I doubt very much it will effect me in my lifetime but it will be a darn shame for the future generations.

Even so before that happens oil will run out and more and more crackpot countries will have neaclear missiles. My monies on armaggedon before the suvivors all drown.

Bit off topic, or maybe not..........

http://www.ubcbotanicalgarden.org/forums/showthread.php?t=43852

 

We've got stacks of coal reserves but there are two problems. Firstly, the cost of extraction as the remaining reserves are mainly in seams that were regarded as uneconomic. Secondly, there's the issue of CO2 emissions during power generation.
The first problem may not be as significant as it once was due to advances in coal extraction technology and the rise in relative cost of gas and oil electricity generation. The second problem may be on the way to be partly solved by 'clean(er)' generation.
There is of course a third issue and that is that all fossil fuels are non-renewables and will in time run out.

Healthy scepticism is a good thing. "Question all, things, even unto questioning this advice to question all things." I'm not so sure about instinctive distrust in all reported scientific research.

 

While I'm completely for using renewable energy we simply do not have the technology to make it feasible right now. Wind turbines are inefficient for a start and they're the best we seemingly have, so shouldn't we carry on using good old fashioned fossil fuels until they can develop a method that works and can provide for the whole world instead of wasting billions on something that can provide for a few thousand homes?

Also, wind turbines look awful, any excuse to get them off the countryside.

 

I coped quite well this morning as I was doing a bit of work in the garden, I put on a long sleeved golf shirt.

 

How is man changing the climate? For 5 BILLION years this planet has had volcanoes pumping billions of tonnes of toxins into the atmosphere, so why are WE suddenly taking the blame? You, and the other doom mongers, are talking through your nether regions.:gnthb::D

 

Each year, we hear of man made catastrophies that will either take decades for the world to recover, or it's so bad that the world will never recover, then what?

Surprise surprise, the earth recovers far quicker than anyone thought possible. The oil spill in the gulf is a classic example. Yes the earth is getting warmer at present. But it's part of a very long cycle. In medieval times when the Thames froze over would the current naysayers be bleating that "we were all doomed?"

Cows produce more "greenhouse gasses" than man.