I recall Al Gore's book about the environment. It was so technical, it was unreadable. It was funny when George Bush 41 referred to Gore as "Ozone Man" because of his preoccupation with the ozone layer. I have heard the ozone layer repairs itself. Maybe. The big issue with Gore is global warming. This is the tendency for man-made carbon dioxide to trap heat in Earth's atmosphere. The fear is, the earth will be heated to a point that its polar caps melt, inundating coastal cities. Unchecked, Earth could become a hell like Venus although we would be dead long before. The problem I have is that geologists say we are between Ice Ages. If another Ice Age is inevitable, might not global warming serve as a device for heating the globe? Carbon dioxide in the atmosphere may trap the sun's energy and prevent glaciers from flowing north and south to drive the planet's population toward the equator. It sounds crazy. We are trying to figure out whether we will burn up or freeze to death, whether we are going to drown or die of thirst because all the water is locked up in ice. If global warming is taking place (and apparently it is), I am not sure it is an entirely bad thing. It got pretty cold in Nashville last winter. If it is a bad thing, I am not sure that man in his ingenuity will not find a remedy. I stay mainstream.
The conflicting theories at this point are mostly political in nature. On one hand you have Ann Coulter, Rush Limbaugh, George W Bush, Sean Hannity, Exxon-Mobil, and a small handful of Oil industry funded scientists all saying there is no Global Warming, and on the other you have Stephen Hawking, Al Gore, Jon Stewart, and most climtalogists all saying Global Warming is real. Mostly all of the anti-Global Warming skeptics are indeed funded by Exxon-Mobil. http://www.exxonsecrets.org/html/personfactsheet.php?id=1 http://www.motherjones.com/news/feature/2005/05/some_like_it_hot.html http://gastronamus.proboards27.com/index.cgi?board=aerosol&action=display&thread=1142007465 In my opinion, Global Warming precedes an Ice Age, as evidenced by massive amounts of CO2 in glaciers. Increased cloud cover from melting glaciers and rising ocean levels will firther vlock the sun. WHat is going on now is the rapid acceleration of Global Warming by human activities.
Earth is such complicated thing that no scientist is able to understand it yet. They notice slight change in temperature and OMg its going o be 10 worse in 20-30-40 years everythgin is gonna melt/freeze. wtf... we've produced these special meters to meassure different things, only last 50 at most.. wtf happned before 300.000 milions before anybody knows ??? Nothing is gonna blow or melt / freeze till everythign dies. Animasl always lived on it, HUmans are not too new, but intellectually developed only now Finally ! so tehres lots to see and come. Moreover our technologies are progressing, more inventions are to be made, Life wont be so dependent on weather factors, soon we will push weather to its limits on our life and learn it better.
This is how I see it. A worst case scenario of global warming is the increase in disease because disease spreads in warm climates. Secondly most islands and cities on the coast will be covered in ocean water and people will be forced to keep moving inland in an inevitable battle against rising sea levels. Thirdly hurricanes and extreme weather will have no boundaries and ravage Earth in any part of the world. Not to mention the high levels of skin cancer and sun damage to the human body let alone our agriculture.
Yes, this is a worst case, and cause for concern. The Skin Cancer/Melanoma you speak of is not caused by Global Warming directly as it is caused by Ozone depletion, with it's ensuing increase in UV-B radiation. The above ground nuke tests from the 40's until the early 60's is thought to have contributed greatly to that. Some type of spraying of Titanium Dioxide would be the only solution to decrease ozone deterioration at this point, other than the standard practices of banning certain aerosols and reduing pollution in general. Of course, any particulates sprayed on the population would have other serious effects, since Titanium Dioxide is extrememly small, and can pass through the blood brain barrier. Also, as you mentioned, agriculture and ocean plankton is being affected by fluctuating UV-B levels.
