Al Gore coming to Calgary

[Bunk]

Originally Posted by mykalberta

What is he saying that is any different than what anyone else is saying?

Is he bringing something new to the table, everyone knows that carbon emissions are bad the for the environment, i dont need some "lockbox" windbag to come to my province and say it. Go back to your own country, we have enough here with Layton, Dion, etc etc.

No one is ignorant to his position, but we are ignorant to someone who charges 154 bucks a ticket to listen to him rehash things everyone already has heard. He was a VP, so he cant come to Calgary to talk about international policy or relations with the ME like other former PRESIDENTS have, this is his money rangle.

MYK

I don't know about that. There are a lot of things in his presentation that I did not previously know. And he presents in a very effective, pursuasive way that will cause people to change their mind.

If his primary motivation was money, I am sure there are a lot better ways for former VP to become ultra-rich - like sit on the board of a few major corporations.

[Igottago]

Originally Posted by kevman

What are you doing to make the world a better place?

I sure hope you don't drive an SUV or truck or minivan for that matter. Lets no forget thigns like plastics that also rely on this devil oil. Before you play the same SUV card that everyone plays to make themselves feel better about the situation when was the last time YOU looked in the mirror?

I didn't dismiss global warming. I dismissed Al Gore's propaghanda. I especially like all the work that HIS scientists did and the 100% consensus among the scientific comunity that we are the cause, and nothing else, of global warming.

See, there you go..taking it personally, let me guess, you have an SUV? Don't worry, I don't consider you the devil. I did say it has to be a societal change. Last time I checked, I was part of society. I admit that I'm part of the problem as well, I rely on oil as much as anyone. We just can't keep going around with blinders on though, and slinging mud at people like Gore, Suzuki, or whoever, just because it makes us feel bad about ourselves.

[TheDragon]

The way I see it - Global Warming is happening whether or not we as a society/species are responsible for it. If we don't start preparing for it, like, right now, it's going to get ugly. They're already saying we may have a water shortage in Calgary within the next 50 years.

Imagine what places like India, China, the Middle East, and Africa are going to go through.

Personally, I don't understand why - in a province with such high quality grain (which is one of the primary ingredients in synthetic diesel fuel) that is mostly sitting in fields rotting because nobody is buying it, doesn't hop on that bandwagon right now, and start developing some kind of alternate fuel source. It still pollutes, but not nearly as badly as fossil fuel. It's the step in the right direction, at least.

[Azure]

Originally Posted by josh white

My guess is you haven't watched his film yet. There is no dispute in the scientific community as to whether global warming exists. That debate is long over.

In the film he points out that of 958 peer reviewed journals on global warming, not one single article disagrees with the scientific consensus.

It is a fact that Carbon Dioxide in the atmosphere traps the sun's rays. Thereby heating up the atmosphere. Right now, Co2 levels are way higher than they have been in human history. Therefore, we have a warming of the earth.

And that explains why the surface temperature of Mars has gone up too?

I don't disagree that the earth is heating up, but is it a natural occurance, or something that we as humans are causing?

Al Gore seems hellbent on proving that humans are causing it.

And how do you know that CO2 levels are higher then they have ever been? Do we have all those stats recorded back to the start of time?

Didn't think so.

Generally the role of government (and therefore politics) is to solve problems of society. So therefore isn't a political issue. How can the future health of the planet, the ecosystem and the health of humans not be a political issue? It is the political issue of our time.

I said political agenda, not issue.

There is a difference you know. Gore is making money from selling his product, which does nothing but give an extremist viewpoint on what global warming is.

He is doing 'nothing' to solve the problem.

[FLAMESBURNOIL]

How much fossil fuel is Gore gonna burn on this trip to calgary and back? How much fuel will be burned by the people attending...

I understand where he is coming from and dont subscribe to his typical left wing scare tatics, but noone on any side of this debate has come up with a reasonable plan to kick our fossil fuel addiction...

Not only do omissions have to be reduced, but there also has to be an easy ecomomic transition to protect jobs and such...

Still even in the the self proclaimed enviromental city such as Vancouver where i live, there were almost 100,000 new cars on the streets last year . City planners and residents in the 70s didnt want a city that would promote driving but promote transit and bikes ect....boy were they wrong..transit system is sub par and the city is torminted by 12 hr rushhour everywhere in the area

People will bitch all they want about the enviroment and then they all get into there cars and go home..

I ditched more car 5 years ago, and i have been doing fine without it..its not that hard people

[RougeUnderoos]

Originally Posted by Azure

I don't disagree that the earth is heating up, but is it a natural occurance, or something that we as humans are causing?

It is something that we humans are at the very least contributing too. That is what the evidence says. That's what the majority of the experts, not Al Gore, say. Your real beef is with science, not Al Gore, but we all know how fun it is to shoot the messenger.

[Azure]

Originally Posted by Igottago

See, there you go..taking it personally, let me guess, you have an SUV? Don't worry, I don't consider you the devil. I did say it has to be a societal change. Last time I checked, I was part of society. I admit that I'm part of the problem as well, I rely on oil as much as anyone. We just can't keep going around with blinders on though, and slinging mud at people like Gore, Suzuki, or whoever, just because it makes us feel bad about ourselves.

I wonder what Suzuki would say to Alberta developing Nuclear Energy in order to extract Oil from the oilsands. Or any other alternative energy source for that matter.

And it has nothing to do with taking it personal...if SUVs are a problem, everyone should quit driving them, no?

[Bunk]

Originally Posted by Azure

And how do you know that CO2 levels are higher then they have ever been? Do we have all those stats recorded back to the start of time?

Didn't think so.

Not the beginning of time, only hundreds of thousands of years and several cycles of ice ages. (refer to previous page). We have a tremendous thing called science that can figure these things out from evidence.

[Azure]

Originally Posted by RougeUnderoos

It is something that we humans are at the very least contributing too. That is what the evidence says. That's what the majority of the experts, not Al Gore, say.

Yes I realize that. I'm asking whether or not humans are causing the brunt of the problem.

[Azure]

Originally Posted by josh white

Not the beginning of time, only hundreds of thousands of years and several cycles of ice ages. (refer to previous page). We have a tremendous thing called science that can figure these things out from evidence.

And that tremendous thing called science allows us to accurately predict the temperature a week in advance. Right...

I wonder how the heck we went through several ice ages without having an extreme warming period.

[FLAMESBURNOIL]

Originally Posted by Azure

Yes I realize that. I'm asking whether or not humans are causing the brunt of the problem.

when it comes down to it, they really dont know...logical states that yes, but at the same time a massive volcano can dump more CO2 in the air than humans can in a 1000 years..

[Bunk]

Originally Posted by Azure

Yes I realize that. I'm asking whether or not humans are causing the brunt of the problem.

Unquestionably. We burn a lot of fossil fuels, that produces Co2. The trend is as clear as day. That Co2 produces a warmer atmosphere. Levels are higher in the last 50 years than in any time in recordable history.

[Azure]

Originally Posted by josh white

Unquestionably. We burn a lot of fossil fuels, that produces Co2. The trend is as clear as day. That Co2 produces a warmer atmosphere. Levels are higher in the last 50 years than in any time in recordable history.

So by burning fossil fuels, we humans produce more Co2 then any forest fire, or volcanic eruption combined will do in a year?

Hard to believe...especially knowing how many forest fires there are each year in the Rocky Mountains alone.

[Igottago]

Originally Posted by Azure

And it has nothing to do with taking it personal...if SUVs are a problem, everyone should quit driving them, no?

Obviously its not that easy..I never said it was. People aren't going to stop using the $45000 + vehicle they just bought. But maybe we can start steering the ship in the right direction by placing restrictions on the types/numbers of vehicles that car manufacturers are allowed to produce and sell? Or at least put pressure on them to reasearch and develop more environmentally friendly technology? Would that be such a bad thing?

[Bobblehead]

Originally Posted by Azure

And that tremendous thing called science allows us to accurately predict the temperature a week in advance. Right...

I wonder how the heck we went through several ice ages without having an extreme warming period.

You're comparing weather forecasting to determining CO2 levels by saying they are both "science" and then discounting it?

[Bunk]

Originally Posted by Azure

So by burning fossil fuels, we humans produce more Co2 then any forest fire, or volcanic eruption combined will do in a year?

Hard to believe...especially knowing how many forest fires there are each year in the Rocky Mountains alone.

Interestingly, something like 30% of CO2 emmissions globally are caused by human-set forest burning in places like the Amazon.

[Winsor_Pilates]

Originally Posted by Azure

Yes I realize that. I'm asking whether or not humans are causing the brunt of the problem.

Are you asking? It seems that you are just writing off all posible answers that don't fit with what you want.
Hundreads of scientists are trying to give us the answers and you're writing them off because the local meteorologist makes a few mistakes.

You're not looking for answers, you're hiding from them.

[Azure]

Originally Posted by Bobblehead

You're comparing weather forecasting to determining CO2 levels by saying they are both "science" and then discounting it?

Well people are predicting that based on Co2 levels the temperature of the earth will rise x amount in a certain period of time.

Meanwhile, we can't properly predict the temperature going into next week.

[Azure]

Originally Posted by josh white

Interestingly, something like 30% of CO2 emmissions globally are caused by human-set forest burning in places like the Amazon.

And not by burning up fossil fuels like you said in an earlier post?

You have a link for that, BTW?

Thanks.

[kevman]

Originally Posted by Igottago

See, there you go..taking it personally, let me guess, you have an SUV? Don't worry, I don't consider you the devil. I did say it has to be a societal change. Last time I checked, I was part of society. I admit that I'm part of the problem as well, I rely on oil as much as anyone. We just can't keep going around with blinders on though, and slinging mud at people like Gore, Suzuki, or whoever, just because it makes us feel bad about ourselves.

I was actually trying to get a bigger reaction to give myself something to do...slow day

You're damn right I have an "SUV"! But by the time I walk to school, take the train to work, and ride my bike to get around I'm burning far less fossil fules than the suburban Civic commuter, but I suppose that's a different argument. Not that I'm trying to justify myself to a stranger.

I've never slung mud at loonatics like Gore or Suzuki because they make me feel bad about myself. I just question their real motives and fear the impact that they can have when people blindly follow what they preach. I have never once been caught arguing that nothing should be done about the enviroment but I'll routinely argue that buying into a plan like Kyoto so we can **** away billions to buy credits instead of solving the problem is not the way to go.

I have to agree with 'josh white' when he said "We have the opportunity to be a leader in doing something about it. That to me is exciting."

My previous post wasn't directed directly to you but I get a little tired of hearing the same Oil Industry/SUV card. You may not believe this but in business you get ahead by differentiating yourself and as a result the oil industry is actually working pretty hard on the enviroment issue to get a leg up on the competitor. Is the motiv slanted? Perhaps, but change is in the future.