Hey, as I’m getting over the personal warming of the flu and a long stint of no blogging, what better topic than Global Warming to get me going again? Here, the BBC summarizes the latest IPCC report which deals with how climate change may affect humanity. I haven’t reviewed the real report yet. Here’s the IPCC report summary for policy makers.
It is interesting how strongly they IPCC and news reports are focusing on the effect on the poor because for many the issues with poverty are the key criticism of how alarmists have interpreted the IPCC findings. Should we should spend money on current catastrophic conditions in developing world rather than spending on the possibility of alleviating future suffering. In May IPCC will release the report talking about recommended courses of action.
Joe Duck 
What I found bothersome about this entire summit/conference is when the government (China, Saudi Arabia, ours) asked the scientists to change some of the language in the report. Huh…?
mama.smythe that’s a good question. My take is still that this is good science rather than politics, but both are playing a role in these reports. I do think the *interpretation* of the findings is often questionable, focusing too much on the “looming catastrophe” angle rather than the facts.
To me it really comes down to the debate over whether man can actually influence climate change to any significant degree (no pun intended).
Much of the science indicates to me that CO2 production is a result of global warming and not the cause. Reason dictates since other planets in our solar system are experiencing the same thing it would lead me to believe the sun is more involved in this.
So the big question: Do we implement policies and spend money on things that have a big chance of doing nothing or do we invest in technologies that will allow everyone to adapt and survive the periods of climate change?
Joe I know you’re a big fan of Al Gore but I think he is in this to gain power and make money. I also think most of the scientists are on the band wagon because it is a way for them to garner more grant money. They all have motive here and unfortunately the motive doesn’t seem to be to save the human race.
Bottom line: There is probably little we can do to change actual climate change, it is going to happen whether we like it or not. A little humility is in order here as we continue to grasp just how out of control our existence is in this violent and vast universe.
However, we are great at adapting and that is where I think our money and efforts should go. We are going to need the knowledge and technology for other planet exploration anyway. Let’s get focused on something that will benefit all of us and not just the elite few that stand to profit.