Citizen Power

Graphic from the Sustainable Scale Project

The days of pumping unlimited C02 into the air are numbered.  The new, improved EPA is going to be run based on “science” which means right-wing claims that C02 is “a life-giving gas” are no longer going to fly.  About two years ago there was a big backlash against environmentalists by Big Oil and Big Coal with videos that claimed C02 was good for us.  Well, C02 is poisonous in large quantities, and it’s also what is causing global warming, so it cannot accurately be described as “good for us.”   In fact, a new report has set off alarm bells.

We all need to know how to spot alarmist anti-science propaganda. One example: Is it on a website called Prison Planet? That’s a good tip-off. For some reason, libertarian alarm-monger Alex Jones is pushing the idea that not only did our government plan and carry out the terrorist attacks of 9/11, but he’s convinced that C02 is completely harmless. (it’s obviously not) This is just one example of how nutty Alex Jones is. On his website he says, “Carbon Dioxide (CO2) is not pollution and Global Warming has nothing to do with pollution.” What a kidder!   Keep in mind, this man has a huge fan club of supposed freedom lovers who hang on his every word. So for some reason Jones goes from warning us about a military police state to the people who want to control your life with climate change claims. It’s an odd side-hobby for a guy who accepts the 9/11 conspiracy theory but denies real science. He posted this video too.

RIGHT WING PROPAGANDA:

Stick to martial law, Mr. Jones.

ACTUAL SCIENCE:

From January 2008 to January 2009, the planet warmed a remarkable 0.37°C (see data here ). This is 20 times the annual rate of warming in recent decades and 20 times what most climate models have projected we should be experiencing. This is startling when you look at the data that goes back to 1880! And what is causing the warming? A rise in C02.

These are real numbers from NASA, not some opinion from a conspiracy-obsessed blogger. And this news is not great either:

“Meanwhile, carbon dioxide is spewing into the atmosphere faster than any model anticipated, with the IPCC forecasting that if nothing is done to slow greenhouse gas emissions, atmospheric concentrations of CO2 could be as high as 900 parts per million — triple pre-industrial levels — by the end of the century. That could boost worldwide temperatures by an average of more than 4 degrees C (7 degrees F).”

A temp. rise of 4 degrees C would be catastrophic for life on earth. At that level, much life on earth would go extinct.  It doesn’t take more than a few degrees in global temp. rise to change things fast!   This has been written about in many books, such as Six Degrees.

Meanwhile, while we’re arguing with climate deniers who want to remain purposely ignorant, we are wasting valuable time. My advice: ignore Alex Jones except for fun and entertainment, which is something he’s very good at. Most of his predictions have been already proven silly if not false. He even thinks President Obama intends to round us all up and put us in detention camps if we protest his North American Union theory (which Obama has no intention of doing, obviously). Remain rooted in science and reality, because the world depends on it.

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