Proof of Intelligent Life on Other Planets!!

Either we are cooking ourselves to extinction, or the sun is cooking us to extinction. How fatalist.

Very fatalist indeed. The earth has been warmer in the past, and cooler. There is no reason to presume that the present trend will continue indefinitely.

A warmer climate would lengthen growing seasons in much of the world.

One of Gore's canards is that open water absorbs more sunlight than the ice caps do. Wonderful, that energy will evaporate more water, and perhaps the deserts will again flourish as that water rains on them. (The Sahara Desert was not always a desert.)

In any case, there is no reason to suspect that warming will continue indefinitely.

I think there's an even simpler formula: If Al Gore says it, it MUST be wrong. The poor guy can't catch a break.

Jack, are you implying that there can only be one factor contributing to global warming? The earth and other planets may be warming naturally, it doesn't necessarily mean that human activity isn't contributing to that warming on this planet.

i just don't think you understand, or care to understand, the complexity of the situation. You kinda sound like Homer Simpson, "Global warming?! I'm going to go get my bathing suit!"

temperature changes could cause changes in weather patterns. So what's the use of a longer growing season when you're only getting a 10th of the rainfall you're used to? Yes, the planet's temperature has changed in the past; in the past millions of people have died in droughts and famines brought on by strange weather patterns. But now we are at a point where we're beginning to understand these things, we can see that the planet is getting warmer, and we can estimate roughly what the consequences might be. But instead of hedging our bets, and taking the necessary steps to save lives on this planet, you want to talk about the climate on Pluto.

Hedging our bets and taking the necessary steps? So you're saying, instead of what happened when the last ice age ended, and you could no longer walk from Russia to Alaska, everything would have been completely different if only our forefathers had only known to stop building such godawful huge fires to roast their mammoths on?

If they had only known to wear an extra layer or two instead of traipsing around their caves in the middle of winter bare chested with a blazing fire?

You may be right, but you know what, I'm GLAD the Earth warmed so catastrophically as it did 13,000 years ago, because if it hadn't we'd probably all be speaking Chinese or Russian right now and the unspoiled beauty of Alaska would be toast. It would be, like, the epicenter of smog and congestion.

I'm talking about taking precautions. Tokyo is installing a massive 4-mile long underground canal to prevent flooding, London is upgrading floodgates on the Thames to keep the Queen safe, What is NYC doing?

Ok, I see your point. Is New York that close to sea level? Here's a more immediate question: What is New Orleans doing?