Global Warming and Stormy Weather

                                          

Al Gore

It is typical for local newspapers to run stories and editorials during the dog days of summer on Global Warming.  Last week one tried to find a link between a violent summer storm and global warming. Another talked of residents with beach homes who were concerned about flooding that they attribute to global warming.  Never mind that their beach cottages are built so close to the shoreline that they have been subject to flooding for decades. Another activist from a progressive lobbying group thought that doomsday was just around the corner because of our reliance on fossil fuels.

I am all for conservation of resources. I live in a small home, drive a small, fuel-efficient car, and don’t even use a hair dryer. Still, I agree with those who believe that the whole global warming business is a sham, maybe even a scam. Commentators and activists who believe that one hot summer is a sign of global warming do not know what they are talking about. They are talking about variations in weather, not climate change. It would take centuries, not months, years, or even decades to identify a real global warming or cooling trend.

Moreover, even if we are in a global warming period I am not sure that there is anything that we can do about it. Some scientists believe that solar activity like sunspots or flares plays a much more important role than human activity in regulating the Earth’s climate.

We probably can’t even do anything about the “greenhouse gases” that everyone talks about. Ninety five percent of the greenhouse gases are made up of water vapor. What are we supposed to do about that? Take fewer showers? The notorious Carbon Dioxide makes up a small amount of the remaining 5%. Nevertheless, we want to spend billions to eliminate carbon dioxide emissions. Humans exhale carbon dioxide and trees breathe it in. What are we supposed to do about that?

Still, if you want to do your part, I have the following suggestions.

1. Stop using hair dryers and let your hair dry naturally. Young environmentally conscious ladies could just brush their hair dry or even cut their hair short.

2. Stop using clothes dryers. Hang your clothes out on the line and dry them with good old solar power like our grandparents did.

3. Stop heating your swimming pools. Let the sun do the work. What’s wrong with a nice brisk dip on a hot day? I’ll think of changing my views when Al Gore, the high priest of global warming, stops heating his huge pool. He uses more energy on his  mansion in a day than most of us use in a year.

4. Limit the use of electronic gadgets like cell phones and video games whose batteries need almost daily re-charging. Maybe activists could take the lead by tossing their IPads and IPhones.

5. State supported universities, most of whose scientists are global warming believers, could go back to playing their football games on Saturday afternoon rather then under the lights at night. Pro football and baseball could follow suit.

6. Even the President could take the lead by using Amtrak once in awhile rather than the gas-guzzling Air Force One. I would guess that he has taken more trips during his brief stay in office than all previous Presidents combined.###

Air Force One Photo Op