I believe change is afoot. Mother Earth is having hot flashes. Global warming is real. I am more inclined from my own investigations, readings and meditations in nature to link it to a shift in Earth’s magnetic poles. The imbalance is part of a natural evolution of our beautiful blue green home. Of course it is unsettling. Almost daily it seems that another report of mutations in the natural world is discovered, or an oceanic creature long thought extinct or never seen, surfaces. To quote Dylan, “the times they are a changing…” Governments as agents of leadership during this? Not who I am looking to for assistance. People help each other, not bureacracies. It’s what we are doing here on this site…I refuse to be fearful about all this. I will be the change I want to see in the world. I can only be responsible for my contribution…as one of the monkeys I’m just waiting for the 100th. Someone, maybe even in government will wake up tomorrow and be that. Today, I am grateful for the sun rising and birds still singing outside my window and Grandmother Spider spinning new stories. The world is changing just as we did. One day we were premenstrual, then mensing, then posting……………Love to you all.

The earth has always had periods of global warming and global cooling. It’s natural. The difference between this climate change and the others is that there has been a significant species impact (people) on the climate. Because we have control over that, we should exercise that power by reducing our impact.

The change in climate can’t be judged anecdotally on weather patterns. These are often cyclical patters (8 year droughts) and understanding them better helps us prepare.

BTW, it seems to me not everyone thinks global warming is a bad thing. I remember some tippity top folks in leadership positions in this very land that I love saying global warming means extended growing seasons and new trade routes. YAY! ;-P

The real question is whether our lack of stewardship of the Earth is contributing to a change in the global climate. During the time of the dinosaurs, my home state was underwater, and the land areas of Montana were hot and humid. The Earth’s climate does change with time, but are we speeding up the changes? Are we with our wasteful use of resources making this a permanent change? Would it hurt us to be better stewards of the only home we have? We are maybe entering a time when we must pay the piper for greed and wastefulness that is a part of everyday life. Growing up with parents that lived as adults during the Great Depression, I have the skills to use resources to the fullest; now I must learn to forget the ways of the consumer corporations that encourage us to use and throw away everything.

During the Cretaceous Period my whole native state of South Dakota was covered with a sea. At another period it was covered by a glacier. Climate changes occured before men walked upright and will continue after we go back to crawling on all fours. Humans may be contributing something to climate variations at this time in our history. Exactly to what degree is for the scientists to study. I have to come down on the side of Peggy Noonan. Its not a matter of belief… but facts.

I think the bigger problem is the “reframing” that using the term “global warming” has become. Do we or do we not believe/care that the polar icecaps are melting? To reframe the question in proper context, for me, would be, “Can the earth and the living beings on it afford the human population on the scale and density as we know it today?” Two answers: No, and hell no! The human overpopulation of the earth is one of the greatest follies/tragedies of world history. Reducing the human population based on a model of sustainability is the only long-term way out of this mess. I can’t even participate in conversations regarding population without risking offending Ms. Manners. I froth at the mouth when thinking of the total colossal ignorance, arrogance, and greed of continuing to increase the population. We must begin, as a species, to cull the herd immediately, and by significant numbers. This doesn’t need to involve typhoid, AIDs, war or famine, as it will if we ignore the problem. If we follow the Chinese model and each 2 people only have 1 child, we will have reduced the population of the earth in 4 generations, by the end of this century, to 12.5% of its current level. (It’s a simple equation, for those who “believe” in math.) Imagine the effect on the environment! Not to mention the noise level, and road-rage… And please don’t annoy me with any religious arguments regarding this theory. It will not dissuade me, and will only raise my blood pressure! God made us brains (well, some of us, anyway) and expected us to use them. Blessings.

my grandchildren believe in global warming and that’s all that’s important. they feel connected to polar bears “whose ice is melting” (that’s a quote from one of them.) they watch the eagles fly over the river near where we live and rejoice that they are not extinct. the whole issue is one of consciousness raising—and to debunk that is utter foolishness. will anyone ever forget the keep america beautiful public service announcement that aired in 1971 with the chief iron eyes (i think) “people start pollution—people can stop it”. REALLY! i am able to show my grandchildren that public service announcement on YOU TUBE-they can’t believe that it aired over 30 years ago—and here we are quibbling over whether there really is global warming. so yes-i believe in global warming—i believe in anything that will capture the attention of this generation who has left a sorry mess for the next generation. maybe tomorrow ABC will have a young child on the program saying “we have to do something about global warming” -that would be a voice worth listening to. CBW

If you study the climate history of the world you will see that the changes we have today are normal. Green house gases that are man made only play a smaller role 0.2%-0.3%. Global climate cycles of warming and cooling have been a natural phenomena for hundreds of thousands of years, and it is unlikely that these cycles of dramatic climate change will stop anytime soon. We currently enjoy a warm Earth. Can we count on a warm Earth forever? The answer is most likely… no. Do we need to watch our resources of course.

We are sticking our fingers in the pot and messing things up with our wasting and all, and we could be bringing down an phase sooner and hotter than it should be. But do we know Gaia (planet earth) that well? Everything is touching everything else and where we pull at one end, something else becomes out of wack…only God knows, and I have my faith in Him and His Son!

It is a fact that the polar ice caps are melting? How does that measure up anything at it!