apartment therapy changing the world, one room at a time

Before deciding to consider something "a critical, global emergency", I would urge people to consider both sides of the issue. This is everyone's responsibility, especially before voting on issues that would mean a drastic and permanent reduction in man's standard of living.

Keep in mind that politicians (whether left or right wing) all have agendas, and are generally not the best sources of scientific information. There are many climate scientists who say that, at the very least, that not enough is known about global warming to hand it over to policy makers.

There is a lot of good information about global warming and the hysteria surrounding it on these sites:

http://www.junkscience.com/

http://www.globalwarminghysteria.com/

There is also a very good documentary which aired on British television. Youtube has it broken into 8 parts. Here is a link to the first part:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8f8v5du5_ag

I also have to wonder what the purpose of this poll is. The fact that many people may believe or disbelieve something is no evidence of it being right or wrong.

In my opinion, this is a subject the world should have worried about much earlier.
Now, it seems as it is already too late. Seeing what is happening in the world at the moment, with winters which are either extreme or not anymore existant, summers which get drowned by heavy rainfalls and low temperatures, i wonder what we can do to ? We cannot reverse the situation but maybe slow it down at long term.

JyoJyo, Of course not! This is so obvious, that I highly doubt the AT editors were trying to get official confirmation that their opinion is correct. As the post says, they've been learning a great deal about the issue - try to give them at least a little credit that their learning did not consist of polling the opinions of random people interested in design. They just want to know if we agree with them or not. What's wrong with that?

My intial reaction is that global warming and its subsequent results should not only be a political issue, but a social issue as well.

Being careless and wasteful of our enviroment, because of our insatiable need for masses of consumer goods, should become as socially unacceptable as cigarette smoking and drunk driving have become in my lifetime. IMHO

England is utterly sodden and flooded in large areas with no sign of let-up apparently...

Only in America does MrGreen get banned but JyoJyo doesn't.

Vagary, why did you make that comment? Was it because I urged people to consider boths sides of an issue? If MrGreen was banned, I would assume it was because he was insulting to people. If you've ever read any of my posts on other topics, you'd see that I've never been insulting to anyone. In fact, I always do my best to give good advice to people on the subject of decorating, painting, etc. (the main theme of this site, and the main subject matter I come here for).

Which part of my above post do you disagree with? The part about people having a responsibility to consider both sides of an issue before voting on it? Or the part about politicians having agendas? Those were the only opinions I expressed. The other things I said were facts: There ARE many climate scientists who dont agree with the idea of "man-made global warming.", and there IS a documentary and websites that support that with evidence.

This thread is a poll, which asks what people believe on this subject. Do you feel that people should only express their opinions if they agree with you?

JyoJyo, out of curiosity, what was your poll response? I am interested to know what level of importance you place on the issue, since you seem to attempt its negation whenever possible.

I would dispute "many" climate scientists.

THIS ISSUE IS OF THE UTMOST IMPORTANCE TO EVERYONE!

I have been aware of the issue for over 15 years now, and have been watching with a compination of helplessness and apathy.

While ancdotal, two recent events in my life have got me moving;

1. Tulips sprouting in my garden. On boxing day! In Montreal!
2. Fireflys in my garden! I have never seen fireflys this far North, and this goes with other events like Monarch butterflies in the arctic.

To me it seems the only people who are resisting the notion are the ones who have a lot to lose. However, inaction only delays the day we pay the piper, and the lifestyle adjustments will be much worse later on.

Jyojyo, I'm afraid there are few who would call that "a very good documentary". There are few who would give it the time of day.

http://news.independent.co.uk/media/article2521677.ece

http://www.guardian.co.uk/science/story/0,,2032571,00.html

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/uk/science/article1517515.ece

I'm not particularly green, but I know I am typical of many European's who breathed a sigh of relief when the US seemed to wake up to this issue.

"JyoJyo, out of curiosity, what was your poll response? I am interested to know what level of importance you place on the issue, since you seem to attempt its negation whenever possible."

Joy, the problem with a poll like this is that the question is very ambiguous. Therefore, the results of the poll will always be misleading. For something to be considered an issue, it only requires that someone or group of people make an issue of it. When a politician urges people to "act boldly" (by passing legislature), then whatever subject he's talking about becomes an issue. To ask whether or not someone considers global warming to be an issue is really asking whether or not they notice politicians discussing it. If I could answer the question in my own words, I would say that I recognize that people are debating this, that this fact makes it an issue, and that I would hope that anyone would consider both sides of the issue before voting for laws that would permanently impact our standard of living.

And which both sides is that JyoJyo? On the one hand the views of leading scientists and on the other an entirely discredited documentary featuring leading scientists who themselves subsequently reported the production company to Ofcam for the distortion and falsification of their findings and data?

I voted "an issue amonst others". There are quite a few more important issues out there, but we shouldn't bury our heads in the sand over this one, either.

JyoJyo,

Come on. The rest of us seem to be able to interpret the poll's use of "issue" quite clearly. Quit arguing over semantics and answer the intended meaning of the question: How much attention and action do you believe global warming requires/ How legitimate a threat is global warming?

I find it amusing that you equate a high standard of living with the habits that cause the destruction of the planet we LIVE ON.

Lesley, I never meant to suggest that I considered the documentary to be the last, definitive word on the subject of global warming. I wouldn't expect a documentary that goes against a popularly held belief to not be criticized. Then you have one of the scientists appearing in the film who obviously feels his comments were taken out of context, etc.

It would be very convienent for us all if everything in life were cut and dried, and we could believe everything our media and politicians tell us. Unfortunately, that's rarely the case. In the case of global warming, there are climate scientists at the top of their field who believe it is not being caused by mankind. It doesn't take much research to find this information in books, on websites, etc. It is not a case of, as you suggest, one documentary against the views of leading scientiests.

JyoJyo - I've never been one to believe everything (or anything come to that) our media and politicians tell us. Wishful thinking and denial has never been my style either.

JyoJyo -


BTW: Once upon a time leading scientists also believed the earth was flat, and then later that the sun rotated around us. good times.

Sorry didn't mean to sound snippy, I all I am saying is that scientists are not always right. So you do what you have to to form your opinion, but try not to bully others about how they form theirs, because as a leading scientist once said "it's all relative"

MonsterMash, actually you're incorrect. It was a small minority of scientists who believed the earth was round when everyone else said otherwise. The church who believed it was flat, and executed the minority of scientists who dared to speak up and disagree with them.

Listen folks, people like JyoJyo are not the problem. I assume that, given her helpful design advice and such, she is not in charge of cutting down rainforests, writing legislation to privatize water, building coal plants, or some such. The real problem lies in the fact that so very, very, many people here and around the globe think that global warming is a problem and aren't doing anything about it. We wouldn't have the political system we do if all the people who give a damn weren't distracted by the status quo of maintaining their life as they know it. (And this applies to soooo many other issues than global warming. Don't even get me started...)

okay thats what I get for typeing without checking.

Focusing on what is actually the issue. What is so bad about people taking the idea global warming and using it to look at their own consumption? Whats wrong with people trying to do better for the enviornment? I don't understand the horrific downside. Either its true and we are all trying to do our part and help, or its not and we made the world a little less polluted, and we all become a little more aware of our impact?

JyoJyo, what I meant was: amongst a community of people with a majority from any other nation on earth, calling global warming and environmentalism into question at every opportunity would be considered trolling. And a lot more dangerous than "being rude". (I agree with your basic point that people should be better informed, but the oil propaganda you keep linking to can in no way contribute to that.)

MonsterMash, there is no downside, horrific or otherwise, to people consuming less (if they choose to). I would never try to tell people how to live their lives. However, passing legislation that would have a serious and permanant negative impact on our standard of living (as well as needlessly increase the power of the government) could have a huge downside.

As you can see from Sea's post, there are people who feel that these types of political causes are more important than people "maintaining their own lives." That's a somewhat scary thought, but it's true.

vagary, What I hear you saying is that the most important thing on a blog like this is for everyone to agree with the majority. If someone openly disagrees, than that is called "trolling" (what ever that means) and the person in question should be forbidden to post on the site.

You're suggesting that the editors created this site (which allows for people to post their opinions), then wrote an article about a controversial topic, then ASKED in a poll what people thought of it, and would now ban someone for not agreeing with the majority's viewpoint? It seems a bit strange that anyone would do that, but you're entitled to your opinions too.

Why do you consider alternative viewpoints to your own on science to be "dangerous"? Do you really, honestly believe that none exist, and that the only reason someone would express an opinion different than yours is to stir up trouble?

Being informed always means learning about both sides of an issue. Dismissing the points of view of scientists who have made the study of this subject their entire carrer with your ad hominem attacks ("oil propaganda") is not going to lead to any intelligent discussion.

JyoJyo,

Resistance is futile. You will be assimilated...

I am with you JyoJyo!! I think I will stand for the underdog and the non-conformist (I voted "an issue among others" for those who seek my hidden agenda). Still think climate change is something which may have less to do with us than people think. But will I dare to say it out loud? Seeing the reactions in this peace-loving blog, I think I am going to remain undercover for now in case I am ostracised and/or incapacitated by all the concerned citizens who surround me

Sofia, it's hard not to be one of those concerned citizens when the place you live in is experiencing the worst floods ever recorded. Its scary, people just a few miles away have nowhere to live anymore. However, I also voted "issue among others", because I think the is-global-warming-real debate misses the point. Regardless of whether climate change is a significant threat, it is clear that we will have to change the way we live, in many different ways, if we are to continue.

I think global warming is best viewed as a symptom of a much greater problem, rather than as an isolated issue. So bring on the home-grown veg and fair-trade cotton! At least its a start.

It's not clear to me whether JyoJyo is debating whether the globe is actually warming at all, or just whether man's activities are causing/exacerbating the problem. These are two separate arguments. If we accept that global warming is happening regardless of its cause, then there will very likely be huge impacts on the world - population displacement, crop failures, water shortages etc. All this with an ever-increasing global population. But of course there are other (sometimes related) huge issues facing mankind: peak oil, population explosion, war....