“SOME LIKE IT HOT” : Is
“global warming” a fact or fabrication?
Robert Haw speaks
about Global Warming
[Nyerges is the author
of several books, including “Self-Sufficient Home,” “Extreme Simplicity,” and
others. He can be reached at
www.SchoolofSelf-Reliance.com]
Robert Haw, former JPL employee, recently spoke to a packed
audience at Eaton Canyon Nature Center on the subject of “global warming,” a nearly two-hour presentation where hard data
was presented.
Haw became more acutely interested in the subject since 1988, when
NASA scientist Dr. James Hansen testified before Congress that the data shows
that the earth is warming. Haw was
skeptical at first, and continued to research the subject. After the release of Al Gore’s famous
“Inconvenient Truth” documentary, Gore started the Climate Reality Project where
workshops were people could be trained in presenting the Gore slide show. Haw took this training, and has since
developed his own Powerpoint to present the salient facts of “global warming,”
also sometimes referred to as “climate change.”
Haw begins with data from the SMAP (Soil Moisture Active/ Passive satellite), which circles the earth 14 times a
day measuring soil moisture. This data shows the actual dryness or wetness of
soils. The SMAP data shows a clear drying trend, as does other satellite data,
especially of agricultural areas.
Haw is a focused man, working to demonstrate the authenticity of
each point before he continues, as if we’re in a college-level course on
climatology, or math, where each point is predicated on numerous other
points. He tells us that there are 7
billion people on the earth today, and everyone’s livelihood depends on a
stable climate. Everyone is burning fossil fuels, directly or indirectly, which
causes pollution, he states.
This, among other things, releases carbon dioxide into the
environment. Carbon dioxide in the environment has been measured according to a
standard established by Dr. Keeling (of Caltech) who set up an observatory in
Hawaii in the 1950s to measure the CO2 count.
Today, there are hundreds of CO2 measurement stations around the world,
following the techniques established by Dr. Keeling.
Carbon dioxide levels in 1960 were 310 ppm; by 2016, they were 410 ppm. What does this mean? More CO2 means more heat, and more heat
means, among other things, melting of snow.
Scientists use a variety of data to calculate “average world
temperature,” which was 54.5 degrees f. in the early 1900s. Today, the average world temperature is 56
degrees.
This heat “goes” somewhere, according to Haw, with real
consequences. The bulk (94.3%) of the
increased world heat from CO2 is absorbed by the oceans, which results in
slightly higher ocean temperatures.
The biggest concern about melting of ice in the Arctic is the
melting of the frozen swamps in this region which releases methane gas, a
greenhouse gas. Haw points out that methane has 86 times the warming potential
of CO2, meaning that ice melt could increase more rapidly as the process of
releasing methane proceeds.
To demonstrate his point, Haw shared records of recent high
temperature records. For example, Pasadena in 2017 had 35 days over 95 degrees
(usual is 6). In 2018, there were 26 days over 95 degrees, including an
all-time high temperature on July 6 of 116 degrees f.
Haw points out that heat, and heat-related sicknesses and
diseases, are now the leading cause of death in the U.S.
As a result of rising temperatures, ice melts at the poles, and
this raises sea levels. This is measured by several methods, including
satellite and on-the-ground observations.
Not only is the perimeter of the ice measured, but also the
thickness. Today, ice thickness in the
Arctic is about 1/3 of the thickness of the early 1900s.
Currently, the sea level rises about 4 millimeters a year due to
ice melt. If the pattern continues
unabated, the sea level rise could potentially create millions of refugees in
the next 30-40 years.
Haw pauses to address the concerns of those who are called the
“climate change deniers,” who claim this is all fake news. One of the points brought up by such “deniers”
is that the earth normally cycles through these changes through thousands of
years, into ice ages, and back out again, with the cycle repeating with no
apparent assistance from mankind. This
cycle, known as the Milankovich Cycle – the long periods which cause Ice Ages –
are explained by the tilt of the earth in relation to the sun (the 23 ½ degree
tilt which causes our weather), and the 26,000 cycle known as the Precession,
as the earth moves around the sun. As these two cycles coincide, the cycles of
Ice Age, to melting, occur naturally.
The big difference, emphasizes Haw, is that the Milankovich cycle takes
hundreds, if not thousands of years to bring about its changes. By contrast,
the warming effects of our use of fossil fuels has sped up this process so that
we’ve seen thousands of years of climate change occurring in the last 50 years.
“Global warming deniers” also point to periods of heavy rain, such
as California has been experiencing in December of 2018 through February of
2019, and elsewhere. However, as a
result of more CO2 in the atmosphere, a warmer atmosphere holds more
water. Thus, the world’s hydrological
cycle is affected by there being an increase of 4 to 5% humidity from about 40
years ago. The result is more rain when there are storms.
Haw’s “Some Like it Hot” Powerpoint also details the U.S. cities
where flooding now routinely occurs during storms and high tides, cities such
as Miami, La Jolla shores, and Norfolk, Virginia.
Haw refutes each of the points of “global warming denyers,” one by
one with the actual facts, and asserts that global warming is very real, that
it’s urgent, and that we are the cause.
Haw spends a considerable amount of time in his presentation
detailing the short term and long term actions that would help to avert the
radical consequences to our western way of life. “If we want to survive,” he says, “we need to
change. The change can be voluntary, or it can be mandatory.” Haw details many of the solutions put forth
by politicians, such as “cap and trade,” regulations, and raising the cost of
fossil fuels.
“The real problem,” he says, “is that we all have too much stuff
and we continually want more. All that
stuff takes energy to make.” Though he
feels it’s a good short-term solution to switch to electric vehicles, he feels
that we need to learn how to power-down and just use less energy.
Haw points out that he has about 1/20th of his
household’s carbon footprint that he had 10 years ago. He does this by driving an electric car and
bicycling. For a water heater, he uses a
heat pump water heater, which costs more initially, but less in the long run. He advocates reducing all natural gas use,
and replacing gas furnaces with heat pump heaters.
There’s nothing wrong with putting solar panels on your roof, he
points out, but more importantly is to learn to do with less, and have fewer
vehicles overall. Haw is a great example
of someone who puts their belief into action.
“We need to simplify,” he emphasizes.
“It’s about using less energy and having less stuff.”
“Don’t we have a moral duty to future generations to preserve a
world worth living in? Think Golden Rule,” he suggests.
Robert Haw can be reached at roberthaw2008@gmail.com.
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