We're all familiar with graphs like the one above. Rising Co2 levels plotted against rising global temperatures for the last 100+ years. We're also familiar with people going hammer & tongs, arguing over how significant the correlation between these two trends is. I for one, don't care. Co2 in the atmosphere traps heat? Cool! Lets go with that. Humans have produced vast amounts of Co2 over the years of temperature increase, so why not. The only thing I disagree with is why we stop at Co2 levels. Let have a look at another graph...
Some might have seen the BBC News page about the population of humans on the planet [ What Number Are You? ]. I took a screen grab of the graph they supplied, showing the populace of the planet from 1500 to present day. It's a familiar shaped trend, so let's do a little bit of superimposing.
And there you have it. A direct correlation between human existence and global temperature, as sound and as accurate as mapping Co2 levels against global temperatures. Co2 release is just one facet of humans influence on the planet. Humans have affected the dynamics of Earth in an ever expanding myriad of ways, some of which are so obscure that they may never be discovered.
I'm not interested in debating how much an individual phenomenon like Urban Heat Islands is to blame, but if you look at how many reasons urban areas are much warmer than country areas (to an extent that they affect local climate), and then look at the exponential growth of building over the last 100 years, it is again more damning evidence that human existence is radically changing how the planet behaves.
Environmentalists have this notion burned into their head: cut Co2, reduce temperatures. They glibly inform us that they are driving a Toyota Prius, as if it's going to magically cool down the planet. This cretinous choice of personal motor vehicle is designed to reduce personal guilt rather than global temperature. I'm a firm advocate for finding alternative energies as we are burning through finite resources, in greatly inefficient manners, releasing all kinds of noxious elements, but Co2 is a symptom of a much greater problem.
Anyone who's really thought about this will tell you: If you want to save* the planet, don't have children; if you really want to save* the planet, kill yourself. Perhaps I will email this to Paul Gogarty for his views.
* the planet itself doesn't need saving. It will either be around long after we're gone, or destroyed at the same time of our extinction, from some external factor. Humans are just an entropic factor in the Earths continuing evolution.
Population graph [bbc] Global Temperature graph [zfacts]
2 comments:
That graph is actually for the amount of Peter Collins Twitter accounts over time.
Imagine if he was behind his own fake accounts, ultimate troll legend.
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