Wednesday Sep 27 2006
Trip Start
May 01, 2002
1
18
64
Trip End
May 01, 2009
Cha-am,
Thailand
Wednesday, September 27, 2006
widespread coral bleaching was observed in the great barrier reef during the 2004 el nino event. scientists were quick to tie the phenomenon to global warming and to issue gloom and doom forecasts. the great barrier reef would die and turn into a white desert because it was damaged forever and that it would take centuries to rebuild even with the full implementation of the kyoto protocol. you don't hear a lot about this scenario these days because since then the reef has recovered.
about ten years ago they said that human activity was causing ozone depletion and an ozone hole and that would let in life threatening doses of ultraviolet radiation. mutant frogs were being found and an armageddon scenario was presented. since then the ozone layer has come back and these changes are now thought to be part of a long run natural cycle and not man made.
more recently we were told that when the clock turns over to the year 2000, electricity grids would shut down, airliners would fall from the sky, nuclear bombs may be accidentally launched or nuclear power plants may suffer catastrophic failure, and that social chaos and mayhem would ensue. these forecasts also turned out to be nonsense.
scientists are not space aliens with perfect knowledge. they are just like the rest of us. some are smart and some not so smart, some are unbiased seekers of truth, while others are passionate zealots with an agenda. i would put the kyoto protocol enthusiasts in the second category.
soidog
