Bart,

From Bartcop.com

> Quotes

>"There are too many scientists out there whom I implicitly trust
>  that have proven to me these [global warming] predictions are
>  basically apocalyptic doom and gloom based on raw emotion."
>   -- the vulgar Pigboy, on the payroll of the polluters.

----

Being a scientist in the 'Earth Science and Global Changes' and having worked as such for
the EPA as well as in academia, I would like to comment that Bush & the EPA (as well as Limbaugh)
have screwed it up again. Well, at least Bush has screwed it up.

Environmental Scientists are studying man's impact on our environment and have shown that
we are contributing to Global Warming, Depletion of the Ozone Layer, etc.  And the hype built
into their arguments, "apocalyptic doom and gloom based on raw emotion", has really been
necessary to even gain funding for continued studies.

Earth Scientists, myself among them, recognize that the Earth has undergone periodic changes
in it's character and make-up, including periodic  warming and cooling (remember the new Ice Age
predicted in the '60's?),  during it's 4 billion year history. Their are natural, uncontrollable changes in
our environment, and man had better adapt or go the way of so many other species.
(Sound like the Bushies' response?)

However,  Earth Scientists recognize, as Environmental scientists point out, that man is the only
species that has been able to affect our environment and we can and need to take  steps to mitigate the
naturally occuring "environmenta disasters".  "Global Warming" may be a natural occurrence, but we can
be accelerating the process,  deepening the "warm" period. There is also a theory in scientific community
that while environmental warming & cooling occurs within certain limits, at some points in our geologic
history, some "threshold event" or climatic "forcing factor" reaches a  point that the climate changes slides
rapidly into thousand year Ice Ages, or "desertification".  Man's contribution to Global Warming could be
that "threshold event",  just be enough to tip us into a prolonged period of catastrophic climate  change.

As Earth Scientists, we just don't know. What we *do* recognize is that mankind is not helping.
Yes, Global Warming occurs naturally, is occurring now (witness draught, wars, starvation, species
extinction in sub-Saharan Africa) and we need to adapt and prepare for it. And the first step is that
we stop our own contribution to these climatic/environmenta changes.

My own very great concern, and probably the thing that will tip us into massive, lengthy environment/climatic
changes, is the depletion of the world's rain forests. For good and valid scientific reasons. Albedo & solar
radiation as a "forcing factor',  you know ...

If you have any scientists reading Bartcop, maybe they'd like to respond
...