Comments on: Jon Foley on potentially irreversible damage to planet

By: Hank

Hank — Thu, 07 Jan 2010 22:22:16 +0000

An excellent and well balanced interview with Dr. Foley. It is debatable where the line gets crossed with respect to the pressures human kind place on the various systems for the reason Dr. Foley states – \”Earth’s systems function in unpredictable ways.\” But the debate isn\’t if the line can be crossed but rather where, when, and under what scenarios.

Dr. Foley, if I may make one request, focus on attracting more interest (and funding) to research on the affects of pollution, habitat loss, introduction of foreign species, and the like on ecosystems. Likewise on practical ways to address the impact. Resist selling short such important work to jump on the global warming band wagon. Thanks.

By: Ed Martin

Ed Martin — Sat, 26 Dec 2009 03:19:43 +0000

Does he not know that 90% of the last 1 million years was ice age? That climate change is more a result of the drift back to ice age? The holocene climate optimum (warmest period) of this interglacial ended thousands of years ago and we are cooling back. Nitrogen is not a problem, it makes up most of our environment. Nitrogen, oxygen and water vapor make up 99% of our atmosphere. Soot is the only thing that has any impact at all. Put the smoke through a water bath trap. How hard is that?
Deutz does it on their permissible diesel engines, last I looked. He should spend some quality time at ICECAP US, the International Climate & Environmental Change Assessment Project and maybe he will know a bit about what he\’s talking about. We\’ve got much bigger things ahead with the Sun not acting right and being on the brink of a Malankovitch Cycle reducing our solar radiation. http://wattsupwiththat.com/2009/08/06/long-debate-ended-over-cause-demise-of-ice-ages-solar-and-earth-wobble/#more-9788
The Sun defines our climate.

By: Ed Martin

Ed Martin — Sat, 26 Dec 2009 03:16:41 +0000

Does he not know that 90% of the last 1 million years was ice age? That climate change is more a result of the drift back to ice age? The holocene climate optimum (warmest period) of this interglacial ended thousands of years ago and we are cooling back. Nitrogen is not a problem, it makes up most of our environment. Nitrogen, oxygen and water vapor make up 99% of our atmosphere. Soot is the only thing that has any impact at all. Put the smoke through a water bath trap. How hard is that?
Deutz does it on their permissible diesel engines, last I looked. He should spend some quality time at ICECAP US, the International Climate & Environmental Change Assessment Project and maybe he will know a bit about what he’s talking about. We’ve got much bigger things ahead with the Sun not acting right and being on the brink of a Malankovitch Cycle reducing our solar radiation. http://wattsupwiththat.com/2009/08/06/long-debate-ended-over-cause-demise-of-ice-ages-solar-and-earth-wobble/#more-9788
The Sun defines our climate.

By: T. Emerson Coleman

T. Emerson Coleman — Fri, 25 Dec 2009 08:53:02 +0000

prior to the holocene there were vast meadows and lakes in the african sahara, and miles thick glaciers in much of north america for hundreds of thousands of years, so i would say, yes, the last 12,000 years has been relatively stable–save the two hundred or so cooler years of your \’little ice age\’.

By: Gemma33

Gemma33 — Fri, 18 Dec 2009 20:25:05 +0000

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By: green9012

green9012 — Fri, 18 Dec 2009 18:53:13 +0000

I don’t believe that human beings has nothing to do with these environmental systems,such as the climate pattern,ecological structure,and more.some people may admit that human should have absolute control over the nature,but the nature in itself decides all that we never expected.I trust my beliefs in Dr.Foley£¬and refuse all political matters ,which can only be barriers to our way to sustain the whole globe!

By: Benjamin Napier

Benjamin Napier — Fri, 18 Dec 2009 16:32:39 +0000

Also, 99.9% of all species that have ever existed are extinct. Fact. Nothing to do with human activity.

This whole thing is a scam designed to ruin capitalism and destroy western civilization. An added benefit will be to transfer wealth from its rightful owners (thiose who earned and built it) to the ruling class of communists.

By: Benjamin Napier

Benjamin Napier — Fri, 18 Dec 2009 16:20:14 +0000

10,000 years may be the time of written human history, but it is definitely not all of human history. Human DNA shows a bottleneck around 75,000 years ago. That corresponds with the eruption of a mega-volcano in what is now Indonesia. Not caused by burning of hydrocarbon fuels by evil capitalists by the way.

Humans have not enjoyed a stable climate for the last 10,000 years either. The little ice age was a cooling during the recovery from the last major glaciation.

There is NO evidence to support the “fact” that humans have had any measurable effect on the earth’s climate and certainly no evidence that anything we are doing is going to cause any calamity in the climate or environment.

By: a p garcia

a p garcia — Fri, 18 Dec 2009 09:11:20 +0000

I guess he didn’t get the memo that it is a scam.