A friend sent me this link today:

http://www.guardian.co.uk/climatechange/story/0,12374,1153530,00.html

He then, very foolishly, asked me what I thought. Well, I think, therefore I blahg. For you lucky few who read, here are my random ramblings about the issue of our fate here on this earth ;)

Global warming has been of huge concern for years. The greenhouse effect has been causing sneaky little problems that are only beginning to raise serious fears ... this gradual warming of our atmosphere has been helping grow the hole in our ozone layer; the big buzz a few years ago was that CFC's (used as propellants in aerosol containers) were solely responsible, but not the case. The changing atmosphere also contributed to the slowly widening hole that could spell eventual doom for all of the inhabitants of earth except cockroaches, because nothing can kill them.

Yes, the warming of our atmosphere is a serious problem, even a few degrees has caused notable melting and the withdrawal of the polar & glacier ice flows ... there are several views on this, though. Some scientists have said that this is a normal trend, that the historic evidence supports this ebb and flow, and that we are currently in an ebb time, when the glaciers withdraw instead of advance. Nothing to fear.

(Scientists in Greenland who have been studying the glaciers for decades do not agree with the nothing to fear theory.)

Which brings us to the other camp --- these are the people who have been predicting massive flooding, widescale destruction from the greenhouse effect, total devastation from the ozone depletion ...

I don't know who to agree with ... both sides have evidence to support them. Instead, I will quote my geology professor from college: "we are involved in a massive experiment with our planet and no one knows what will happen"

The only thing that is predictable is that every action taken causes a reaction in some way.

Look at the attempts to farm what became the dust bowl in our Midwest. It used to be very fertile land, which was impetus for the settlers who flocked there. Unfortunately, what they didn't understand was that this land was anchored in place by the prairie grasses, which the would-be farmers removed so they could plant their seeds for crops.

It became all too evident that no one was going to be doing any farming on this land because the land itself got up and left in whirling, swirling dust clouds. Before long, the farmers packed up their few belongs and departed, driven out by unyielding famine, starvation and hardships. Did we learn from this? No. The same mistakes we made in the attempt to farm the dust bowl is being repeated in the devastation of the Rain Forests. They are clearing the forests at a rate of something ungodly like 10,000 acres a day ... for FARMLAND.

This is fertile soil, ONLY BECAUSE of the rapid growth and decay cycle that comes in a rain forest environment. When you remove that environment, you get exhausted soil that nothing will grow in. So what is the reaction to this action? The forced extinction of species both large and small. In 5 years, all Orangutans left in the wild will be completely extinct. They will only exist in captivity, and those few in captivity are so small, that at this rate, all Orangutans will be extinct in something like 20 years.

We are GREEDY and GRASPING, selfish and self-centered, this race who calls themselves human, and as such, considers themselves above all other living things.

Opposing thumbs do not a better being make! I can understand completely the desire of people like Jane Goodall who choose to live with animals instead of people. There is an unbelievable sense of frustration on the part of those who watch as we all contribute to the ruination of this glorious place called earth.

Do I think that the climate will cause our destruction? Perhaps. But, ultimately, whatever natural disaster hits, I think that WE will cause our destruction, and if it's the climate, it's because we changed it in our idiotic, uncontrolled experimentation within our very own planet.

No wonder Bush wants to move to Mars. We're about done ruining this planet, let's start over on a new one!