Global Warming? Or Climate Change? Or...

It’s kind of amazing, to me, the number of people who are still arguing that "global warming" isn’t real. I’m wondering if where the scientists went wrong was to call it "global warming" rather than something easier to understand, like "climate change."
 
Of course, there is a warming trend, as evidenced by melting glaciers and the polar ice caps. But this does not mean it’s going to be steadily warmer where you live.... as in, giving those trousers to the local charity and stocking up on shorts for year-round wear. No, see, the "warming" in the warming trend is happening mostly to the oceans. When those great bodies of water get only a couple of degrees warmer, this is what starts melting ice at the poles. All that frozen water is fresh water too, which means when it melts, it changes the salinity of the oceans, in increasing amounts. All of this contributes to changes in currents and impacts on the worlds’ weather.
 
Warmer? Well yeah, some places, like where some glaciers hang out and where polar bears rely on ice floes to fish for food. But changes in the weather aren’t just about warmth. These changes are about weather extremes. That’s where hurricanes are more extreme and sometimes out of season, where more thunder storms result in tornadoes, where typhoons, like the one we just saw in the Philippines, are far more damaging than usual, where heat is hotter and dryer, as in drought, where cold is colder, and rains and winds far more damaging than they used to be. So no, "global warming" is not about just getting to rest longer into the season on the ol’ chaise lounge with that pina colada in hand.

But climate change is normal and natural, you say. And you’re right, it is. And if allowed to change at it’s own pace, we’d probably scarcely notice the changes happening around us and we’d have lots of time to make little adjustments over the longer term. As it is, mankind has accelerated the rate of climate change with our contribution of greenhouse gases, which means the weather is getting more extreme all around us... and it’s noticeable, especially to those whose homes have been washed or blown away by extreme weather and all those growers who’ve lost crops to unusual weather trends.

Of course, you don’t have much patience for those tree-huggers either ~ the ones who claim we’re damaging Mother Earth. And you’re probably right again. I mean, she has been a raging inferno and she has been a ball of ice, and everything in between. Species that can adapt do, and those that can’t are chewed up and spit out. There have even been mass extinctions as a matter of course on this planet and there no doubt will continue to be.

No, even though we’ve made several messes on her and continue to strip her method of breathing from her, Mother Earth is not really in trouble.


We are.


Hey, let’s face it, we’re kind of a precious namby-pamby bunch, making us NOT the most adaptable creatures on the face of this good Earth. And at the rate we’re going, we’re going to be among the many species that future creatures will only find traces of in fossils. If you think what we’ve built here will last once we’re gone, think again. Possibly the only sign we were ever here will be our untidy piles and ocean islands of discarded plastic, and who knows, perhaps Mother Earth will send magma bubbling up to swallow and reclaim it all, and make it back into fossil fuels for another species down the line.

If this doesn’t bother you, keep denying "global warming" and just keep doing what you’re doing. If you’re one of those hopeful, picky types who would object to having your home and other means of shelter destroyed and your food security threatened by extreme weather, you might give the matter some thought. But don’t be worrying about Mother Earth. You need to be worrying about your own butt instead. Because the floods, droughts, hurricanes, typhoons, and other forms of extreme weather aren’t figments of your imagination. Just sayin’.