By Mack Samples
www.macksamples.com
Planet earth might indeed be in a warm spell. I guess there is no doubt about it if you believe what you read and see. We are shown pictures of giant icebergs breaking off up in the Artic. The long sought after Northwest Passage has now become a reality, or so we are told. Yet I don't think it has yet been placed on the list of regular routes for cargo or cruise ships.
A person does not know what to believe, hardly. One report says the Antarctic is expanding, then you get another report that it too is melting. Now who am I to question the wisdom of the greatest scientific minds of the century? But when I see statements such as "2014 was the warmest year ever," or as the President said in his state of the union address, "it was the warmest year of the planet," I have to raise an eyebrow or two.
When I was learning the English language I was taught that the word "ever" meant for all time, not just since 1980, the past three hundred years, or some other date pulled out of the air. What was the global temperature of the planet a million or so years after it first cooled? Did the Egyptians and Greeks take and record global temperatures at the height of their civilizations? (Fahrenheit didn't come along until the early 1700s). Who recorded temperatures on the North American continent prior to when the British landed in Jamestown in 1607? Was there even anyone here who could read and write?
Do we know what the global temperatures were in North America in 1066 when the Normans crossed the English Channel, or when the Brits defeated the Spanish Armada in 1588? I seriously doubt if anyone cared. What was the average annual temperature in the mid-Pacific back during the time of the Roman Empire? Did the Vikings record the global temperatures when they were farming in Iceland? Since neither Fahrenheit nor Celsius existed when Magellan's ships sailed around the globe, how did those sailors record the temperatures?
I know, I know. Scientist inform us that they can tell what the annual global temperatures were at any given time on the planet by studying rocks and boring holes in the ice. But, you know what? I don't believe a word of that. I also know that scientific information is based on undisputed facts. I know that. But I also know that scientific facts change all the time. I read all the time sentences written by scientist that say "scientists used to think such and such, but now we know better." I also remember when the climate people told us after the winter of 1976-77 that we were entering a new ice age. Colleges even changed their calendars so they could avoid going back to school in early January. I assume that prediction was based on scientific facts!
I also remember a few years back when scientists told us that the ozone layer was going to evaporate and we were all going to die. I even read recently that scientists think that there might me two more planets out beyond the nine (or was it eight?) that we were told about for years as a scientific fact.
Now, don't get me wrong. I am not saying that the planet has not been warmer during the past few years than it was a few decades back, and I am not saying that carbon emissions are not causing it to happen. But let's be reasonable about it. No one knows what global temperatures were during the course of even recorded history, not to mention "ever" or "for all time since the planet has been here." Come on.
My parting shot is this. If the planet is indeed warming, I have serious doubts that mankind can do anything about it. We might stop all (one hundred percent) of carbon emissions and the planet may still continue to warm. Just about everyone agrees that at some point in time the planet is going to burn up and become lifeless. But I seriously doubt if mankind can do anything about it. Has mankind really reached the point where he (or she) not only thinks he (or she) can control global warming, but can also tame and control the entire universe? Give me a break! Next thing you know, some scientist will tell us that we might position rockets at certain points around the earth and move the entire planet's orbit a little farther out from the sun ... I guess that would cool it down some.
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