EXPERIENCE THE 'NET!

GOING GREEN...TOO FAR

Now, I'll be the first to admit I'm skeptical about global warming. I'm a believer that the Earth can withstand far more than we'll ever throw at it and can heal itself faster than we think. But I do think a cleaner Earth is a good thing, that we should live as clean as possible. But we're all going to die in 10 years, 50 years, 100 years? Yeah, we are but it'll be from old age, not global warming.

I think the change we are seeing is natural. We've only studied the climate for a relatively short time. Just like evolution, I think global warming takes a lot of "faith" to give any credence to it. But things are getting TOTALLY out of hand and some people are expecting rational thinking people such as myself to really dive in and believe some far out theories. Such as these recent little gems:

Did you know that we are destroying the ENTIRE universe? Just by looking at it, dude! Yep, that startling claim is made by a pair of American cosmologists investigating the consequences for the cosmos of quantum theory. That claim is made by Profs Lawrence Krauss of Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland, Ohio, and James Dent of Vanderbilt University, Nashville, who suggest that by making this observation in 1998 we may have caused the cosmos to revert to an earlier state when it was more likely to end. "Incredible as it seems, our detection of the dark energy may have reduced the life-expectancy of the universe," Prof Krauss tells cobra74 Creations.

That quantum theory says that whenever we observe or measure something, we could stop it decaying due what is what is called the "quantum Zeno effect," which suggests that if an "observer" makes repeated, quick observations of a microscopic object undergoing change, the object can stop changing - just as a watched kettle never boils.

In this case however, it turns out that quantum mechanics implies that if an unstable system has survived for far longer than the average such system should, then the probability that it will continue to survive decreases more slowly than it otherwise would. By resetting the clock, the survival probability would now once again fall exponentially. 

"The intriguing question is this," Prof Krauss told the Telegraph. "If we attempt to apply quantum mechanics to the universe as a whole, and if our present state is unstable, then what sets the clock that governs decay? Once we determine our current state by observations, have we reset the clock? If so, as incredible as it may seem, our detection of dark energy may have reduced the life expectancy of our universe."

So, as Prof Krauss implies, we are "killing" the universe because we are looking at the universe. Absolutely incredible, and absolutely insane.

How about this other little gem in the news: San Francisco is pondering making fireplaces illegal. That's right. If you're burning a nice fire in your home, in the fireplace, you'd better enjoy it while you can. You're killing the Earth. Murderer. Imagine the selfishness of us all, burning wood and contributing to global warming that way. Oh yeah, we better do something about those nasty wildfires raging all over the country. That's burning wood also! And we'd better punish those who set those fires. Maybe the death penalty? 

Oh yeah, that's right, you libs don't believe in the death penalty. Maybe we could shoot the perpetrators of these heinous crimes into space. No, wait, that would harm space. Those bad guys might just look at a nebula or something. Well, maybe we could just make them listen to Oprah for 48 hours. Oh, the humanity of it all!

From sfgate.com: "Under the auspices of the Bay Area Air Quality Management District, "public hearings" are being held to determine the fate of the family hearth.

The scientific method follows a rigid methodology. Ask a question. Do background research. Construct a hypothesis. Test the hypothesis. And then, communicate the results.

So what is the question? Are the fires in our homes bad because they add to global warming? Release carbon dioxide into the air? Pollute the atmosphere with soot and particulate matter? All of the above?

Where is the research? The Chronicle reported that "government studies" indicate that 33 percent of all "particulate matter" comes from your fireplace and mine. With all the industry and all the cars in the Bay Area, does anyone actually believe that?

Shouldn't we be given more quantitative information such has, "How many fireplaces are there in the nine counties? How many are used each night? How many hours is each fireplace used? How much "particulate matter" is expelled from each fire? How many parts per million are in the air? How much dissipates into the atmosphere?"

Is this decision truly about air quality or global warming?

Interestingly, one loses on the issues of global warming because the odd paradox is, the more there is cloud cover or "smoke" in the air, the cooler the Earth will be. It is well documented how the Earth's temperature cooled after the explosion of the volcano Krakatoa. From that standpoint, one ought to encourage fires which produce the maximum amount of smoke."

One last little gem, perhaps the best one of all lately: Had Toni Vernelli gone ahead with her pregnancy ten years ago, she would know at first hand what it is like to cradle her own baby, to have a pair of innocent eyes gazing up at her with unconditional love, to feel a little hand slipping into hers - and a voice calling her Mummy. But the very thought makes her shudder with horror.

Because when Toni terminated her pregnancy, she did so in the firm belief she was helping to save the planet. Incredibly, so determined was she that the terrible "mistake" of pregnancy should never happen again, that she begged the doctor who performed the abortion to sterilize her at the same time.

He refused, but Toni - who works for an environmental charity - "relentlessly hunted down a doctor who would perform the irreversible surgery. Finally, eight years ago, Toni got her way. At the age of 27 this young woman at the height of her reproductive years was sterilized to "protect the planet".

Incredibly, instead of mourning the loss of a family that never was, her boyfriend (now husband) presented her with a congratulations card. While some might think it strange to celebrate the reversal of nature and denial of motherhood, Toni relishes her decision with an almost religious zeal.

"Having children is selfish. It's all about maintaining your genetic line at the expense of the planet," says Toni, 35. "Every person who is born uses more food, more water, more land, more fossil fuels, more trees and produces more rubbish, more pollution, more greenhouse gases, and adds to the problem of over-population."

While most parents view their children as the ultimate miracle of nature, Toni seems to see them as a sinister threat to the future.

WHAT!?! Children are a threat to the planet now? How absolutely insane is that? Toni, baby, you are aware that if we "save" the planet by not having kids, we're gonna cease to exist? And to kill a baby to save the Earth based on some theory? You are nuts, girl, extremely loony.

Using THAT logic, we should start killing everyone. That sure would ease our "footprint" on this planet. 

Well, there you have it. Just how crazy are we going to get about this supposed "global warming?" Are we going to start killing each other off, like animals, to save the planet? If we don't start using some common sense, that might be where we end. Not destroying the planet, but destroying each other.

I'm going to add Toni to the cobraBlog "Really? Stupid" gallery below. And after that, I'm going to clean my automatic rifle in front of my wood burning fireplace while using my telescope to observe Uranus. If you really believe all this junk, Uranus is pretty big, isn't it?

	"Having children is selfish. It's all about maintaining your genetic line at the expense of the planet."
	Really? Better look in the mirror, "Mother" Earth.
	"In Iran we don't have homosexuals like in your country..."
	Really? Better look in the mirror, Papa Immadforjihad.
	"You have to stop. You can ask a question but you can't just blather on your opinion."
	Really? Better look in the mirror, Mom Lezbo.
	"The American people are tired of liars and people who pretend to be something they're not."
	Really? Better look in the mirror, Mom Lefto.
	"The biggest terrorist is George W. Bush."
	Really? Better look in the mirror, Mom Wacko.