There is indeed hype and bullshit on both sides of the environmental debate. Am I like the doubting atheist who goes to church because the Bible might be right when it comes to environmental alarmism? Do I side with the environmentalists because the alternative is unthinkable? At worst undesirable.

Humans do have a large impact on the Earth’s environment. There is no debate on this issue. The evidence is all around us. Before either side gets in a tizzy, there is one fact and one question to consider. The fact is there are 6.5 billion people in this world. When I first heard of the world population was back in the 70’s and it was around 3.5 billion. That’s pretty amazing that we’ve added 3 billion people and the not have civilization collapse. The question is: Are our activities causing more harm than good?

What did Palast say about Peak Oil? It’s bullshit. Why? Well, oil will peak, but Hubbert worked for the oil companies and the concept of peak oil is good for the bottom line. Make people think we are running out. This’ll raise the price of oil.

So is global warming a conspiracy to get us to buy compact fluorescent light bulbs. They cost 10x as much and are supposed to last 10x as long. They do use only 1/4 as much electricity. Since most electricity is produced by coal. It will reduce the amount of C02 being pumped into the clear blue sky.

There is no argument promoting Peak Coal. We have enough coal in the ground in the US alone to supply our energy needs for 500 years. Yeah, coal will peak all right, long after we are several generations dead. The most asinine thing I’ve heard is to use some kind of coal reformation to produce hydrogen gas. I’m not sure how much hydrogen is in coal because it’s always been my understanding it’s a lump of fucking CARBON!

Now for the unseen villain of this piece to make it’s appearance. Carbon dioxide. The amount in out atmosphere is going up. Are we to blame? Is it bad? Has the earth been warmer in the past without this much C02? Most likely. We think so. Yes.

The earth is a closed system. Not isolated. An open system exchanges matter and energy. Closed only energy. Isolated none. There is an exchange of matter rockets and meteorites but it’s neglible. The explanations of how carbon dioxide warms the Earth are misleading. Calling it a greenhouse gas is a misnomer. It doesn’t trap heat the way a greenhouse does. Greenhouses inhibit convection. Our atmosphere convects. Anyway regardless of the explanation the earth is warmer now and warming. Without global warming we’d be one huge icecube. So but too much of a good thing is bad.

Maybe I have found a religion. Maybe like Christians who choose to believe in an afterlife with Heaven and Hell. I choose to believe in human caused global warming and that if I we do nothing about it we will all die. That is they might be right. Yes, yes, the sky is falling. The boy has cried wolf one too many times. Chicken little has risen from the grave.

You can make logical and rational arguments for both sides. Reality on the other hand will not be fooled. Humans can be fooled. Science if properly practiced is self-correcting. Feyman recalled a story of a visit to a Buddhist temple and said that knowledge was the key to a door that opened the door to heaven and to hell. How do you choose which is which?