LONDON: According to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, the average temperature has increased by 1.5 degrees Fahrenheit over the last 132 years. Global warming and climate change proponents believe that to be a potentially catastrophic transformation clearly caused by human activity. One study shows America is generating about 20 percent of greenhouse gases; China and Russia 8 percent each; India and Brazil 7 percent each, and the United Kingdom and Germany 5 percent each.
OK, 1.5 degrees in almost one and a half centuries, and about one-fifth of that (0.3 degrees) might be our fault. I guess I don’t feel too bad about that. So let’s compare human activity to Mother Earth’s self-imposed activities.
How about volcanoes? Average global temperatures dropped about 1 degree for about two years after the eruption of Mount Pinatubo in 1991. Mother Earth didn’t wait 132 years; she just hit the chill button.
How about daily variations? The average daily change in Knoxville is 20 degrees in the summer and 11 degrees in the winter. Seasonal variations? The average high in the summer is 88 degrees. The average low in the winter is 27 degrees. That’s a whopping 61 degrees in only six months. Mother Earth is kicking our American industries.
So let’s be realistic. We are affecting global temperatures — a little bit. And if we really want to reduce our human footprint on the Earth, it makes sense that we not only need a smaller human impact per person, we also need a smaller human population.
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