Global Warming: Somebody tell Rush to pipe down

So the local radio station has been running a promo for Rush Limbaugh. It’s a little snippet of monologue from his show. They change these from time to time. Currently, it’s a screed on global warming. In essence, Rush expresses doubt that we little humans could possibly destroy something as big as the Earth with human-induced global warming. (Here’s a similar discussion from transcripts of Rush’s show.)

Well, he is right.

It is very unlikely that we could destroy the earth precisely because it is, indeed, so big. Even destroying all life is unlikely given the tenacious hold life has had in every conceivable nook and cranny of the earth. We have lichens on subzero mountaintops…bacteria in boiling springs…little ecosystems gathered around ocean-floor vents. And all hanging around through thick and thin for billions of years.

So, yes, predictions of the Destruction of the Earth^TM via global warming are overblown.

But this is a straw man. Climate scientists say no such thing. Rather, the concern is that global emissions may cause rapid, widespread, uncertain changes that will be difficult for the present set of plants, animals and people to adapt to in a timely fashion. Widespread damage to present ecosystems and economies will make life very uncertain for quite some time.

Oh, we’ll eventually come around. Humans will adapt (we live in nearly every habitat ourselves already, from the poles to the desert.) The plants and animals will, too (though the species may change.)

The problem is that it is very difficult to predict exactly what will happen. The kicker is that we would not have to bother wondering what would happen if we just did something about it now.

So no, global warming will not kill the earth. Nor all life on earth. And probably not all human life on the earth. But it might make it uncomfortable for a long time. Why go through that if we don’t have to?

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<a href="http://correctedwisdom.com/2007/12/14/global-warming-somebody-tell-rush-to-pipe-down/">Global Warming: Somebody tell Rush to pipe down</a>