" I've been following the issue of climate change for the past 12 years. People argue abour 3 feet vs. 20 feet of tidal rises. People argue over hoax vs. science. People argue about liberal vs. conservative. And each year it gets warmer, more ice melts, hurricanes increase, penguin and polar bear populations decline, massive floods and mudslides occur... and then people ask for the govenrment to "save them." The TRUTH is that our government and the governments of other countries cannot save us. We must save ourselves. If you cannot take the time to change the light bulbs in your home, drive a more economical car, reduce your heater or air conditioner, or make any other change in your life to conserve energy and burn less fossil fuels.... well, our children may see the year 2100 - or you they not. "

" Absolutely it is overblown. Socialists have joined forces with the extremist environmentalist movement to promote the idea of man made global warming in order to move forward their fascist political agenda. This is just the latest in a long line of ploys to scare people into giving up their individual rights. (eg, overpopulation, mass starvation, global cooling, etc..) "

" Yes. "

" Regardless of any truth in global warming, isn't the advice of "not fouling one's own nest" generally sound? Reducing emissions of toxic substances into our air, water, and soil absolutely can't be a bad thing. The same goes for reducing dependence on fossil fuels. We -can- produce energy that's cleaner and (even more importantly to many) more efficient now - so why don't we? Sorry, oil companies, if your business model is becoming outdated - maybe it's time you considered changing your product and getting with the 21st century. The companies that take the leap now are going to be the ones who survive and make money in the future; not the old dinosaurs still trying to wring the last few dollars out of petroleum. Let it go, and move forward. It's time. If you can't evolve your business to meet the demands of your consumers, it's time to change what you do, not force your product on people no matter what the cost. "

" After thousands of years of up and down changes in the condition of the Earth that range from glaciers to the garden spot we still call Greenland, it is dubious to believe an x-vice President. Mr. Gore is not a scientist nor a seer. He is an opportunist and full with himself. His lickspittles are as the inquisitors during the inquisitions. What was the weather like back then? "

" Yes. Because there is no scientific evidence that human contributions--if any--to global warming are significant. There is no evidence that humans can do anything to change or affect natural global warming. I don't trust the hype. Most people who talk about global warming have no understanding of it. "

" Well meaning people who blast the oil companies and advocate switching to "new alternative fuels" are simply naive' and uninformed. What would you propose to fuel your car? Air condition and heat your home? Provide the energy to fuel our employers and manufacturers. There is no new energy source being secreted by evil corporations. Yes, man-made climate change is a drop in the bucket compared to natural causes. Another ice age is coming and the polar bears will be just fine. "

" Jen, there's no scientific evidence that you are right, either. There was no scientific evidence when DDT came out that it was toxic. There was no scientific evidence when Agent Orange came out that it would be toxic. There was no scientific evidence when the red m&ms came out that they were carcinogenic. There wasn't even any scientific evidence that tobacco, which has been smoked by man for centuries, caused cancer until the 20th century! There's never any scientific evidence when new threats arise simply because they are new. Scientific evidence is evidence learned from the "scientific method." One part of the "scientific method" is an experiment. So, we won't have any scientific evidence on global warming until we have experimented with our planet. EXPERIMENTED WITH OUR PLANET. Do you really want to do that? Why take a chance? And by the way, no scientist in his right mind would tell you that more CO2 in the atmosphere would directly cool the planet. CO2 has a higher "cross section" for infrared absorption. In other words, the more CO2 in the air, the more heat is absorbed by the Earth, and the less heat is reflected into space. It's like the difference between wearing a white shirt or a black shirt on a hot day. Earth's "shirt" gets darker as CO2 levels increase. After that, it gets complicated (i.e., a hotter Earth might have more clouds, which are white and reflect more heat into space). The point is that we don't know what will happen. Earth has been just fine without man for 5 billion years! Why intentionally change something like atmostpheric CO2 levels when the results are potentially catastrophic? "

" What would I propose to fuel cars and power air conditioning? How about, for a start: hydrogen, biodiesel from organic waste or leftover cooking oils, and solar and wind-based electric, for a running start? We've got plenty of trash rotting and fast-food oil being tossed away, and sunlight and air are still free; at least for now. There's not some rule of nature that says "motive force can only come from fossil fuel burning". In fuel-burning electricity plants, the burning fuel is just heating water to turn a turbine. Even nuclear plants work that way, using the heat from nuclear reactions instead of coal. We can replace those heat sources with any of the above alternative sources incredibly easily, and -cheaper- too, with the added benefit of not poisoning us and our environment! Why is there such resistance to this? What is it about oil that's so captivating, that brings the "oil or nothing!" response to the fore? "

" Oooooh, "Kevin", now we have to be afraid of the "fascist agenda" of scientists! Puhleeese, "Kevin", give up the cheap stuff, your brain is rotting. "Fascism" is a creation of the Italian right, not the left. Just like "Nazism" was a creation of the German right, not the left. You can never square dance if you can't keep your left and right straight! According to Stephen Colbert, "It is well known that reality has a liberal bias." Since scientists go to school and study reality, they have to be "lefty liberals" not "fascists". Now that I have helped you with your understanding of politics, I have a question. When you see those satellite photos showing the icecaps receeding, or read about island nations sinking beneath the sea, what is causing that? --Lefty!!! "

" "Napa Coot", you are very misinformed about the status of alternative energy sources, and that is very suprising since Napans live very close to Silicon Valley which is a wellspring of innovation. My Prius car is not an alternative fuels car, but it gets 50% better fuel economy than a similar size car. California houses are putting solar panels on their roofs and switching to energy efficient lighting, heating and cooling. I have personally worked on windmills in the Altamont pass area. They generate electricity cheaper than any other method now and the USA is the "Saudi Arabia" of wind. When things cost less and pollute less, sensible people call that a rise in their standard of living. Technology causes that you know, and I hope you share in that with the rest of us. --Lefty!!! "

" Dear "Who Needs Science" thanks for pointing to a perfect example of why we need science. Please do some reading about the disastrous effects of DDT bans in the world. All done by do-gooders without sufficient knowledge. The Global Warming hysteria is getting tiresome. By the way, red M&Ms were not toxic. But thanks again for making a very nice point for the rest of us. "

" Once again, Lefty displays his limousine liberal ignorance. His Prius may get better gas mileage, but when you add up the total energy cost per mile over the lifetime of the vehicle (including design, manufacturing, and recycling costs), the Prius actually ends up worse for the environment than a Hummer H2! Don't believe it? Can't post links due to Register policies, but there were two separate studies released over the last year that discussed this, one in Canada and the other in the UK. The laws of physics still apply...you can't get something for nothing, no matter how much the liberals whine. "

" Patroit, It makes Lefty, and those of his ilk "feel" better and more self important to drive thier Prius'. And isn't that what his stance in most issues is all about? It has nothing to do with knowledge or insight. It has everything to do with group think. "

" I am surprised that a good Liberal like Lefty is against hawks and eagles and would install those killer wind machines. According to the Calif Energy Commission, over 33,000 birds are killed in the US each year by these abominations. The Golden Eagle population around Altamont is declining due to the deaths caused by wind machines. "

" But, Patriot. You just cannot put too high a price on self-righteousness. It. Feels. Awesome. "

" That report has more holes than a particularly holey thing with extra holes in it, with an order of holes on the side. Read the report (I did), and look at some of the outrageous numbers they claim, and with no sources to back them up. Not to mention the fact that it was done by a marketing company, which anybody can pay, with no peer review whatsoever. Why the attacks on people who just want to make a better, cleaner world, why the constant naysaying? If you don't like wind power, how about solar, hydro, geothermal, and biodiesel? No? How about trying to come up with another alternative, then? Or explain why it's not worth it? "Magic oil from the ground doesn't ever hurt the environment, and will last forever" is not a valid answer. "

" Alternative energy is fine. I favor nuclear energy. However, I don't need a fake argument to convince me that non-petro energy sources are better. 9/11 did that for me. Now. What do we do about India's and China's use of coal and petroleum as energy sources? Or, are they still off-limits as they are in the Kyoto Protocol? "

" Undeniably there is a strong statistical correlation between atmospheric CO2 concentrations and temperature, but correlation does not prove cause and effect. We know that recent human activities have released enormous amounts of CO2 into the atmosphere and we know the Earth is warming up (it's hard to deny that glaciers are melting), thus it is easy to infer a link. However, we also know the Medieval Warming Period and Little Ice Age were well documented natural climatic oscillations unrelated to human activities. Given the uncertainty of the cause(s) of current global warming, I find it amusing how so many people are smugly certain that humans either are or are not the cause. We simply cannot be 100% certain. But if we truly care about our environment more than our own self-centered desires (as opposed to our needs, which we often confuse), I believe it is prudent to minimize our carbon footprint NOW as a precaution. "

" Anyone who thinks that switching some light bulbs and buying a Prius is gonna save the world cracks me up. I mean, come on. If you are really serious, turn your lights off permanently, and stop driving, and grow your own food. Then you can thump your chest about how good you treat the earth. BTW, at least stop mowing your yard. Your mowing equipment creates greenhouse gases, you limit the amount of grass you have in your yard that could be absorbing CO2, and the mulch produces CO2 as it decomposes. Maybe congress should propose lawn mowing bans. "

" Erick hits the nail on the head. Too many Liberals (like Al Gore) fly around in their private jets and want to tell the rest of us that we need to stop driving our cars. "

" I am loving this debate. Sure, recycled cooking oil, rotting trash and biodiesel can probably fuel all of the golf carts at Silverado for a day but are a drop in the ocean compared to the energy requirements of California. B. Watch, you are one of the naive' greenies who have no concept of the the energy to power the American economy. How about grass clippings and windmills at Nantucket. Producing silicon metal and liquid metal superconductors don't run on cooking oil. "

" Yes, alternative fuels can be used to fuel anything. Yes, that includes power for the factories making equipment such as solar cells. Even better, research on solar power continues and new improvements are being made; including cheaper, greener production techniques and higher efficiencies. Fossil fuels aren't the singular magical substance that can be used for power! Even if we don't replace all oil use with alternafuels, but just a percentage - imagine solar cells on the roofs of homes and businesses nationwide - the overall impact will still to be significantly reduce use of coal and oil and thus emissions from their usage. You breathe lately in LA or even SF? Most folks try not to. Emissions make a difference. Solar cells can even be put on coal power plants themselves, to reduce the amount of coal they need to burn. How about an electric lawnmower powered by a solar recharging station? As solar tech becomes more prevalent, you'll see them on the market, I guarantee. Is there something about plentiful, cheap power that you folks don't get, and can't stand the thought of? I don't understand the fight at all. Are all of your retirement plans invested in the oil companies and coal mines or something? Instead of saying why we shouldn't switch or providing another option, so far you've just started picking on folks and calling them hypocrites. Everything starts somewhere; small actions by everyone start building up over time. And you'll love this: when people start doing something like demanding greener products, the FREE MARKET kicks in and folks start producing earth-friendly goods for the emerging market; and as more folks are drawn to greener goods, the goods get cheaper and more plentiful as competition occurs. Isn't that the Republican dream: the market and free enterprise doing its job? Stop interfering! A lot of people want alternafuel - so sell to them! Is it the cost you worry about? Fine, don't buy in, nobody's forcing you to - I'm certainly not that kind of democrat (I'm a civil libertarian, actually, anti-GOP and DNC both). Just don't stop me from buying in, or anyone else who wants to. Sorry about your financial troubles, but that doesn't give you the right to say nobody else can spend their money on something sensible, or even on a hope for the future. "

" How this became a left/right issue is a complete mystery to me. It seems to me that a lot of people who dedicate their time studying this are rather concerned. That concerns me, regardless of my politics. Most of them seem to advocate energy conservation as the most effective way to combat global warming. Seems pretty practical to me. If I use lightbulb that lasts longer and uses less energy, I save myself money, and help the enviroment. Win-win. What's the fuss? "

" If B watch means what he says about the free market being left alone, then we are not that far apart. But I don't see that being the case. Algore and his crones want huge taxes placed on petroleum products (ie carbon taxes). Add to this the ridiculus subsidies the Republicans have placed on ethanol production, solar and wind power and you have nothing resembling "free market". Oil prices will eventually increase to a point where alternates are economically viable. We just haven't reached that point quite yet and I dislike the fact that my tax dollars are being used to promote industries that may or may not be viable in the "real" world. "

" Chris, as long as I am the one making the decision to buy that light bulb you are correct, there is no problem. The problem starts when some "dim bulb" politician makes that decision for me and passes a law (like the California legislature is working on right now) MANDATING that I have to buy that light bulb. If I want to spend the extra money to use an incandesent light that doesn't give me a headache, doesn't interfere with my radio reception and doesn't contain hazardous mercury, that should be my choice. "

" And I dislike the fact that my children are being indoctrinated at school about global warming hype, just like I was about global cooling, overpopulation, and nuclear winter. I really see this discussion as another way to attack the Republicans, so that smarmy liberals can sit around wailing about something that, if only George BUSH wasn't so GREEDY we'd all be safe. I'm not buying it. I do like to see research into petro fuel alternatives, but I think we all need to be skeptical, too, lest we buy into another good-for-the-environment-MTBE disaster. These fluorescent light bulbs, for example, have mercury in them. How many will end up in the land fill, or thrown out into someone's back yard dump? Does everyone understand they aren't supposed to go in the trash? Does everyone care? I don't trust the international politics surrouding this issue, either. I do see an anti-US power/resource grab coming, one that is largely unenforceable, by the way, but I don't like it. We need to be very careful about being mislead on this issue. "

" Kevin, I defend your right to buy an incandescent light bulb. I think that eventually technology will make the incandescent bulb obsolete, but if the florescent ones give you a headache, why buy them. Government shouldn't be making rules that say you have to buy one. In the same vein, I don't think that government should be making their energy policy behind closed doors with people who's interest is making money with as few regulations as possible, as did the current occupant of the White House did. I don't want Exxon-Mobil deciding energy policy for me. And I don't want the government telling their scientist what they can report and how they can report it. Make it all transparent and let the people decide. "

" Maybe the Napa Register should try actually reporting the news, instead of using student newspaper tactics to fill pages. Why actually go out and get facts, when you can let uninformed people hurl insults at one another, fueling already sore tempers of frustrated Americans? "

" More "Parrot" poop. Thanks, "Parrot", but I'll take my Prius limosine over your H2 any day of the week and twice on Sunday. I did a lot of research before buying it and I am a VERY HAPPY customer. And like the original 'horseless carrage' would NEVER work, they kept improving it until... well they came up with the Prius!!! The new lithium-ion batteries coming onstream soon are more recyclable and will take the car further. We call that continuing innovation and improvement over in 'progessive land'. I looked at your studies and frankly they don't pass the laugh test. So, PLEASE, you keep telling yourself that a high-efficiency car is a bad deal, OK? The law of supply and demand says that you will help keep the price of my next limosine down! My wife and I have an SUV and we can't wait to dump it although it has dropped in value since gas prices have gone up. I have to arm wrestle her to drive our cute little Prius and she grumbles when I take it for the day! So PLEASE! Don't buy one! You need to keep sending your money over to Saudi Arabia to fund more terrorists! --Lefty!!! "

" Hey B. Watch, It is obvious that you have no science background. If you covered the entire state of California with solar cells, you might produce enough energy to light all of the homes in CA. You could not power the industrial might of California' s employers in Sacramento. It is all about the energy content of the sun's rays (averaging about 12 hours/day) vs. the energy content of hydrocarbons upon combustion. The only potential substitute is the nuclear fission of uranium. SF and Napa have the cleanest air in America. God bless the Pacific Ocean and the jet stream. "

" Please avoid ad hominem attacks in the form of assumptions about the character and education of fellow commentors. Thanks. I have nothing further to say about the issue beyond advising to please re-read my commentary again, particularly regarding the use of alternative energy as a supplemental power supply rather than a total replacement. I'd also like to suggest that letting the gulf stream carry Bay Area pollution to "other places" isn't the most sustainable nor cleanest of choices. "

" It's been consistently understated, because of Bush appointees' black pens. So no. Even the IPCC report last week was toned down under pressure from China and the US. "

" The Bay Area has negligible air pollution, other than from the cars we drive. The real scientists are beginning to be heard on man-made global warming. Listen to the real-science climatologists like Dr. Richard Lindzen, the Alfred P. Sloan Professor of Meteorology at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. He has written currently in Newsweek about constant climate change. Global temperatures are always increasing or decreasing and will continue for infinity. BTW, North Carolina had the coldest day April history this week. Short term temperature changes are meaningless. "

" Oil is a limited resource that we are using up at an astonishing rate. When it's gone it's gone. America is currently fighting a war killing thousands of of people, in a poorly executed attempt to secure a supply. WhaY? Because you have a god given right to the oil under their feet. Because only a liberal fascist would want to mandate that your car should get 60 mpg. That your freedom to burn the earth resources in your Hummer/Pick-up is greater than your grand kids right to have a share of the oil. Whether it causes global warming is really besides the point. When our society is looked at in the not too distant future what will they see. Over weight, spoiled people incapable of showing restraint on their vast consumption habits. They chocked on their own smog and ate themselves into poor health using up vast amounts of the earths resources in the process. They showed little or no concern people in other societies or even the future generations of their own.(And on Iraq: No links to terror, no WMDs, and lots of countries clearly stating this before the war started, so no poor intelligence. Why did the democrats go along with the lie? Cause they wanted the oil too. And in case you missed it Osama bin Laden is probably in the Islamic Republic of Pakistan but they don't have any oil so why would we send the troops there?) "

" Has anyone noticed the record breaking cold weather that much of the country is experiencing? All the global warming promoters have been very quiet. But just wait until the first hot day of summer and they will be all over the news saying how global warming has been "proven" responsible. "

" No it is not overblown by 'fascist liberals' or anyone else. So many factors are bringing climate change, both natural and man-made. The planet's weather is driven by ocean currents which act like a giant conveyor belt, circulating at different depths in the ocean. The ocean temps control weather patterns. The unusally cold weather patterns of 'global warming' are all part of the alteration of the path of these currents arising from the actual warming of the planet. It is not hard to imagine effects of pollution over the planet when you look at the clouds of it over even our smallest cities. All efforts not to pollute have to be in the interests of all life on earth. Climatic change is indeed a natural cycle of the planet, but we should be startled into action as evidence from the past show dramatic changes can occur startlingly quickly and not just from cataclysmic events. Why create one? "

" Human caused what? "

" We know for a fact from the Mars Global Surveyor and Viking missions that the planet Mars has warmed by 0.75 C (1.33 F) over the past thirty years. This is almost three times the rate of the warming of the Earth. This would point to our Sun as the prime cause of climate change. Sure the planet is warming, I just wish there was a way to grant absolution to those that are stupid enough to feel guilty about it without destroying the economy for those of us that are still sane "

" Suze, I actually agree with some of your comments regarding the effect of oceans on our climate. The oceans and clouds, which are water vapor, are a natural air conditioner for the planet. The warmer the atmosphere becomes from either the sun or man, the more the water evaporation from the oceans, cooling the ocean and the atmosphere, as a result of the high latent heat of vaporization of water. Plus the cloud cover reflects sunlight away from the earth, a natural cycle of heating and cooling. Also remember that the earth's core is VERY hot, much more significant than anything caused by man on the surface. Science proves that heating and cooling are natural phenomena and largely self-regulating. "

" To Suze, "The ocean temps control weather patterns." This is misleading. The oceans do not control, but contribute to weather patterns. The sun and cloud cover have as much, or more to do with weather as the oceans. It is my understanding that thermal expansion of the oceans will affect weather over a time frame of thousands of years, but probably not dramatically in the short term. Thermal expansion is a slow process. Do you think that one loose bolt on your cars tire will cause the engine to blow up? It is just as likely that CO2 emmisions are the only cause of our current temp. rise. "

" i feel very strongly that global warming is a serious issue and should be dealt with seriously. many people are ignoring the fact that the ice caps have melted immensely and it is only a short matter of time before they are melted completely, causing sea level to rise and severe climate change. something must be done to stop it and i fear that we have left it too late! stop burning fossil fuels now! use nuclear power plants instead. Although these plants do come with disadvantages, at least they do not give off dangerous gases which contribute to global warming! we need to deal with the problem we have caused before it is too late! thankyou for reading "

" OK. The scientific fact is that CO2 is only a minor part of greenhouse gases (the major portion of which is water vapor). Science also indicates our human activity may be responsible for somewhere between .2% to .3% of the atmospheric CO2. Therefore, I have installed solar powered walkway lights near my driveway and have done more that my share of carbon offsetting. In fact I have determined that by this action alone I have achieved sufficient carbon offesets for several Napa Valley households. Does anyone want to buy some of my excess carbon offsets? "

" Being one of those silly seniors at Vintage who spent the year studying the global warming hoax I have to say it's a great filler for the Napa News. Temperatures have been rising and lowering since the creation of earth and it's silly to think that they'd simply stop when we become a presence. We're overdue for an ice-age. I'd write more, but I'm too busy tying together multiple Hummers to drive at once, burning styrofoam, spraying hair spray into the sky and cutting down every tree, bush and shard of grass in a five mile radius. "

" And yet... the icecaps are melting, the glaciers are almost gone in Glacier National Park, and extremes of weather including heat and cold waves, drought and flooding are getting more common. I suspect that as soon as the fossil fuel dealers quit funding 'the dispute' and the White House stops gagging scientists and NASA, we might find out how fast it is getting worse. Until then, the nay-sayers have their disconnected half-truths to tell us how it is just NOT happening. Please, folks, dont' believe your lying eyes! Getting your energy from cheaper, safer sources that don't fund terrorists is, just, just, just soooooooo traitorous! Getting PG&E to PAY YOU for electricity is JUST wrong, wrong, ever so WRONG! Being willing to buy a 100 MPG car is a loonyleft fascistic conspiracy by liberals with gerbils in their basements! Slavery to coal and petroleum is the ONLY WAY to preserve civilization and industry! Join the Army now, they need folks in Iraq to protect our oil from their terrorists! --Lefty!!! "

" You are correct that the effects of global warming (if it continues) will be serious and the mitigations will require significant changes: more dams to store rainwater instead of snowmelt, nuclear power plants because the hydroelectric plants will no longer be reliable, changes in agriculture, re-location of populations due to rising sea levels, increased use of pesticides to control maleria and insects. Fortunately, these effects are many years away giving us plenty of time to mitigate the problems. And they are getting further away every time the scientists "revise" their "computer model". Originally Algore promised 20 FOOT rises in sea levels, now that has been changed to 20 INCHES in a hundred years. The problem Algore has, is not that there is no evidence of global warming, it is with his effort to find a "feedback" mechanism that will cause the process to accellerate dramatically. And so far there is no evidence whatsoever to indicate that such a feedback mechanism even exists. Without this feedback, the effects will manifest themselves slowly over time, allowing for mitigation measures to be implemented as needed. And who knows, historically the scientists have went from predictions of global cooling to global warming FIVE TIMES in the last century, if we wait awhile, they will probably change their minds yet again... "

" Calm down. As I read your blogging, I picture you foaming at the mouth and your red eyes popping from your face. Your hatred and obsession with George Bush is bad for your health and has numbed any logic. I have read your writings on various subjects and have to say you are consistent. Lefty, the very best of your generation are serving their country in the United States military. Intelligent, with bright eyes and determined faces,not all are in favor of an ugly war, but they acknowledge they have a job to do. They are loyal to their country and their commander-in-chief and recognize that there is a dangerous enemy in the world. DO NOT denigrate our military men and women. Perhaps you should listen to some of those patriots who have their boots on the ground and thank them for protecting our sweet asses. "

" The hysterical rants and predictions of Al Gore and various actors are based on unverifiable models. When pressed to demonstrate that their models are correct, we're told "trust us". Anyone who doubts them is labeled an Oil Company Stooge. The climate has always changed. Trying to model such a complex and chaotic system is doomed to fail. Economists tried to model the world economy (a similarly complex system), failed, and gave up. Stock price models have failed as well. One wonders why the alarmists have such faith in unproven models. There have been numerous persuasive articles that make the global warming alarmists look way off-base. Unfortunately, herd hysteria, the behavior of crowds, politically motivated red flag wavers, etc. will not be moved by intelligent analysis. The politicians and the sheep among us have already made up their minds. Too bad. If it wasn't so sad, the actions of the alarmists and the gullible would be amusing. To all those that believe GW is human-caused, please do us all a favor and read the article titled “No Such Thing As a ‘Perfect’ Temperature” by Richard S. Lindzen, Professor of Meteorology at MIT. And no Lefty, he is not funded by Big Bad Oil. "

" Arctic sea-ice has increased 100,000 square miles when measured in March 2007 compared with March 2006 (a record low). While still almost a record low, has the melting slowed? Am I missing something here? (Taken from a U of Cclorado-Boulder release April 5, partly quoted below: "The Arctic sea-ice extent, which is the area of ocean covered by at least 15 percent ice, was 5.7 million square miles in March 2007, slightly higher than the record low of 5.6 million square miles measured in March 2006. The declining sea ice has been blamed on higher winter temperatures in the Arctic, a result of rising greenhouse gases in the atmosphere and strong natural variability in the ice, said researcher Walt Meier of CU-Boulder's National Snow and Ice Data Center." - April 5, 2007 "

" Hmmmm, "thundertrain", re-read your quotation and THINK about the implications. You are kind of THIN ICE here, don't you think? Sea ice at record lows in 2006 and near record lows in 2007? That is NOT GOOD NEWS, "thundertrain"! We are talking about non-linear systems here, you have to look trends which are BAD for human civilization. With your advanced powers of environmental judgment, may I suggest you look around for some nice parcel of land in the flood-plain and pay an above market price for it! "

" "To Anon", you want us to trust your revised estimate of the rise in the ocean level when can't you even spell "Al Gore"? There are estimates by the well-respected scientist that discovered the ozone hole in time to fix it, that the ocean level could rise 80 FEET making Al Gore an optimist! What really entertainss me about the folks who resist improving their living standards to keep on spending more and more hard-earned money subsidizing the "dinosaurs as fuel" industry. Example, "Kevin", doesn't like CFL bulbs, but what about energy-efficient halogen or super-efficient LED lights? My wife and I really enjoy putting energy-efficient lighting in our home and watching our bills go down! Less money on our power bill means more dinners out! But then some people would gripe about getting a mink-covered commode seat, eh? --Lefty!!! "

" ..Not politicians, Journalists or It's not difficult to pick a team on any side of any debate and quote some selected science to back it up. The closest we can get to the actual truth is to look at the IPCC studies- not the UN political summaries, not the media presentations, but the writings of the scientists involved- even though they were selected in order to verify global warming- they are very honest about and frustrated by science's lack of understanding of the various forcings and the inability to verify complex computer models due to the climate systems' inherent variability. Unfortunately, the Summaries and Media blurb are always released months in advance of the scientific studies themselves. "

" What I’ve learned from this blog: 1) the climate is changing; 2) Humans may have some responsibility for these changes, but some of these changes maybe the natural ying and yang of nature; 3) what we do, does impact our environment; 4) each of us through our own efforts can diminish our reliance on foreign energy; 5) There are other sources of energy beside hydrocarbons we can utilize without negatively impacting our lifestyle or the environment. "