abe

So we will all be forced to buy an Obamamobile from Government Motors.
abe

Mike in CA

This is not the forum for this discussion but I'll venture one last post on the subject. After that, flame on. For every expert who attempts to deconstruct climate change there are literally 10 who believe it is real; according to CNN 97% of climatologists canvassed accept that human activity is primarily responsible. According to Wikipedia, the National Science Acadamies of every major industrialized nation say that human activity is contributing adversely to the problem. As stated in the same article, "with the release of the revised statement by the American Association of Petroleum Geologists in 2007, no remaining scientific society is known to reject the basic findings of human influence on recent climate change." As to your MIT expert, clearly, you can always find a certain number of doubters about anything. But the exception does not prove the rule.

The argument that climate change is a scam because there are so many people who will benefit from conversion to a "green" economy is laughable. What people like you forget, to use your phrase, is that the number of individuals and companies who will benefit if climate change is accepted as fact are dwarfed by the commercial and political interests who will continue to be served if it is not. There is far greater financial incentive to prove that human involvement in climate change is a scam and preserve the status quo than there is to prove that it is real and change is required. This debate, like so many, is driven by money and the really big money is on the side of the doubters. The fact that despite this, the overwhelming preponderance of actual science points the other direction, is telling.

Ideology and scoring cheap points may be served by derogatory references to Al Gore but I don't base my understanding on what any one individual has to say. I'm an engineer by training and a pragmatist. I admit to having a bias, but if it doesn't hold up to observable, reproduceable facts and common sense, I'm willing to change my perspective. Evidence trumps ideology. I see too many people who are unwilling to alter their point of view no matter how much evidence is put before them.

One last thing. Let's do a little risk analysis and look at this issue in a different way. Just for the sake of argument, what if you're wrong, climate change is real, and the dire scenarios come to pass? The results for humans could be catastrophic. Coastal and island flooding, violent weather, plant and animal extinctions, disruption of food production, fresh water shortages, drought, economic losses and displacement of populations on a huge scale. No upside that I can think of and a giant downside.

Now, what if I'm wrong, climate change is a crock or at least humans have no part in it, and there are no dire scenarios. There will be economic shifts and hardships in industries like coal and oil production, traditional transportation, etc. but these can be minimized by a reasonable transition and ultimately alternative jobs and technologies will supplement them. On the upside, we'll no longer be funding repressive regimes and terrorist hotbeds for their oil and the massive amounts of capital that now flow out of our country will stay here. We'll also have laid the groundwork for the ultimate long term sustainability of our energy needs and remain competitive in a global economy. Yeah, if I'm wrong, we will have endured uncomfortable change that maybe we didn't need to make, and worst of all for many, I suspect, is that we will have given in to the "environmentalists". But I just don't see that being nearly as much of a problem as we'll have if you've got it wrong.

Now, back to posting about Porsches......

alexb76

Thanks for the link, great info and VERY EYE OPENING!

alexb76

As those follow the money!

oh58driver

I agree my 997.2 is the most fuel efficient auto I own. It's an Eco-Porsche!
I think I'll apply for a tax break.

brendo

dude - yes, last time we got hendrix, but this time we have
al gore's son, showing us that you can still get all coked up and do 110 mph while saving the planet - in a prius!

Karl B

As someone who has published scientific peer reviewed papers in my field, and have participated in research with others, something smells very fishy in climate gate.
I have my original data from papers published 20 years ago, as well as ALL supporting and non supporting data. NOTHING is ever "thrown out".
The point of peer review is to be able to take others data, review it, and come to a conclusion that matches or refutes the original work, but give the reasons for your conclusions. Not just because we say so.

Gj325

I can see it now 2017 Turbo d

4 Cly Hybrid Turbo 185 hp 0-60 18.8

Top speed downwind

Mpg 62 City No highway driving allowed.

But at least we will look good.

King Obama will have all of us Older Porsche owners with a 3,500 guzzler fine. per 100 miles of driving.

We be posting about our great 2 mile drives that we really enjoyed going to eat a Wheat Grass on Pita

Man future is looking Good and sure has been hot here in Memphis this year already has 6 snow days for kids in school. That doesn't make news but the day we hit 102 in July wow Gore will be saying look the Polar Caps Melted again.

Bruce R

Good enough reason to get on board in my book.

uzj100

Uh, aren't you a decade too late? Hednrix died in '70, though his sister is making millions off of him in the 21st century.

I find it interesting that the world population doesn't seem to be factored into these global warming discussions

am722

If the government kills Porsche in the US, I might just have to buy a Lamborghini LM-002 and fit it with straight pipes for my daily commuter.

ADias

Please do not take this personally, but you echo precisely the phrasing of the 'eco crowd', by using the word 'believe', because it's just that. The subject became a dogmatic religion, damn the facts.

Bob Rouleau

Mike - climate change is real. Nobody disputes that, it has been going on for millions of years. It's the man-made part that is at issue since Global Warming and Cooling has been going on forever and long before we burned fossil fuels.

The IPCC (on whose conclusions the EPA decided to decree CO2 a pollutant) has admitted the data was wrong and are investigating. The scientist who led the Climate Change bandwagon has admitted (last week) that the data is wrong and that since 1995 the planet has been cooling.

Before we decided to impose billions of new taxes nobody can afford, it might be wise to have some credible evidence. Sure people believe in climate change - I do too. I also know that it is a naturally occurring phenomenon. What nobody knows is whether human activity has any significant impact on it.

Regards,

Graygoose997

Follow the money.
Ask yourself what industries have the most to gain by lessing of pollution requirements.
Ask yourself who has unlimited budgets to fund sympathetic science and the armies of lobbyists and think tanks.
It takes profits of billions and billions...a quarter.

Oil and the Right .
Follow the money.

Bob Rouleau

Perry, follow the money is right. Nobody is arguing about pollution. I guess you are prepared to pay thousands in new taxes based on a theory which is far from proven. It must be nice to be as rish as you are.