Rosie O'Donnell: Tornadoes caused by global warming

[nebula]

And for the record, I never said it was, I asked about the probability of her being right.

Things are changing, that cannot be denied. For instance. I work in wide open spaces, and have worked in the same area for 30 years. The trees to me, and the shrubs on the side of the road, are as common to me as someone who passes the same starbucks on their way to work every day. I am serious about that. I can see a skyline 5 miles away and know that a tree has fallen over, the environment where I work is so familiar to me.

So I see things.

One thing I have been seeing is the increase of indigenous trees encroaching on our grasslands. I can point out areas where there were no trees, and show someone an individual tree that is starting to grow. It has become so bad that I now have teams trying to preserve grasslands by cutting out indigenous trees.

One factor that is causing this is a rise in CO2. As we are well aware, trees prefer a CO2 rich environment to grow, as do they an alkaline soil.

Something is happening and things will never be the same again....

I agree that things are changing. What I question is what the changes are attributed to. We've only been keeping global records for a few decades, and the first few decades were flimsy as far as data collecting went.

And as much experience as you have had, as far as global time is concerned is only a blip on the radar.

Now I don't know about South Africa, but I know in North America it's been found that our great prairies and sequoia forest and such were preserved as such because the Natives periodically burned the vegetation to keep it that way, most likely for hunting purposes.

The problem with the "global warming" campaign is that they act as if there is a "normal", it negates cycles, etc. Seriously, what is "normal", and what should be "normal"?

(By the way, your description was interesting and enjoyable to read.)

[SavedByGrace1980]

FWIW, there was a meteorologist on Fox News who brought up (in April) the fact that we were in a La Nina cycle (the Pacific ocean goes through cyclic cooling and warming cycles - the La Nina being the colder one). He stated that these cycles seem to coincide with tornadic activity in the US.

Again, this was in April when he said this. At the same time, he predicted that the month of May would bring increased tornadoes and more severe ones.

This is what has happened, so perhaps he was onto something.

As far as "climate change" goes (or is it global warming), there's no question in my mind it's going on. But it always has. What is "normal", anyway?

And the biggie - is mankind's activity causing it

I don't believe it is to any measurable degree. One volcanic eruption can probably effect more climate change in the space of a few weeks than years worth of new lightbulbs or reduced emissions.

Blessings!

-Ed

[winsomebulldog]

Whatever our personal opinions on "global warming" or "climate change" or whatever the title du jour might be, the really sad thing to me is that there are many people out there that will nod their heads in vehement agreement simply because they heard Rosie say this. (Or Oprah, or Al Gore, or any of a hundred other celebrities.) It's pretty pitiful that so many people get their opinions from their favorite famous person instead of forming them through their own research and thinking.

[PeterH]

What has always got me about the whole "Global warming" or "Climate Change" campaigns is they assert that everything is happening because of humanities impact on the environment. It's turned into a de facto religion for most who follow it. Their cry is "if only we change our ways we can save everything". I don't want to step on any toes here but to me that is a very audacious claim. In fact I think it borders on calling ourselves gods. There are so many variables that come into play that our completely out of our realm when talking about weather patterns that I think it's a bit insane to think we can change them.

Edited May 27, 2011 by PeterH

[LeonaS]

Because I try to be a good follower of Jesus I will only say this: Rosie O'Donnell is a comedian/actor. The day we base anything pertaning to anything on her say-so will be a black day in the progress of the human race.

[Guest]

Rosie O'Donnell: Tornadoes caused by global warming

Living in an era when pop culture celebrities can assert "expert" opinions on any subject, why wait for science to catch up with pesky facts?

Link

Perhaps it's all those u-turns (s)he and her mate are making that are the cause.

[MorningGlory]

The news reports have stated this tornado was the worst seen since 1957 (or there abouts). My boss lived in Chicago in the 50's, and she was telling me about how bad the tornado threats were.

So, was it global warming back then?

neb, if my memory serves me correctly, I believe that the going predictions were global cooling and a mini ice age. i'm not sure exactly when that started, but it was about that time frame.

That was the prevailing scientific opinion when I was a kid, O.O. I'm not sure where this 'warming' thing came from but earth's weather is cyclical and has always been. Even before man appeared.

[Guest]

FWIW, there was a meteorologist on Fox News who brought up (in April) the fact that we were in a La Nina cycle (the Pacific ocean goes through cyclic cooling and warming cycles - the La Nina being the colder one). He stated that these cycles seem to coincide with tornadic activity in the US.

Again, this was in April when he said this. At the same time, he predicted that the month of May would bring increased tornadoes and more severe ones.

This is what has happened, so perhaps he was onto something.

As far as "climate change" goes (or is it global warming), there's no question in my mind it's going on. But it always has. What is "normal", anyway?

And the biggie - is mankind's activity causing it

I don't believe it is to any measurable degree. One volcanic eruption can probably effect more climate change in the space of a few weeks than years worth of new lightbulbs or reduced emissions.

Blessings!

-Ed

Actually I thought it was the cows and all the methane they produce which put more greenhouse gases into the air. But I suppose it would be silly to blame cows.