Truth or Fiction from Fox News Around Town, posted by a, a resident of the Adobe-Meadows neighborhood, on May 9, 2008 at 10:40 am
The Myanmar cyclone. The earthquake off the coast of Japan. The Chilean volcano. Has Earth gone bonkers?
Not at all. This level of natural activity is normal for Earth, scientists say.
"Mother Nature is just reminding us that she is in charge," Bill Patzert, a climatologist at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, Calif., told LiveScience.
You know my take on this....I think it's global warming related. At the last the article did admit that the number of recorded natural disasters is increasing, just like how they say the number of recorded autistic children is increasing...but that ofcourse is simply because we know how to diagnose autism better...not because of the rising number of shots kids have to take, or the rising amount of pollution in the environment. Ya, ahum.
Posted by Paul, a resident of the Downtown North neighborhood, on May 9, 2008 at 12:30 pm
The earth IS bonkers, and always has been. Ask any dinosaur. The key is "recorded disasters" - we record all of them now (and elect some, like W - but I digress). Plus, our ever-expanding population puts ever more people in the way of each.
Posted by Danny, a resident of the Crescent Park neighborhood, on May 9, 2008 at 1:25 pm
You nailed it on the head Paul. It's the constantly increasing population that's putting us all in danger. More people = fewer and fewer resources = global repurcusions.
Posted by Gary, a resident of the Downtown North neighborhood, on May 9, 2008 at 1:40 pm
Danny,
That is what Paul Ehrlich said. He was wrong. If you recall, he lost the bet with Julian Simon, who said that humans will innovate, and continue to advance.
The luddites continue to lose the bet. The best way to stablizie the world population is to promote free market development. Prosperous populations have fewer children.
Posted by Danny, a resident of the Crescent Park neighborhood, on May 9, 2008 at 3:24 pm
Gary: I hear you, but the population will have to reach a critical mass at some point. The planet does not grow larger, yet the population grows larger every day, and in all likelihood will continue to do so. A shoulder-to-shoulder population is bound to effect the planet's resources. Check out the documentary "The 11th Hour" for a better explanation of resources vs. population (and especially the effect striking oil had on the population boom).
Posted by Gary, a resident of the Downtown North neighborhood, on May 9, 2008 at 4:12 pm
Danny,
The way to population stablilization, even a reduction in world population, is to put a television in each house in the world. By this, obviously, I mean to make people prosperous, so that they will not feel it necessary to have, on average, more than two kids per family.
The way to make poverty go away is to have free trade and capitalism This approach is working wonders in India and China, as we speak. It can and should spread around the planet. The wrong way to do it is socialism, becasue command economies just end up consolidating power...Burma is just the most recent example, and one must not forget the 100 million people murdered in the 20th century under that banner (the biggest holocaust/hate crime of the century)
There are enough resources on this planet to make all of the population prosperous. We would all be better off, if we thought that way. The alternative, luddite/socilaist thinking, will just lead to more mass murder, and failure.
The immediate issue is energy. Prosperity will only come from maximum production of energy. If the issue is carbon footprint, then nuclear MUST be produced, at a large scale. Same for solar, etc.
Posted by a, a resident of the Adobe-Meadows neighborhood, on May 10, 2008 at 6:42 pm
Interesting how Fox News take the polar opposite view from Al Gore. I believe Al Gore. Fox News is just that, a fox guarding the chickens....something not to be trusted.
Posted by Paul, a resident of the Downtown North neighborhood, on May 12, 2008 at 11:41 am
"The best path to prosperity is the American way."
I agree, and all patriotic Americans hope we get back to the American Way after the next election. We have seen the peace, prosperity, and stability of the NeoCon Way in Bush's Iraq.
Posted by same ol' response to the same ol' ignorance, a resident of the Midtown neighborhood, on May 12, 2008 at 12:07 pm
Uhh. A little reality, again...
How many attacks on Americans during the Clinton years around the world? When did the 9/11 bombers enter America and begin the final phase of their plans? What is the spending power of the lowest 20% today compared to any of the Clinton years? What percent of the Federal budget do the top 25% earners in America pay compared to the Clinton years? What is the increase in real average earnings compared to the best Clinton year? How many more people have the right to vote in the world now compared to the Clinton years, and who do these people thank for that hard earned right? How much more in real dollars do the Feds collect in taxes every year now than they did in any of the Clinton years, even the most prosperous? Which country was in a REAL recession in the last year of Clinton's presidency, not a FEAR of an incoming recession?
Ok, when you get the answers to those questions, come back and tell me how horrible the "neocon way is"..BTW, Bush is not a Neocon. Revealing your ignorance again.
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