Maritime permafrost warming, turning frozen methane into greenhouse gas

[August]

Sky you really have a thing for doomsday scenarios don't you? They're all i ever see you post anymore....

[Graf Paper]

I honestly think that scientists should be required by law to also have a real job in order to prevent them from engaging in idle speculations such as this matter presented to us here.

The fact is this is indeed all mere speculation because there is no accurate way to measure or predict the effects that are claimed will occur. Since no living human has ever witnessed, let alone quantified, such a catastrophe it would be sheer arrogance to affirm that doom and destruction awaits in such precise terms.

It's probably a sure bet that such marine eruptions of methane have happened before and the Earth is still here, teeming with life. Whether or not Man would survive any such catastrophe is ultimately immaterial in the grand scheme of life. Dinosaurs were far more successful than we are, evolutionarily speaking, but even their reign came to an end. If our number is up, then it just is.

There are literally thousands of methane upwellings from marine permafrost all over the world. One that comes to mind is a fairly large one near Catalina Island, just off the California coast, that has been steadily emitting methane since before records were kept.

This is simply bored scientists rattling the alarm bells in the hopes of getting funding to fatten their wallets and research budgets. Global warming has been a bonanza for climatologists, who used to struggle for funding because they were seen as just overpaid weathermen, the type that give your local forecast on the evening news.

I believe it behooves us as a moral obligation to preserve our Earth, in as much as it is possible, without causing undue human suffering. Environmentalism has almost become a dirty word because of the scare-mongering and profiteering that has corrupted what used to be a worthy philosophy of living in balance with nature.

Keep it coming, Skybird! It's good that you care enough about our Earth to warn us that we must be mindful of how we live. I may not agree with the "junk science" but I do agree with reducing the careless waste of our industrialized consumer frenzy, which has plagued our world and our hearts.

[Skybird]

Originally Posted by Graf Paper

I honestly think that scientists should be required by law to also have a real job in order to prevent them from engaging in idle speculations such as this matter presented to us here.

The fact is this is indeed all mere speculation because there is no accurate way to measure or predict the effects that are claimed will occur. Since no living human has ever witnessed, let alone quantified, such a catastrophe it would be sheer arrogance to affirm that doom and destruction awaits in such precise terms.

It's probably a sure bet that such marine eruptions of methane have happened before and the Earth is still here, teeming with life. Whether or not Man would survive any such catastrophe is ultimately immaterial in the grand scheme of life. Dinosaurs were far more successful than we are, evolutionarily speaking, but even their reign came to an end. If our number is up, then it just is.

There are literally thousands of methane upwellings from marine permafrost all over the world. One that comes to mind is a fairly large one near Catalina Island, just off the California coast, that has been steadily emitting methane since before records were kept.

This is simply bored scientists rattling the alarm bells in the hopes of getting funding to fatten their wallets and research budgets. Global warming has been a bonanza for climatologists, who used to struggle for funding because they were seen as just overpaid weathermen, the type that give your local forecast on the evening news.

I believe it behooves us as a moral obligation to preserve our Earth, in as much as it is possible, without causing undue human suffering. Environmentalism has almost become a dirty word because of the scare-mongering and profiteering that has corrupted what used to be a worthy philosophy of living in balance with nature.

Keep it coming, Skybird! It's good that you care enough about our Earth to warn us that we must be mindful of how we live. I may not agree with the "junk science" but I do agree with reducing the careless waste of our industrialized consumer frenzy, which has plagued our world and our hearts.

If you say so, GP, if you say so.