St Landrew Posted 19 August, 2008 Share Posted 19 August, 2008 It's another common misconception that human influences don't affect the Earth environment. Of course they do. Just as a bunch of chimpanzees in an African jungle affect the environment. But we consume far more resources and dump far more pollution than we need to. Those points are separate arguments though. By pumping chemicals, particulents and other pollution into the atmosphere, humans are influencing the natural cycles of the Earth. Whether we think they are significant and could destroy us, is the thing we all argue about. Personally, I think the Earth will do us in eventually anyway, due to us requiring too many resources, being too successful as a species, and the Earth not having enough temperate zones for humans to live in peacefully. That will come either sooner or later. Or we could prolong it, control our behaviour and progress, and live in peace for a lot longer. My advice is, if as a young person you're thinking favourably about one day having grand children... then don't. We aren't changing our ways enough, and I don't think we're unselfish enough too either. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Weston Super Saint Posted 19 August, 2008 Author Share Posted 19 August, 2008 It's another common misconception that human influences don't affect the Earth environment. Of course they do. Just as a bunch of chimpanzees in an African jungle affect the environment. But we consume far more resources and dump far more pollution than we need to. Those points are separate arguments though. By pumping chemicals, particulents and other pollution into the atmosphere, humans are influencing the natural cycles of the Earth. Whether we think they are significant and could destroy us, is the thing we all argue about. Personally, I think the Earth will do us in eventually anyway, due to us requiring too many resources, being too successful as a species, and the Earth not having enough temperate zones for humans to live in peacefully. That will come either sooner or later. Or we could prolong it, control our behaviour and progress, and live in peace for a lot longer. My advice is, if as a young person you're thinking favourably about one day having grand children... then don't. We aren't changing our ways enough, and I don't think we're unselfish enough too either. The only thing I disagree with there is the timescale. I would say we will definitely ruin the planet, but it's gonna take thousands of years rather than hundreds.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
St Landrew Posted 19 August, 2008 Share Posted 19 August, 2008 The only thing I disagree with there is the timescale. I would say we will definitely ruin the planet, but it's gonna take thousands of years rather than hundreds.. That's another misconception WSS. We won't actually ruin anything. The Earth will merrily continue for millions of years until the Sun becomes a Red Giant and consumes the Earth entirely. But humans will be long, long gone because we will have changed our required living conditions for the badly worse. And we'll do it within 100 years or so, unless we change our behaviour, or relieve the population pressure on the Earth. I don't see either happening signifcantly enough. There's overwhelming ignorance on this planet, and huge misunderstanding. But as they say... ignorance is bliss. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Saintandy666 Posted 19 August, 2008 Share Posted 19 August, 2008 mmmmmm, have to agree there, when nature gets out of balance it iwll move to make things normal again. And at the moment there are way to many of us, using resources at a too fast rate. It will soon be evened out either through famine, disease, war over resources. Interestingly, we might be ok here in europe, if we can just shut off everyone else, we have a reducing population. I'm pretty sure us people in europe could be self sufiecient. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
St Landrew Posted 19 August, 2008 Share Posted 19 August, 2008 mmmmmm, have to agree there, when nature gets out of balance it iwll move to make things normal again. And at the moment there are way to many of us, using resources at a too fast rate. It will soon be evened out either through famine, disease, war over resources. Interestingly, we might be ok here in europe, if we can just shut off everyone else, we have a reducing population. I'm pretty sure us people in europe could be self sufiecient. Just thought. Wouldn't it be great if we killed ourselves off like we eventually will*, and the Earth goes through a few major climactic cycles before creating the right conditions for a new dominant species. I suppose Chimpanzees would evolve to be the next top predators. If they stick around, that is. *assuming enough of us go, perhaps in a catastrophe, that the population can't recover. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Saintandy666 Posted 19 August, 2008 Share Posted 19 August, 2008 Just thought. Wouldn't it be great if we killed ourselves off like we eventually will*, and the Earth goes through a few major climactic cycles before creating the right conditions for a new dominant species. I suppose Chimpanzees would evolve to be the next top predators. If they stick around, that is. *assuming enough of us go, perhaps in a catastrophe, that the population can't recover. I've always thought has there been another intelligent dominant species already we don't know about. There is a theory that reason we aren't hearing from aliens or whatever is because when a civilisation gets to a certain point and becomes too successful they end up killing themelves. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
saintkiptanui Posted 19 August, 2008 Share Posted 19 August, 2008 ok, on record... warmest on record! Did you that when the dinosaurs were around, the average temperature on earth was 7 degrees hotter than todays standard.Depends what records you look at. Other records have 2003 as the warmest, we have peaked and will be cooling off now:D Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Weston Super Saint Posted 19 August, 2008 Author Share Posted 19 August, 2008 More stats for the record : It's another miserable day today. August is disappearing fast in a cloud. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Saintandy666 Posted 19 August, 2008 Share Posted 19 August, 2008 Depends what records you look at. Other records have 2003 as the warmest, we have peaked and will be cooling off now:D Warmest year and summer, here in the uk, maybe. But worldwide, 2007 was the warmest year on record. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Weston Super Saint Posted 3 September, 2008 Author Share Posted 3 September, 2008 Excellent weather still. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mack rill Posted 3 September, 2008 Share Posted 3 September, 2008 Can we rename this thread to what it should be. ( Government stealth Tax) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
St Landrew Posted 3 September, 2008 Share Posted 3 September, 2008 Excellent weather still. Coldest August in the UK since 1929. The Jetstream is once again too low in latitude this year. It's been hanging around over southern England or thereabouts all summer, getting as low as middle France at one point, I noticed. During those few days in August when we had a few sunny, dry days strung together, it sat where it should be, which is slightly north of the Shetland Isles. If it maintains this position, Britain gets a nice warm, to hot, humid/dry summer, depending on whether the late spring was hugely wet or not. The Jetstream's position was the same last year, and I fear it will be the same next year too. It's really buggered my warm weather sailing up for the last two years. Frankly, I don't care what the bloody Jetsream does from now on until next April. I'm not going to be fobbed off with some nice weather this late in the year and be asked to be grateful for it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Weston Super Saint Posted 3 September, 2008 Author Share Posted 3 September, 2008 Coldest August in the UK since 1929. 1929 you say :shock: So global warming's been around for a while then Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Weston Super Saint Posted 3 September, 2008 Author Share Posted 3 September, 2008 Heating is on tonight. That'll help with the global warming Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CabbageFace Posted 4 September, 2008 Share Posted 4 September, 2008 War will kill humans before "climate change" does or huge huminoid robots called trevor. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Weston Super Saint Posted 4 September, 2008 Author Share Posted 4 September, 2008 Today's weather - sh1t again. Tomorrow's forecast - more sh1t. We're not even going to get an 'Indian Summer' at this rate Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Dark Sotonic Mills Posted 4 September, 2008 Share Posted 4 September, 2008 Today's weather - sh1t again. Tomorrow's forecast - more sh1t. We're not even going to get an 'Indian Summer' at this rate Don't worry, we're still getting an Indian Summer. It's summer in India and it's p1ssing down there too... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Weston Super Saint Posted 4 September, 2008 Author Share Posted 4 September, 2008 Don't worry, we're still getting an Indian Summer. It's summer in India and it's p1ssing down there too... You haven't cheered me up to be honest. In fact I don't think my SAD has gone away this year. Either that or I'm turning into a grumpy old man. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
St Landrew Posted 4 September, 2008 Share Posted 4 September, 2008 You haven't cheered me up to be honest. In fact I don't think my SAD has gone away this year. Either that or I'm turning into a grumpy old man. Do you get Seasonally Affected Disorder then..? About 4 years ago I remember getting quite depressed when the clocks went back [le god knows why they still do that bloody outdated maneuver every year], and it didn't start to lift until just before Xmas. It wasn't Xmas that was the reason either; it was Dec 21-22 and the shortest day had passed. Last year was really quite bad. I was quite grumpy throughout the winter months. Normally I haven't done grumpy, so I've been surprised with myself. This year is entirely screwed as far as I'm concerned. If Parliament/Govt suddenly announced that they would no longer be putting the clocks back, I might just forgive 2008. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jillyanne Posted 4 September, 2008 Share Posted 4 September, 2008 Do you get Seasonally Affected Disorder then..? About 4 years ago I remember getting quite depressed when the clocks went back [le god knows why they still do that bloody outdated maneuver every year], and it didn't start to lift until just before Xmas. It wasn't Xmas that was the reason either; it was Dec 21-22 and the shortest day had passed. Last year was really quite bad. I was quite grumpy throughout the winter months. Normally I haven't done grumpy, so I've been surprised with myself. This year is entirely screwed as far as I'm concerned. If Parliament/Govt suddenly announced that they would no longer be putting the clocks back, I might just forgive 2008. Because the bloody Scottish farmers say so, or something. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
St Landrew Posted 4 September, 2008 Share Posted 4 September, 2008 (edited) Because the bloody Scottish farmers say so, or something. Nah, that old chestnut is over and done with. Nowadays cows are milked by automatic milking machines. Barely anyone is involved in the process. EDIT: I know they have been for years, but now the machine can hook itself up to the cow. All the cow does is walk into the pen. Edited 4 September, 2008 by St Landrew Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CabbageFace Posted 4 September, 2008 Share Posted 4 September, 2008 The phrase is ´spring ahead, fall back´, and it reminds us which way to turn our clocks each spring and fall for Daylight Savings Time. Why do we change our clocks, and when do we do it? The US changes its clocks on the first Sunday of April and the last Sunday of October. Each time zone does it at 2am. The European Union does it the last Sunday of March and the last Sunday of October, with the entire union doing it at 1am GST. The Idea of Time Sundials have been around for thousands of years, but those vary from location to location. The idea of a ´centralized time´ started in the middle ages, with mechanical clocks. Even these were set so that noon was when the sun was directly overhead. It wasn´t until trains began running in England in the early 1800s that ´centralized time´ really mattered. However, with trains, timetables became important, and by the late 1800s, almost all countries used some form of standardized time. Why Alter the Clocks? The main reason is to be most active during daylight hours, and to save electricity. Most countries see up to 5% energy savings by altering the clocks so that most people are doing things when there is natural light. Not only is there less need for light while people are home, but people also stay outdoors longer in the evening because there is light to do things. Because they are not home using electricity, the savings are even greater. The US experimented with extra DST during the energy crisis of the early 70s, and found that the extra time did save 10,000 barrels of oil worth of energy a day. It also reduced traffic accidents, because people were driving more in the light where they could see, and reduced crime, because people were doing things in the light instead of in the dark. Who Came Up with This? The idea of altering clocks to make better use of sunlight was first proposed by Ben Franklin, and was taken up by London builder William Willett. He brought a bill into the House of Commons several times, but was laughed at. When Germany began using this time change to save energy in WW1, England followed suit, with the first day being May 21, 1916. The US joined in on March 19, 1918. The changes were at first confusing in each nation that they affected, but eventually the system became understood. In fact, during WW2 England had ´Double Summer Time´ to even further increase its energy savings. Russia keeps itself one hour ahead in general, to save energy, and in the summer it moves two hours ahead to take advantage of the extra light. 1 year ago Source(s): http://www.lisashea.com/hobbies/astronom... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Weston Super Saint Posted 4 September, 2008 Author Share Posted 4 September, 2008 Do you get Seasonally Affected Disorder then..? About 4 years ago I remember getting quite depressed when the clocks went back [le god knows why they still do that bloody outdated maneuver every year], and it didn't start to lift until just before Xmas. It wasn't Xmas that was the reason either; it was Dec 21-22 and the shortest day had passed. Last year was really quite bad. I was quite grumpy throughout the winter months. Normally I haven't done grumpy, so I've been surprised with myself. This year is entirely screwed as far as I'm concerned. If Parliament/Govt suddenly announced that they would no longer be putting the clocks back, I might just forgive 2008. I would imagine everyone seems less happy in the Winter. Getting up when it's dark, going to work and then coming home in the dark is enough to drive anyone mad isn't it? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dubai_phil Posted 4 September, 2008 Share Posted 4 September, 2008 Do you get Seasonally Affected Disorder then..? About 4 years ago I remember getting quite depressed when the clocks went back [le god knows why they still do that bloody outdated maneuver every year], and it didn't start to lift until just before Xmas. It wasn't Xmas that was the reason either; it was Dec 21-22 and the shortest day had passed. Last year was really quite bad. I was quite grumpy throughout the winter months. Normally I haven't done grumpy, so I've been surprised with myself. This year is entirely screwed as far as I'm concerned. If Parliament/Govt suddenly announced that they would no longer be putting the clocks back, I might just forgive 2008. We get seasonally affected disorder down here as well. We have the SAD summer and the happy winter. We have to stay in doors all summer 'cos it's 50 degrees and humid and horrid, so we all have to spend all day making your weather worse by having our A/C's on all day. This then means the little world's we live in are all "de-humidified" so we spend ALL summer with sinuses bunged up with dried out snot. You can often spot a Middle East resident in Europe in the summer, they need a jack hammer to pick their noses. Sounds daft but when your total "outdoor experience" is limited to getting into a car that is 70C due to sitting in the sun and then you are really limited to hanging around shopping malls if you fancy a little stroll. Of course in the winter time it's happy clappy land, 28-34 degrees, but then the sea gets too bloody cold at a freezing 24 degrees. (Although it HAS been noticed that this summer despite having one - you are JOKING day at 53C on the car temp sensor - this summer has been both less hot and less humid than most previously. usually at this time of year the car windscreen steams up with the humidity if you run the A/C, it noticeably hasn't happened yet this year. One other impact is that the "Jetstream" movement has made it take a lot longer to fly from East to West than usual, but has made it quicker for us to get home.) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Weston Super Saint Posted 4 September, 2008 Author Share Posted 4 September, 2008 We get seasonally affected disorder down here as well. We have the SAD summer and the happy winter. We have to stay in doors all summer 'cos it's 50 degrees and humid and horrid, so we all have to spend all day making your weather worse by having our A/C's on all day. This then means the little world's we live in are all "de-humidified" so we spend ALL summer with sinuses bunged up with dried out snot. You can often spot a Middle East resident in Europe in the summer, they need a jack hammer to pick their noses. Sounds daft but when your total "outdoor experience" is limited to getting into a car that is 70C due to sitting in the sun and then you are really limited to hanging around shopping malls if you fancy a little stroll. Of course in the winter time it's happy clappy land, 28-34 degrees, but then the sea gets too bloody cold at a freezing 24 degrees. (Although it HAS been noticed that this summer despite having one - you are JOKING day at 53C on the car temp sensor - this summer has been both less hot and less humid than most previously. usually at this time of year the car windscreen steams up with the humidity if you run the A/C, it noticeably hasn't happened yet this year. One other impact is that the "Jetstream" movement has made it take a lot longer to fly from East to West than usual, but has made it quicker for us to get home.) You won't get any pity from me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
St Landrew Posted 4 September, 2008 Share Posted 4 September, 2008 ... Why Alter the Clocks? The main reason is to be most active during daylight hours, and to save electricity. Most countries see up to 5% energy savings by altering the clocks so that most people are doing things when there is natural light. Not only is there less need for light while people are home, but people also stay outdoors longer in the evening because there is light to do things. Because they are not home using electricity, the savings are even greater. ... The changes were at first confusing in each nation that they affected, but eventually the system became understood. In fact, during WW2 England had ´Double Summer Time´ to even further increase its energy savings. Russia keeps itself one hour ahead in general, to save energy, and in the summer it moves two hours ahead to take advantage of the extra light. 1 year ago Source(s): http://www.lisashea.com/hobbies/astronom... Yes, excellent. My point exactly. Let's not be confused here. When I say I don't want the clocks altered, I mean that they should stay at BST, and NOT go back to GMT in the winter. The results are well known as to why it is a good thing to do. In fact, I'd even put the clocks forward 1 hour in the summer, from the BST base time. I've heard about how light it was in the evenings during WWII. Can't say it hurt the farmers that much back then, and it was a greater benefit to everyone else. Which it would be today. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CabbageFace Posted 4 September, 2008 Share Posted 4 September, 2008 Yes, excellent. My point exactly. Let's not be confused here. When I say I don't want the clocks altered, I mean that they should stay at BST, and NOT go back to GMT in the winter. The results are well known as to why it is a good thing to do. In fact, I'd even put the clocks forward 1 hour in the summer, from the BST base time. I've heard about how light it was in the evenings during WWII. Can't say it hurt the farmers that much back then, and it was a greater benefit to everyone else. Which it would be today. Excatly. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Dark Sotonic Mills Posted 4 September, 2008 Share Posted 4 September, 2008 You won't get any pity from me. Nor me, not a jot. Anyway, I spend a lot of time with my nose sounding like I've got a melon up each nostril after scuba diving. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Weston Super Saint Posted 5 September, 2008 Author Share Posted 5 September, 2008 Weekend forecast : Heavy rain, flooding and gale force winds [force 5 to 6]. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Weston Super Saint Posted 5 September, 2008 Author Share Posted 5 September, 2008 Weekend forecast : Heavy rain, flooding and gale force winds [force 5 to 6]. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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