So you hear it all the time, "global warming will be the death of us" "something about CO2" "also we have 20 years to live" "also we have 100 years to live" and then!

"Global warming doesn't exist."

Welcome to the latest reality check. This one is actually a sort of two-parter. You'll see below.

So we begin with assuming you already know what global warming is. Al Gore makes a movie and suddenly we're all going to perish. Our islands will sink and we'll eventually become Atlantians because the polar ice caps are melting. Well just super. So people get all upset, and since we've got like billions of people in the world, we're of course going to have plenty of skeptics. Some scientists say it's yet to be proven, some others say there's no proof that we're the ones doing it, and some others are just genuinely confused.

Then articles start getting around, videos start getting around, and all of a sudden, apparently global warming is a big lie being used to control us. That is, the earth getting warmer and showing visible signs of water levels rising is going to be a lie to control us.

It's in this logic that I am disappointed. All too many times we'll see something said; for example, 9/11. 9/11 happens, and people make up their little ASCII drawings and then it's a prophecy. Then you see on YouTube showing quite impressive proof in an hour-long video showing things like the flight delays, the black box full of audio, and the precision of the wing of the circumference of the latitude of the plane creating aerodynamic- please. Now all of a sudden 9/11 is a lie. Now suddenly this person is a prophet because he's said something different from the norm. And everyone just believes him because he's got fancy charts and pretty pictures. Not that it's bullshit or anything, I'm only remarking upon the idea of people instantly going to the polar opposite of one side because a controversy exists. Please keep in mind that scientists can be wrong, and everything is just a hypothesis until proven. Ultimately it's up to you to decide what you believe, but of course the more informed you are, the better.

Have you ever seen "don't taze me, bro!"? The kid was apparently mouthing off and acting very disrespectful the whole time. The source? One of his classmates. A possible enemy of him. If you look at it, it doesn't even look like he was acting disrespectful during that time. Why would he have been answered by the politician? Why not just have been removed beforehand? But no! Since there was another account of something different happening there, oh it's a big controversy now. Now we know the truth! Just because something comes up to challenge the norm doesn't mean it's the truth.

My mother had a little vacation house for the summer in the beachy part of our state. They went for a while, ('till she moved out, in fact) and then just didn't go back when everyone got too old. We went down about a year ago and she was in shock at how much the water had risen. They used to have a dock that would slant down into the water, and they could still dive off it. At high tide, she claimed, they still had a good piece of beach. We visited there at low tide - there was no beach. This is not an exaggeration, I mean, there was no beach. The dock, from being submersed under water for so long, had actually begun to decay and the only part we could stand on was the beginning of it, where of course the water level was creeping up slowly but hadn't stayed for long. This is due to erosion which is believed to be linked to global warming. It's commonly accepted knowledge that:

1. Our sea level is rising.
2. Our world is warmer.
3. Our polar ice caps are indeed melting.

Now me, personally, I like warm weather. I feel bad for the people living near the equator but really, our own technology that has supposedly caused this, is the same that keeps us cool. Sure our world is sinking, but I've got a strong feeling we're going to blow each other up anyway.

I have a feeling that much with my Atheist vs. Christian article, the answer doesn't lie in extremes. Smoke goes up everywhere, out of factories and cars. I just can't imagine that it does *nothing* to the ozone. I would not be surprised at all if in 20 years it comes out that some planets naturally go through a global warming. In fact, I believe it very possible (though I am not a scientist) that we have already gone through a global warming, and the only reason it's a big deal now is because global warming might not have happened for 5,000 years, but now that we've been abusing the environment, the sun's power is a bit too much for our wee little ozone to deal with normally. So, would I be worried? If I lived 1,000 years, yes. But not now. It's entirely possible that we could even get to the point where we can actually repair the ozone! And if you think it's not scientifically possible... I mean, we're advancing pretty fast in this world. What we thought impossible 50 years ago merely needs the proper funding today.

I'm pretty much done with what I have to say. In conclusion, don't believe something just because it contradicts something else, and keep in mind that while pollution surely does attribute to global warming, (via depletion of the ozone layer) it might not be the only factor.

Stay cool,
Vael Victus