2.2.07

Global Warming gets perspective

Here is a quick exercise in perspective:
Lets say that the last 65 Million years is 1 mile (I use 65 million as it is the point when the Cenozoic, geologic era of mammals, started. I could go back further but that would be cruel).

Most global warming graphs only show 1000 years (at most, more often they tried to hide the Medieval warming period and show graphs that start during the little ice age around 1675 so the graphs can look more scary).
1000 is 0.0015% of 65 Million and 0.0015% of a mile almost exactly equals ....one inch.
Is an inch of a mile enough to make a generalization on the whole mile?
Also this is not a random sample of the mile this is one continuous inch.
It is akin to predicting a presidential election with a sample taken only from the upper east side of Manhattan.

Is 0.0015% enough to alter peoples lives with public policy?
Is 0.0015% enough deny the third world growth?
Is 0.0015% enough to keep millions in poverty?
Is 0.0015% enough to have to listen to self rightous Hollywood types with IQ's smaller than their shoes size tell me how bad I am? Not nearly.

Another note the largest temperature timescale we have is from ice cores and they only go back 400,000 years. 400,000 of 65 Million is 0.615% and 0.615% of a mile is 32 feet.
A mile has 5280 feet and the best we can do is look at 32 continuous feet of it.

1 comments :

Anonymous said...

A great example!