
This 2006 photo is a typical summer view looking west towards the Central Valley as seen from Moro Rock in Sequoia National Park. The city beneath the smog in the distance is Visalia, with more than 400,000 people living in the greater metro area. Let me begin this post by pointing out that is was definitely people, not global warming, that made the smog.
Much has been discussed, argued, or ranted about global warming. Is it happening? Is it part of a natural cycle, or is it human caused? What, if anything, should we, or can we, do about it?
A LOT of good science has gone into trying to answer these questions, as well as some not-so-good science, be it the result of carelessness or of political agenda. Though I am uncertain of his personal views regarding environmental issues, I do, in fact, applaud the diligence of Chico meteorologist Anthony Watts in trying to keep science "honest" by looking at the compliance (or apparent lack thereof) of temperature monitoring stations.
What I fear, however, is summed up in the following tongue-and-cheek (I hope) comment by one of his blog readers, in response to the fact that Mr. Watts' efforts have cast doubts on NASA's accuracy in determining if average national temperatures are indeed rising:
"Okay, I'll keep the green [compact fluorescent] light bulbs, but I'm turning the air conditioner back on."
For the record, I do believe global warming is real. Melting ice sheets and rapidly retreating glaciers alone have been enough to convince me of this, and peer-reviewed scientific research has further convinced me that human activity is one of the key causes of the rise in temperature through the release of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases into the atmosphere. I further believe that we must recognize a sense of urgency in addressing these issues (starting, like, now).
But for the sake of argument, let's take global warming out of the equation. Does that mean we no longer need to be concerned with our energy use or vehicle emissions? Absolutely not.
Long before we heard about global warming, we knew that the stuff that comes out of exhaust pipes and goes into our air is, in short, not healthy for our lungs. Solutions include driving less, biking more, taking public transportation, buying low-emissions vehicles, and purchasing locally made products that don't need to travel far to get to market.
Before we heard about global warming, we knew that it was cheaper to be fuel efficient. (Kind of a no-brainer: Use less energy, pay less money).
Before we heard about global warming, we knew that planting trees was generally considered to be good, and cutting down entire forests was generally considered to be bad.
Before we heard about global warming, we knew the drawbacks of having a fuel economy that is linked to foreign oil.
Before we heard about global warming, we knew that almost every source of energy has its environmental challenges, whether through the means of energy extraction (ex: stripmining coal, damming rivers), or the risks and issues associated with processing or transporting the energy (ex: Exxon Valdez, acid rain, disposing of spent nuclear material).
I could write more, but you get the gist of what I'm saying. The bottom line is that even without the specter of global warming, there are plenty of other environmental, economic, political, or health reasons why reducing vehicle emissions and energy use now, today, is still a pretty darn good idea. And yes, this includes keeping the air conditioner off (or more specifically, keeping the thermostat set at 78 degrees or higher in the summer).
Just my two cents.