December 03, 2009
A long, dusty drive to global warming...
Thinking about global warming (with Climate-gate being in the news), I remember visiting the amazing Roman ruins at Ephesus, an ancient city near the Turkish sea-side resort Kuşadası. It always struck me as odd that Ephesus had been a major port city that in 100 AD had a population of nearly half a million people and was second only to Rome in importance. Why odd? Because the ancient port of Ephesus is located more than 3.5 miles from the eastern edge of the present-day Mediterranean Sea. Somehow, over the last 1,900 years, the waters of the Eastern Med have receded and this onetime port is now a long, dusty drive from the nearest water.My conclusion from this? Our planet's climate has changed throughout history, on its own, without human intervention. Is it continuing to change? Absolutely. Is human activity contributing to these changes? Almost certainly. But do we know enough about climate science to understand what course these changes will take and how to influence them to our species' advantage? I sincerely doubt it.
For more great pictures of this incredible archaeological site, visit fotopedia here.
December 3, 2009 at 11:59 AM | Permalink
TrackBack URL for this entry:
Listed below are links to weblogs that reference A long, dusty drive to global warming...:
Here's a better take on it, since you are largely in agreement with me on this one:
Never mind whether or not "we know enough about climate science to understand what course these changes will take and how to influence them," the real obstacle is the global political cohesion required to be effective when any nation strong and influential enough can opt out of cooperation -- as some certainly will.
Posted by: dirty kuffar | Dec 7, 2009 10:21:31 PM
Quite right, DK.
Posted by: Spartacus | Dec 8, 2009 12:01:01 PM
When I was in Ephesus, I was told that the harbor silted in because dredging techniques weren't so advanced two millenia ago. My understanding is that the Mediterranean is drying up because it was formed from Ice age drainage. The Med ain't the ocean, which is rising. Despite so called climate-gate, there is still an overwhelming scientific consensus for global warming. Ignore it at your peril.
Posted by: kevinyc | Dec 17, 2009 5:53:30 PM
"50-something?" Ha! I got it all over you. I'm still 49.
"Global warming, global shmarming." I want to know what's with your lethargy in the absence new posts? Is it dispiritedness? I don't blame you because I'm dispirited too when we've got the Demublicans vs. the Republicrats running the country.
It's a one-party system and we're distracted from this fact by cosmetics.
Posted by: dirty kuffar | Jan 11, 2010 11:16:53 PM
Why hasn't tea party fervor fired you up, Matt? I expect you to be all over it, but you're not posting anything new. Is it because it will put you in league with dolts?
Posted by: dirty kuffar | Aug 31, 2010 11:30:48 PM
Lol... Pretty on target, Steve. Actually, I was initially optimistic about Obama's economic team and their policies. Unfortunately, they are screwing the pooch, but I think it is much more complicated than the Tea Partyistas believe.
Posted by: Spartacus | Sep 1, 2010 8:56:46 AM
The comments to this entry are closed.