"thunder" wrote in message
...
On Fri, 12 Aug 2005 21:41:49 -0500, Del Cecchi wrote:


"thunder" wrote in message
...
On Thu, 11 Aug 2005 22:17:22 -0500, Del Cecchi wrote:


I see. It's an ice age and global warming. got it now. So we need
to
pollute a carefully calibrated amount.

It could quite well be "an ice age and global warming". The Earth's
weather is dependent on a quite complex system that isn't understood
with
any certainty. There are scientists who believe that a warming trend
would slow the Gulf Stream thereby causing an "Ice Age".

http://www.guardian.co.uk/climatecha...083419,00.html

Now if you could just enlighten us on that "carefully calibrated"
amount
of pollution, I'll be glad to do my part.
I'm not the one that said there was an ice age and global warming, I
was
just mocking it.


First, thanks for the link. I wasn't aware of that site.


But the Gulf Stream is not in any danger. Read about it in
http://www.realclimate.org

The Gulf Stream is not in any danger? How do you know? Certainly, not
from that site. The final line in that article sums it up, "Thus
while
continued monitoring of this key climatic area is clearly warranted,
the
imminent chilling of the Europe is a ways off yet."


The press and lay folks have the gulf stream which is driven by winds
and
the jet stream as affected by the rocky mountains with the Thermo
Haline
Cycle which is driven by salt and temperature and is what might break
down.

Uh, and what causes the wind? Look, I don't know if we are headed for
an
Ice Age. I'm not even sure if this period of global warming is natural
or
man made, but prudence would dictate treading carefully. I have great
faith in Mother Natures ability to heal herself. Unfortunately, I
fear,
as a species we might not like the healing process.

The realclimate site seems to be objective and populated by actual
scientists and enviros and lay folks, to a pretty good extent.

del

I think the scientific position is that what is commonly known as the
gulf stream is a shallow current driven by wind. Wind is driven by the
atmospheric circulation, and I haven't heard anyone saying it will quit
blowing or the jet stream is in danger due to global warming.

The current or circulation pattern folks are worried about is THC which
is a convective thing driven by cold salty water sinking in the north.
If too much fresh water comes from the melting ice, then this could
weaken and that would be a problem. That's the global warming
connection.

My point wasn't that there may not be a concern or a problem or however
you want to put it, but that calling the phenomenum in question the "Gulf
Stream" wasn't really correct. They are interconnected but different.
Or so that site led me to believe.