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22 thoughts:
Thanks for the link-back!
More importantly, on the topic of the polar bear, have you seen "An Inconvenient Truth"? I know a lot of those things may be unverified or unrelated to global warming but it's not a bad movie, I find. It got me actually reading into global warming, and I started getting interested in the massive scope of opinions regarding it.
Awww thanks too for the linkback :) I <3 your blog! You know, every time I see one of these images it really does make my guts turn into knots. The other one that gets me is: the before-and-after images of the polar ice caps from the 1970's and the 2000's - I mean, whether or not it's caused by humans (which I think it is personally) it will have significant effects on the future of our climate.
Yes, "An Inconvenient Truth" was amazing, and the new series about the Earth that's been featured on the Discovery Channel (I believe) and Oprah shows the polar bears swimming and swimming.
It's sad that they are drowning. I've learned about steps we can take to help reverse this global warming damage and I've enacted only one thus far: not taking receipts from the ATM 90% of the time -- which will save tons of paper once we all do that.
Now I need to buy a canvas bag for my groceries, and buy those expensive light bulbs that last longer and save more energy.
There's so much more we can do, and I'm finally taking heed.
Great picture and statement.
"The conclusion is simple: arguably the best way to reduce global warming in our lifetimes is to reduce or eliminate our consumption of animal products. Simply by going vegetarian (or, strictly speaking, vegan), , , we can eliminate one of the major sources of emissions of methane, the greenhouse gas responsible for almost half of the global warming impacting the planet today."
According to http://earthsave.org/globalwarming.htm
A load of Bravo Sierra, actually.
Paula brings up a good point. It's so easy to blame the the government, corporations, big oil, etc etc. The bottom line is we each need to review what we can do as individuals and take action. And then we need to take action to get the gov't to set up the right laws to incent the masses to "do the right things."
Alas, I really need to do more. Or do less actually....less driving, produce less garbage, use less resources, etc....
great pic, it does speak a lot of words. Great point Paula has mentioned.. not taking ATM receipts, I'm guilty of taking the receipts and throwing them right away! so i'll definitely cut on that.
All of you that fell for that propaganda in Gore's movie need to do some more research because we didn't do anything, it's a normal climactic cycle.
Have you ever heard of the ice age? The earth wasn't always a frozen wilderness, but sure enough, it froze over and then thawed out again and aren't you all glad it did.
Do you think during the ice age that the cavemen were all sitting around wondering what they did?
Paula, before you run out and buy those expensive lightbulds, do some research into the health hazards and how much it will cost you to have the mercury vapor in your house removed when you break one.
Not taking ATM receipts. LMAO. C'mon people. The ATM prints the recept whether you take it or not, so how is not taking it doing anything other than leaving litter behind? In some cases ATM receipts show your balance, do you really think it's smart to leave those?
With regards to the reason the temperature is climbing, no one really knows for sure. I never said what Gore said is right. And for all we know you could be right. I do believe that we have to do something to stop it.
"Not taking ATM receipts. LMAO. C'mon people. The ATM prints the recept whether you take it or not, so how is not taking it doing anything other than leaving litter behind? In some cases ATM receipts show your balance, do you really think it's smart to leave those?"
Don't know where you live buddy, but here in Canada the ATM asks whether you want a print or not. And seeing as these people said they wont be taking paper receipts either, I'm assuming where they live, they get asked whether they want it or not too...
Wait. Who did what?
So the polar bear is about to slip off the ice and fall into the ocean? That'd be really unfortunate if polar bears didn't instinctually know how to swim. Come on, I thought this was the thinking blog.
@Garrett: From where do you get the impression that we don't know polar bears naturally swim.. the image is just iconic of global warming and that is what we are doing (i.e. contributing to).
2perfect: most ATMs ask whether you want a receipt or not. they don't print it anyways. and if you want to check your balance you can do that on the machine itself without printing a receipt. I honestly believe it is one way to cut on paper.
Ilker: What I'm getting at is that the image seems to be saying that "we" are the cause for what is happening to the bear. For one, the bear in the image is in no real danger. For two, we don't know the circumstances behind the image; whether anything humans did actually led to its situation. If the implication is that "we" are causing global climate change, then I think some thinking needs to be done as to whether that is actually the case. In my opinion, it is arrogant of humanity to think it has that degree of control over nature. And the evidence just isn't there. If you look at the right data at the right times, there's correlation, but not enough to prove causation. The earth went through radical changes long before man figured out how to harness the powers of fossil fuels and it will continue to do so regardless of what anyone tries to do about it.
I think you should find and post a copy of the photo without the caption.
The goal of your posts and your site are to inspire thought. This picture is TELLING us what to think. Any photographer worth a shit will tell you that pictures need to stand on their own merit.
This picture, at the moment, is not worth a thousand words.
It's worth three words.
@Garrette + Brian: Let me try to reply both of you in one post.
As a photographer myselfI understand and agree that photos are better without caption. Also I actually had the photo without the caption.
However, I didn't think about global warming and rather specifically about whether we are causing it until I saw the famous polar bear on ice photo WITH those three words in Turkish. I've seen that photo before on Time magazine cover and read the special report on global warming but I thought "Ehh.. this doesn't prove anything. History shows global warming/freezing happens without our control."
So, it was those three words that made me think further and not a random image of a polar bear walking on melting ice. That is why I thought I should add the caption in English as well. Moreover, from the comments before we can see that it did make some people think about it (and how they think they could become more "green").
Whether or not global warming is caused by human beings, I don't see any reason as to why we should act less environmentally friendly.
PS. I thought of putting that original polar bear photo but due to copyrights I needed a permission and they didn't get back to me. Also I think everyone already saw that so the National Geographic photo might have been new to some of us.
Until I see scientific proof that humans are the cause of global warming I remain a sceptic.
Were human factories around when the last ice age ended? Are humans on Mars and the other planets in our solar system that are also showing an increase in surface temperatures? Could the big ball of burning gas in the sky be a contributing factor in global warming?
Why am I reminded of the persecution Galileo and Copernicus endured because they believed the Earth revolved around the sun? Scientists who go against the popular belief that man is the cause of global warming are being treated like uneducated fools for daring to offer an opinion on an unsettled matter of science.
The only global warming scientists I believe are the ones who admit that we do not yet know all of the causes of global warming. Anyone who says, "humans are causing it," are right out.
Whether or not global warming is caused by human beings, I don't see any reason as to why we should act less environmentally friendly.
I agree with that. In fact, there are so many good, perfectly valid scientific, economical and health-related reasons for almost all "green" concepts -- fuel-efficient hybrid cars reduce dependence on foreign oil, spit out less toxic and smog-causing fumes, and pay for themselves in the long run in fuel costs, for example -- that it's frustrating to see the Gore-ites resort to their apocalyptic climate change scare tactics to try to promote their cause. It's an insult to our intelligence.
One pic of a Polar Bear swimming onto an Ice Berg, is hardly scientific proof, we are under a red alarm for Global Warming. If that is your only example. I could argue the two scientist that recently went up to the Artic,and got frost bite and had to head back from their expidition because they underestimated the weather. Does that mean their is NO Global Warming. Let's not judge one Photoshop image. Where are your pics from the record snow fall in New York this past winter? I guess that pic was an "inconvenient miss".
Who is this Gore dude? :P
I haven't seen the documentary "An Inconvenient Truth" nor live in the US to say about whether there are political intentions behind it or not.
Though, I've seen a parody of the film in the South Park episode "Manbearpig" to which Gore laughed off, saying "Their comic sensibility is aimed at a different demographic than the one I inhabit, but I still find a lot of what they do hilarious." (Source: Wikipedia)
Just that comment describes a lot about Gore's habitat (and personality).
In any case, scare tactics never work. On the other hand, action tactics do.
@Scott J: If you have those photos, just email them to me or post it on your blog and email me the URL so I can put it in one of the upcoming "Pictures Worth A Thousand Words" posts.
Powerful picture. I personally believe we are at least contributing to warming, though I also suspect natural cycles are involved too; regardless of how much is our fault, the reality that this is happening is very scary.
Whether we are making the world warmer, or just dirtier, looking out a downtown highrise up the island of Manhattan on a humid day makes it crystal clear (or, rather, densely hazy) that we need to change our behavior.
What do you think? Post your thoughts..