Re: Mt. St. Helens and other volcanic activity:
Dixy Lee Ray happened to be governor of Washington in 1980 when Mt. Helens erupted. Governor Lee, a marine biologist by professional training, had been chairman of the Atomic Energy Commission before she decided to go into elective politics and had a firm grounding in the physical sciences. Her book, “Trashing the Planet,” debunked a number of myths about the environment. In it she had the following line: “The eruption of Mt. St. Helens in 1980 dumped more greenhouse gases into the atmosphere than all that has been released since the industrial revolution." Volcanoes have been erupting for millions of years with the same result.
Ms. Ray was director of Pacific Science Center in Seattle 1963–72; chairperson of Atomic Energy Commission 1973–75; served on several government oceanography projects, including service in 1975 as assistant secretary of state for the Bureau of Oceans, International Environmental and Scientific Affairs. So, in case you're of Goran's "mind" that if you do one thing (like write pieces for a pop-culture magazine) you cannot possibly know anything about anything else, put that unique idiotism to rest. She was bright enough to have
both environmental
and political credentials ... oh, and to be published.
Her book was published by that Vast Right Wing Conspiracy Mastermind of the First Order ... HarperCollins. B/c nothing of any substance can be written for/posted on a website like TCS. Yeah.
Mt. St. Helens remains Washington state's No. 1 air polluter, putting out 50-250 tons a day of sulfur dioxide. The rest of industry in Washington state puts out about 120 tons a day of sulfur dioxide. Those little nuggets come from the slightly-left of Noam Chomsky Seattle Times, 12/1/04. Now Sandi Doughton, "Seattle Times staff reporter" didn't provide a resume listing all kinds of environmental credentials, but it looks like she's merely a "staff reporter" writing on the environment!! I mean, who could
possibly believe what she says... that's just crazy talk!
And it's only Americans who are skeptical, except for Emergency Management Australia (
www.ema.gov.au) who said "Scientists estimated that Pinatubo's eruption added more aerosols (light gases and particles) than all human-caused 'greenhouse gases' since the industrial revolution." Wait, they
wrote that?!?! Well, what are they, bureaucrats or writers? Good God, man. The human brain just isn't large enough to handle that kind of duality.
And as far back as man has been generating "greenhouse gases" in any significant quantity would be the industrial revolution... I've just lowered my expectations for reading comp. and metaphor another notch.
And given this gem: "Facts just don't work...he already decided that he's right and no amount of research an/or evidence will make him change his mind" from someone who won't even consider contrary info if it's from a source he can blithely malign and/or impugn for motive (like there are those w/o motives), I think irony is probably a dead letter. That or beep is the undisputed heavyweight of bone dry self-parody; for which acumen I would doff my hat.
Kos - he's a fool, importing here the same vapid arrogance that got him bytch smacked down on a thread a coupla weeks ago when he suggested I needed study on principles of economics. So I expect him to dog me around threads w/ the same adolescent banalities, attacking the strawman he's built to be my effigy as "messenger" rather than the message.
When I find the meta-study that incorporated the climate studies I alluded to (debunking the "hockey stick") approach, I'll post. Too much to do right now to get out for the Holidays.
JP