[pct-l] Global Warming not caused by man, therefore do nothing?

[Junaid Dawud]

Aloha All,

I've not had any real chances to drop the line "I
hiked through the Sierra Nevada in the highest snow
year on record".  2006 for those unaware.  Myself and
many of my classmates were anxiously watching
snowfall/accumulation data in the cascades in
preparation for our 2006 thru-attempts.  The early
part of the season was uncharacteristicly dry (not
much snow), but during the later part of the winter
there were record breaking snowfalls measured at many
of the gauging stations.  Now since this snow didn't
have much opportunity to compact/consolidate much,
once it started melting, it went pretty fast.  

I don't know what affects this had on the california
water supply.  But, it certainly got my attention. 
Such events underscore one of the real problems with
Global Warming, it disrupts weather and climatic
patterns that humans and many animals have come to
expect.  In the case of us adaptable humans, the
problems may not be so severe as to warrant alarm
among the general populous.  For animals whose life
cycles are so closely tied to fairly regular patterns
of nature, the story is more grim.  

Often they can not simply pick up and move to a more
hospitable place, they are trapped by geography, human
development that makes migration difficult/impossible,
and 'hardwired' behavior.  For those who love the
wildlife of our high alpine areas along the PCT, this
means that some of our little friends may become
trapped in ever shrinking "Mountain Islands".  They
can't go down in elevation because they aren't adapted
to life at lower elevations, but the lower bound of
their viable habitat keeps getting pushed higher. 
This phenomenon is well documented.  

People talk about the "Debate" over Global Warming. 
Ask any credible Scientist and they will tell you that
the scientific debate is over: Anthropogenic Global
Warming is for real and is a REALLY big deal.  The
Global Warming "Debate" is now about how much we care
and how strong our resolve to do something about it
is.  "Debate" with yourself what kind of legacy you
want to pass on to your children.  If you believe in a
Creator (God), "Debate" with yourself what your excuse
is going to be when you meet God and you are asked
whether you tried to be part of the solution or not. 
Once we've crossed certain lines, there is no turning
back.

Someone mentioned that this thread should perhaps be
moved to another discussion forum.  While I understand
the point, I disagree.  This subject is just as
important to the Trail and its users as the relative
benefits of water filters and Aqua Mira or which brand
Titanium cookware to buy.  Drought or floods along the
Trail effect the creatures living there as well as
those of us who venture out along this (for me sacred)
path.  If more floods mean more bridges needing to be
rebuilt, or drought means SoCal water sources dry up
sooner in the season or disappear entirely, that
affects the PCT and the users.  

Sorry for my long post, but its impossible for me to
overstate the wide reaching importance of this topic.

with love for all, even though you may love me not,

------------Speshul41

--- david booth <dbooth at cyberone.com.au> wrote:

> 
> There will be no PCT if you are wrong, in fact there
> will be no planet.
> I would much rather trust science than something I
> saw on TV.  
> (especially on You Tube) Go read the books and
> papers that are backed  
> by scientific peer review.
> I wonder what is causing massive floods on the PCT
> (and all over the  
> world) , huge fluctuations in snow levels, 8 year
> droughts, forest  
> fires and hurricanes, disappearance of species such
> as Pikas?
> You guys are just suckers for conspiracy theories
> and would rather  
> believe what you see on TV.
> I can see the results of climate change in
> retreating glaciers and  
> extreme climate events all over the world.
> Pull your heads out of the sand guys and join the
> rest of the world  
> in doing something about it. Is this political? No,
> it is about  
> survival.
> See you on the trail before its too late.
> Aussie Dave
> Canberra Australia
> 
> 
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