#85 Jan/Feb 2007
The Washington Free Press Washington's Independent Journal of News, Ideas & Culture
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TOP STORIES

Instant Runoff Voting OKed in Pierce County
The same ballot reform wins in every contest nationwide
by Steven Hill

Is it safe to buy a home in Washington?
Home inspectors are not required to report toxic mold
by T. McCormick

15 myths about global warming
by Doug Collins
cartoons by George Jartos

FIRST WORDS

READER MAIL
Bushco Propaganda, Mountain Time, Impeachment
cartoon by David Logan

Oops!
defects corrected from last issue

NORTHWEST & BEYOND
Mass die-offs of alpine trees; American businesses protest labor rights in China

FREE THOUGHTS

Should we save or spend?
Politicians tell us to spend, economists tell us to save
by Jim Sullivan

Viaduct Politics
Seattle needs a "Transit + Streets" option
opinion by Cary Moon and Julie Parrett

War abroad, crime at home
Just why do crime stats rise when the country is at war?
by Doug Collins
cartoon by Andrew Wahl

HEALTH

The contaminated cigarette cartel
The major health risk is not tobacco, but industrial substances in cigarettes
article and cartoons by John Jonik

Medical Marijuana Scores Major Win
Court upholds California measures
from the ACLU
cartoon by John Jonik

MILITARY

Watada hearing tackles free speech for soldiers, relevance of truth
article and photo by Jeff Paterson, Courage to Resist

NASA plans moon base to control pathway to space
from Global Network

Keeping America safe
Themes from the Federal Register
by David Ortman

ENVIRONMENT

Reducing Extravagance
There are many ways--some surprising--to address climate change
by Doug Collins

Glaciers: coming or going?
by Doug Collins

FILM REVIEW
An Inconvenient Truth
review by Demian

TRASH TALK
Wintertime savings
by Dave & Lillian Brummet

MEDIA

MEDIA BEAT
Is the USA the center of the world?
by Norman Solomon
cartoon by George Jartos

Chavez wins Time reader vote, but is shunned by editors
by John Jonik

POLITICS

Let's have public funding for public elections in WA
opinion by Robert Stern, Washington Public Campaigns

Immigration reform: finally?
by Domenico Maceri
cartoon by George Jartos

RIGHT BRAIN

BOOK REVIEW
Spanning Washington
Historic Highway Bridges of the Evergreen State
review by Robert Pavlik

Two poems by Bob Markey
The Old Man and the Tree; Waiting for Bush's Other Shoe to Drop

Poems for progressives
Empire of the Senseless; Stomach Ache

NOTABLE QUOTES
from Bill Maher, Dwight Eisenhower, etc.

TOON-O-PHOBIA
Assorted cartoons from Scott Breeze, John Jonik, George Jartos, John Ambrosavage, Andrew Wahl, and David Logan

What is the Washington Free Press?

This paper is an effort--by many individual writers, artists, and editors--to bring to you information that often goes unreported in the corporate media (to see examples, just read this issue!). In a sense, this paper is a sort of childhood dream-come-true of what journalism should be: news in the public interest and opinion from the heart. This paper is a volunteer operation in which no one is making a profit or bowing to commercial pressures. It is not distributed in newsstands, but is instead distributed by volunteers who want to get underreported news out to their neighborhoods. This paper is not aligned with any political party or other specific interest, and you'll probably find articles written by middle-of-the-road muckrakers, by Chomskyites as well as traditionalists, and by generally unclassifiable individuals, as long as they write accessibly and with a spirit of public and planetary betterment. This paper is almost entirely dependent on you--the appreciative reader--for its existence, as there are always bills to pay for printing, mailing, and supplies. We thank those who continue to help over the years, and we ask that others please also help us get the news out by subscribing and donating to the paper, in order to help spread commitment and best wishes for a better world and a better region.

Doug Collins, coordinating editor

Glaciers: Coming or Going?

by Doug Collins

 

One of the most common pieces of evidence for global warming is the fact that the size of mountain glaciers has been decreasing. A well-publicized example is Glacier National Park in Montana, where glaciers are now hard to see from the main roadway, and where all remaining glaciers are projected to disappear within a few decades, given current trends.

However, there are two aspects of de-glaciation that do not jibe with human-induced global warming.

Data from the World Glacier Monitoring Institute, compiled into graph form by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA, see www.ncdc.noaa.gov/img/climate/globalwarming/ipcc18.gif ) indicate that rapid worldwide de-glaciation began in the mid 1800s, decades before any significant contribution to greenhouse gasses due to industrialization.

Furthermore, the data indicate that a number of glaciers have actually rebounded in size since about 1975, at least in the widely distant locales of Europe and New Zealand. Other glaciers have shown a less precipitous decline in the last quarter century, despite the fact that greenhouse gas production has risen considerably.

Do the data on glaciers actually counter arguments for human-induced global warming? That's hard to answer. Glaciation heavily depends on precipitation, a variable that is largely independent from temperature. If global warming results in higher precipitation rates in some regions, then we could--at least temporarily--see a growth of some glaciers.

But because rapid de-glaciation began before mass industrialization, it's justified to imagine that the causes for it may be mostly non-human. Indeed, recent high-profile books on the topic of climate change, such as "The Revenge of Gaia," replete with other intriguing and disturbing information, do not address the anomalies of glaciers, perhaps because they are difficult to reconcile.

On the other hand, because the main trend for glaciers is still downward, and because loss of glaciers should contribute doubly to global warming (since white-colored glaciers reflect solar radiation away from the earth), we should definitely be concerned.

My personal conclusion from all this is that it is important to always question theories. One of the foremost problems of modern civilization is the tendency to jump on cultural bandwagons, one way or another. Such bandwagons unfortunately often tempt us toward rather unrealistic and impractical directions, usually to the profit of various marketers, who are generally the sponsors of the band (in other words, the controllers of the mass media).

Because there is plenty of evidence that potentially dangerous climate change is underway, we should definitely take action. But we should also continue to consider puzzling or even dissuading evidence, regardless of any mainstream consensus on the matter.*


George Jartos

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