Misleading Graphs

While I was researching my last article about the lose/lose situation of pollution, I came across this graph which shows sunspot activity all the way back to 1600.

 Glossary Images Ssn Yearly

Sunspots are areas of cooling on the surface of the sun. Although this sounds like I would make things cooler overall, sunspots actually have the effect of making the sun warmer. This is because areas around the sunspot become even hotter than before.

I saw that graph above and decided to compare it to a history of the temperature.

 Wikipedia En B Bb 1000 Year Temperature Comparison


Well isn't that interesting. Around the 1600's there were no sun spots (cooler sun) and there was a corresponding "little ice age". I'm no scientist, but it seems pretty obvious that the two things are related.

Now for the Al Gore Version.

Picture 1-55

ZOMG! Look at the sunspot numbers starting after the 1700s! They've skyrocketed! The end is near!

 Wikipedia En F F4 Instrumental Temperature Record

Holy crap, look where the temperature is at the beginning of the graph compared to the end! The temperature is skyrocketing! Nevermind the scale, which encompasses about one entire degree, and nevermind the fact that it leaves out any history and only zooms in on the part where the temperature increases.

In the chart below, I have mapped the number of misleading charts used to defend global warming by year.

Misleading


It's a sad state of affairs indeed.

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Hey even if you stretch out

Hey even if you stretch out the graph the temperature has increased over time. Furthermore compare to what it was years ago, it is greater. This graph is not misleading, it is simply shortened because of limited space.....At the same time there is more evidence than just temperature increase…

how nice ? its very

how nice ? its very cool,,,,,yeah;;;;heheheheeh muzta naman un,,,,,bwahahahahahah>>>>>>>>>>>>>

amazing graphs

Shawn, I'm going to make a

Shawn, I'm going to make a couple statements, I don't expect an answer, but maybe some other people won't be polluted by your complete lack of understanding.

Economics?
How does Economics play into this post? You take a cheap shot and successful business men and women as if they were evil and don't have any concern for anything whatsoever. Believe it or not, the majority of business owners want their business to succeed, and that means having a place to sell their goods and services.

Sound is a wave of energy moving through a medium and detected by your eardrum. The eardrum resonates with the sound wave and an electrical signal is sent to your brain to be interpreted.

So, what organ in a plant is capable of making a noise? Except for the occasional falling branch I can't think of anything. So, how would this 'sound' be recorded? More importantly, and addressing your ridiculous insinuation that plants can feel is the complete and total lack of a nervous system, it is completely impossible for them to feel pain. But, let's not finish here, I have two more things to mention about your horrible excuse for caring about the future.

God, the Earth, etc...
We have no evidence for or against 'God.' But we do have evidence for the way the world works. Believe it or not, the Earth acts in accordance with the natural laws. It does not arbitrarily decide to take care of us or 'get sick of us altogether and stop supporting us.' We can predict a fair distance into the future by comparing what has happened in the past to our current conditions. Of course, we could ignore this and attribute everything to God, couldn't we? Would that make it easier on you, not knowing?

And Finally:
The Devil's Advocate
Now, I like a good argument as much as the next Internet Tough guy, but that doesn't mean that your position is feasible. You really ought to mention that you aren't serious about a position when you make, rather than stating so after the fact. If I had to guess, I'd say that you really don't have any strong knowledge or opinions on any of the above subjects, but like being the center of attention. Well, congratulations, you got it.

Please respond, I've bookmarked this page so that I can check on it periodically.

---Now, to Sam, the author, I must admit, I laughed and enjoyed this quite a bit. Your page has been bookmarked, and stumbled too!

Hmmm. I actually wasn't

Hmmm. I actually wasn't accusing Sam of anything. I've been reading too much of the naysayers stuff perhaps and I know they would look at this info and start shouting, "See, there's no crisis, it's all a big fat lie, so why should we change anything?"

I'm tired of all the arguing about it. I just think we have a responsibility and too many people are more concerned about their profits than they are about their home. And that could be said about a great many things.

My point about the plants is that we don't hear the sound they make when they are cut, but a scream-like sound has been recorded when that happens. (Imagine my dismay! I nearly stopped eating all together.)

The deity comparison was simply that we don't irrefutably know that one exists, other than what people feel in their hearts, just as we can't know exactly what the earth has in store for us. She may just get sick of us altogether and stop supporting us. But that fear of not knowing makes people do and say strange things.

And mostly, I like playing "devil's advocate". Rather than just nodding and agreeing with what people say. I've never been one to conform, but you know that already.

I wish more people loved the idea of conservation, cleanliness, and respecting the planet. I'm glad you do - but I knew that already, too.

Shawn, I don't think that

Shawn, I don't think that sam is suggesting we should intentionally destroy the earth - the argument that we are better safe than sorry doesn't really take into account all of the other things we could spend our time and money on.

If the earth is due for an ice-age or a global warming all of the priuses (pria?) in the world aren't going to stop it. The earth had cycles before we were here and certainly will again.

@Shawn S: Well I'd say

@Shawn S: Well I'd say that's quite a jump to assume because I think the above graphs are misleading that I am somehow encouraging pollution or denying that the actions of humans can have global consequences.

I don't really know what you're trying to say about plants. I guess humans scream because they feel pain - transmitted from nerve endings that plants lack. Furthermore, since a "scream" is a kind of noise, I think I would be safe to claim that since I can't hear the sound of a scream from a plant, its probably not screaming.

Then again, I don't really know what that has to do with misleading graphs or global temperature changes.

Also, I'm not sure what you're getting at with your God argument either. Are you saying that because some people believe in God "just in case" that we should be nice to our planet "just in case?"

I mean, I'm all for keeping the planet clean and conserving our resources, and reducing pollution and all that. I love the idea. It's something I've tried to do ever since I was a kid. My parents taught me to respect the earth so I just did it (weird too, they're conservaitve republicans!!!).

If you need an overblown global warming scare and a bunch of misleading graphs to motivate you into respecting the environment, that's fine. More power to you. I say if it works for you, then it's great.

So, you are saying since it

So, you are saying since it is all nature's fault - or rather, the universe's fault - that we should just go ahead and be toxic slobs and ignore any consequences our actions might bring, because we are just stupid tiny organisms compared to the great big sun?

Since there are many differences of opinion and statistical conflicts (since you can't hear plants scream when you cut them, does it mean it doesn't happen?), no one really knows what to believe.

Do we believe in a supreme being because someone is really there and we have irrefutable physical, tangible evidence of that existence and can all easily see and touch that someone - or do we just believe, just in case?

Wouldn't it be safer to do what we can to preserve our earth and eliminate toxins and pollutants. Are we not the caretakers? Better safe than sorry?

Do you dare mess with the editor?

well, now i believe in

well, now i believe in dragons. these graphs clearly show the motive for dragons to leave their northerly homes to try to populate the warmer civilized regions during the mini ice age.

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