Sticks and stones may break my bones...

... but dicking about with definitions may just as surely do me in :

'Climate Change' Predates 'Global Warming' By Decades - Semantic Shift Wasn't Until 1980s

Just get the snappy 'Anthropomorphic' (man-made to... and, possibly, by you and I) in there and we can waste more decades arguing about it.

Speaking of waste, I'll just beaver on trying to reduce any and all that are unnecessary, whilst accepting reductions if they are practical and doable.

Movin' on

I have today waded through a rather predictable set of stories, and responses to same, in major media and blogosphere, regarding this undoubted fact:

Climate 'altering UK bird habits'

Now I have a stated reluctance to getting into any 'tis/t'isn't barnies here as they seem to go nowhere fast, but not fast enough to avoid consuming yet more time it is possible we may not have.

What rather amazes me is that still the 'optimists' seem rather stuck in an increasingly odd groove, namely that nothing is happening. I've seen all sorts of 'responses', to ice sheet thicknesses and weather patterns, etc, that are still harking to the notion of 'warming' as the one and only thing that should be happening and isn't. I think I've seen one guy actually write that he's got his jummy on in August, and that's never happened before, so it can't be warming.

No, but it does seem to be 'changing'.

Thing is, many of these knee-jerks are kind of in response to equally clunky attempts to pin anything and everything on climate change (which it does, all the time), but more controversially down to man.

Dilemma. If you want to change behaviours, you need to point at causes and solutions. Trouble is, so far, I don't think we know enough to be certain, but we live in a world of absolutes now. And saying it for certain, even if just to get a reaction, can rather backfire, especially if things don't then pan out as predicted (which, in matters of TV minutes vs. geological timeframes isn't helpful). Also, it really doesn't help if the 'solutions' are more on the negative side...stop, don't, etc.

I don't pretend to have the answers either, but one I certainly do advocate is the pessimists learning a bit of judo and going with the opponents' strengths rather than standing rigid and getting flattened.

Frankly, as a bit of science, if the trend in bird nesting has moved (though reports of it being by 'a week' didn't really seem that awful to my non-ornithological mind) then leave it at that.

I'm sure if we are also getting information on PMWNCC, then most can connect the dots without it being the primary reason for everything.

Now, if we can accept that it is changing, what do we...

Gaurdian - NEW - Warming warnings get overheated

Playing with words. And fire?

I like writing. And I love what you can conjure up with words. So I am always interested in learning more on using them. Hence I subscribe to a nice little site called Daily Writing Tips.

You do learn a lot. Usually it's more factual stuff but, in this case, they delved into an area more concerned with the writer's lot: telecommuting.

And my interest was further piqued by the point made about the environmental advantages conferred.

However, as it is a rather critical aspect of the way these issues get discussed, explained, etc, I rather dangerously (these guys are literature experts) decided to pose a question and offer a thought as something didn't read right:

‘Global warming is a benefactor of telecommuting!’

Just chewing this over and wondering (which is why I read and value the tips posted), but isn’t it more the other way round: that ‘telecommuting is a benefactor to global warming mitigation’?

I do believe that ‘global warming’ (though I prefer the longer, but perhaps more accurate ‘probably man-worsened climate change’, as often the negative effects of climate change can result in colder conditions. And there is also still some credible debate on whether ‘man’ is responsible exclusively, though we sure are not helping anything much) is not a good thing, and hence for preference should be in some way dealt with through positive environmental actions on our parts. Hence the value of some qualifying descriptor.

So, might one suggest:

‘Reduced global warming is another beneficial result (or can a process be a beneficary?) of telecommuting!’

Just playing with the words. What is for sure is that reducing our need and/or desire to travel will certainly go a long way in helping lower our negative environmental impacts!

I just hope I was correct or I am going to get soooo flamed!