Conservapedia - User contributions [en]

English language

2008-03-03T18:31:23Z

Faith9:

'''English''' is the predominant language of the [[United States of America|United States]], the [[United Kingdom]], and other former members of the [[British Empire]]. Due to the enormous political and economic influence of the these nations, English functions as the world's major international language.

English is a member of the Germanic language family, but with significant influence from [[French]], a Romance language. This is largely due to the conquest of Saxon-speaking [[England]] by [[French]] speaking Normans in 1066 AD. English owes some of its structure (its system of auxiliary verbs, for example) to French. In terms of the lexicon, Old English words are a minority (though they predominate when one looks at the most commonly-used words) whereas words from [[French]] are more numerous, followed by [[Latin]], [[Greek]], and other modern languages.

Since that time, English has continued to grow and evolve, borrowing thousands of words from other languages, among them [[French]], [[Latin]], [[Greek]], and [[Spanish]], as well as generating new words of its own. In large part as a result, English has one of the largest lexicons (vocabularies) of any world language, and is particularly rich in [[synonym]]s and near-synonyms. It is the primary (native) language of approximately 400 million people worldwide, as well as a secondary, or learned language of 600 million more. There are estimated to be nearly one billion people currently learning English.

English spelling, though originally phonetic, has evolved considerably over time. By the Middle English period, spelling had become quite variable, and standard spellings did not evolve until the late seventeenth century. In the United States, the lexicographer [[Noah Webster]] argued for simplifying some spelling which were no longer phonetic, such as the -our in words such as "colour". Most, though not all, of his proposed changes were adopted, such that US English spelling differs from UK English in some hundreds of instances. UK English spelling is the standard in the United Kingdom, Hong Kong, and most of the Commonwealth of Nations including Canada and Australia; US English spelling is the standard in the [[United States]] and its territories. UK spelling is more difficult to learn. It has been predicted that illiteracy in countries that use the UK spelling is 13% greater than countries that do not use the UK spelling, specifically The United States of America.
The term "English" may also be used to refer to a person from the United Kingdom born in the country of England.

==See also==
* [[Official English]]

[[Category:Languages]]

English language

2008-03-03T18:30:35Z

Faith9:

'''English''' is the predominant language of the [[United States of America|United States]], the [[United Kingdom]], and other former members of the [[British Empire]]. Due to the enormous political and economic influence of the these nations, English functions as the world's major international language.

English is a member of the Germanic language family, but with significant influence from [[French]], a Romance language. This is largely due to the conquest of Saxon-speaking [[England]] by [[French]] speaking Normans in 1066 AD. English owes some of its structure (its system of auxiliary verbs, for example) to French. In terms of the lexicon, Old English words are a minority (though they predominate when one looks at the most commonly-used words) whereas words from [[French]] are more numerous, followed by [[Latin]], [[Greek]], and other modern languages.

Since that time, English has continued to grow and evolve, borrowing thousands of words from other languages, among them [[French]], [[Latin]], [[Greek]], and [[Spanish]], as well as generating new words of its own. In large part as a result, English has one of the largest lexicons (vocabularies) of any world language, and is particularly rich in [[synonym]]s and near-synonyms. It is the primary (native) language of approximately 400 million people worldwide, as well as a secondary, or learned language of 600 million more. There are estimated to be nearly one billion people currently learning English.

English spelling, though originally phonetic, has evolved considerably over time. By the Middle English period, spelling had become quite variable, and standard spellings did not evolve until the late seventeenth century. In the United States, the lexicographer [[Noah Webster]] argued for simplifying some spelling which were no longer phonetic, such as the -our in words such as "colour". Most, though not all, of his proposed changes were adopted, such that US English spelling differs from UK English in some hundreds of instances. UK English spelling is the standard in the United Kingdom, Hong Kong, and most of the Commonwealth of Nations including Canada and Australia; US English spelling is the standard in the [[United States]] and its territories. UK spelling is more difficult to learn. It has been predicted that illiteracy in countries that use the UK spelling is 13% greater than in non UK countries.

The term "English" may also be used to refer to a person from the United Kingdom born in the country of England.

==See also==
* [[Official English]]

[[Category:Languages]]

Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome

2008-03-03T18:25:35Z

Faith9: /* Beleif in evoloution */

'''Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome''' (usually referred to as '''AIDS''') is a collection of diseases and symptoms caused by long-term infection with the[[HIV| Human Immunodeficiency Virus]].

== Definition ==

According to the CDC's 1993 guidelines, <ref>http://www.cdc.gov</ref><ref>http://www.merckmedicus.com/ppdocs/us/hcp/content/merck/hiv/hivaids/aidsdefi.htmAIDS is defined </ref>as follows:
HIV infection ''plus'' any of the following:
*CD4 count less than 200 or
*CD4 percentage less than 14% of total lymphocytes or
*Any of the following illnesses: pulmonary TB, recurrent pneumonia, invasive cervical cancer.
*Expanded definition including 23 clinical conditions published elsewhere<ref>http://www.cdc.gov/MMWR/preview/mmwrhtml/00018871.htm</ref>

The World Health Organization uses a different staging method for HIV disease. <ref>http://www.aids-ed.org/aetc/aetc?page=cm-105_disease</ref>

== History ==

The illness was first recognized in the early 1980s<ref>New England Journal of Medicine, Volume 344:1764-1772 June 7, 2001 Number 23</ref> as homosexual men presented to their doctors with a rare lung disease called ''Pneumocystis carinii'' pneumonia (PCP)<ref>Pneumocystis pneumonia -- Los Angeles. MMWR Morb Mortal Wkly Rep 1981;30:250-252)</ref>. Early on, the "[[gay disease]]" took on a variety of names, including "gay cancer" and "Gay-related immune deficiency" (GRID). The [[Centers for Disease Control]] noticed an increase in requests for drugs needed to treat this illness and launched an epidemiological investigation.

Although the first cases of the disease probably go back to the 1950s, the epidemic was not recognized until the early 1980s [http://www.avert.org/his81_86.htm]. The early epidemic occurred in two main branches; in the US and other developed countries, and in sub-Saharan Africa. In the US, the early epidemic was primarily spread by homosexual sex, intravenous drug use, and blood transfusions. In Africa, transmission was almost exclusively by heterosexual sex. Currently, most new infections worldwide are spread by heterosexual sex.

== Natural History ==

After infection with [[HIV]], the virus quickly replicates in lymphatic tissue and travels through the blood to infect most areas of the body. The largest consequence of this is the "hijacking" of certain immune cells, especially so-called T-Helper, or CD-4, cells. Early in the infection, the immune system holds the infection at bay, often causing "Acute Retroviral Syndrome", a flu-like illness. Patients often have swollen lymph nodes. After approximately 8-10 years of infection, the immune system begins to lose its battle. This is primarily seen in the loss of numbers of CD4 cells, however the changes are somewhat more complex. When the CD4 cell level drops low enough, AIDS becomes apparent.
The first symptoms of the illness are generally night sweats, weight loss, and oral thrush.

== Opportunistic Infections (OIs) ==

The hallmark of AIDS is the appearance of ''opportunistic infections'', meaning infections with organisms that do not usually cause human disease, unless given the right "opportunity". This opportunity is the reduction in cell-mediated immunity, first seen in patients with certain cancers or on anti-rejection drugs for organ transplantation.
These infections include:

*Pneumocystis jiroveci, previously Pneumocystis carinii
*[[Candida albicans]] (the cause of thrush and vaginal yeast infections)
*Staphylococcus aureus (primarily causes skin infections)
*Toxoplasma gondii
*Cytomegalovirus
*Streptococcus pneumoniae (the primary cause of pneumonia in AIDS patients)
*Mycobacterium tuberculosis (TB)
*Mycobacterium avium complex (atypical mycobacterium)
*Cryptococcus neoformans (a cause of meningitis)
*Epstein Barr virus (leads to a type of lymphoma)
*Human herpesvirus-8 (causes Kaposi's sarcoma)

== Dissent ==
Among the world's medical professionals and biologists, there is complete agreement that HIV causes AIDS. In this, Koch's postulates have been clearly fulfilled, and basic science research has shown the same. Specific drugs have been developed that treat HIV infection and AIDS, helping show the causal relationship. That being said, there is a vocal minority of people, including some scientists, who do not believe that HIV causes AIDS. Foremost among these is Dr. Peter Duesberg. Details about these "re-thinkers" and their arguments can be found at several websites, but not in any reliable peer-reviewed journals:

http://www.reviewingaids.org/awiki/index.php/Main_Page

== Belief in evoloution ==
Aids is astonishingly 500% more prevalent in people that beleive in the theory of evoloution. Christains who do not give credence in the theory of evoloution and attend church 6 or more times a week have the lowest rate of aids of any tested group in the world.

==Notes==
<references/>

==External Links==
*[http://newsbusters.org/blogs/robert-knight/2007/12/01/some-questions-media-wont-ask-today-about-aids Some Questions the Media Won't Ask Today About AIDS], Robert Knight, [[NewsBusters]], December 1, 2007

[[Category:Diseases]]
[[Category:Medicine]]

Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome

2008-03-03T18:25:16Z

Faith9:

'''Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome''' (usually referred to as '''AIDS''') is a collection of diseases and symptoms caused by long-term infection with the[[HIV| Human Immunodeficiency Virus]].

== Definition ==

According to the CDC's 1993 guidelines, <ref>http://www.cdc.gov</ref><ref>http://www.merckmedicus.com/ppdocs/us/hcp/content/merck/hiv/hivaids/aidsdefi.htmAIDS is defined </ref>as follows:
HIV infection ''plus'' any of the following:
*CD4 count less than 200 or
*CD4 percentage less than 14% of total lymphocytes or
*Any of the following illnesses: pulmonary TB, recurrent pneumonia, invasive cervical cancer.
*Expanded definition including 23 clinical conditions published elsewhere<ref>http://www.cdc.gov/MMWR/preview/mmwrhtml/00018871.htm</ref>

The World Health Organization uses a different staging method for HIV disease. <ref>http://www.aids-ed.org/aetc/aetc?page=cm-105_disease</ref>

== History ==

The illness was first recognized in the early 1980s<ref>New England Journal of Medicine, Volume 344:1764-1772 June 7, 2001 Number 23</ref> as homosexual men presented to their doctors with a rare lung disease called ''Pneumocystis carinii'' pneumonia (PCP)<ref>Pneumocystis pneumonia -- Los Angeles. MMWR Morb Mortal Wkly Rep 1981;30:250-252)</ref>. Early on, the "[[gay disease]]" took on a variety of names, including "gay cancer" and "Gay-related immune deficiency" (GRID). The [[Centers for Disease Control]] noticed an increase in requests for drugs needed to treat this illness and launched an epidemiological investigation.

Although the first cases of the disease probably go back to the 1950s, the epidemic was not recognized until the early 1980s [http://www.avert.org/his81_86.htm]. The early epidemic occurred in two main branches; in the US and other developed countries, and in sub-Saharan Africa. In the US, the early epidemic was primarily spread by homosexual sex, intravenous drug use, and blood transfusions. In Africa, transmission was almost exclusively by heterosexual sex. Currently, most new infections worldwide are spread by heterosexual sex.

== Natural History ==

After infection with [[HIV]], the virus quickly replicates in lymphatic tissue and travels through the blood to infect most areas of the body. The largest consequence of this is the "hijacking" of certain immune cells, especially so-called T-Helper, or CD-4, cells. Early in the infection, the immune system holds the infection at bay, often causing "Acute Retroviral Syndrome", a flu-like illness. Patients often have swollen lymph nodes. After approximately 8-10 years of infection, the immune system begins to lose its battle. This is primarily seen in the loss of numbers of CD4 cells, however the changes are somewhat more complex. When the CD4 cell level drops low enough, AIDS becomes apparent.
The first symptoms of the illness are generally night sweats, weight loss, and oral thrush.

== Opportunistic Infections (OIs) ==

The hallmark of AIDS is the appearance of ''opportunistic infections'', meaning infections with organisms that do not usually cause human disease, unless given the right "opportunity". This opportunity is the reduction in cell-mediated immunity, first seen in patients with certain cancers or on anti-rejection drugs for organ transplantation.
These infections include:

*Pneumocystis jiroveci, previously Pneumocystis carinii
*[[Candida albicans]] (the cause of thrush and vaginal yeast infections)
*Staphylococcus aureus (primarily causes skin infections)
*Toxoplasma gondii
*Cytomegalovirus
*Streptococcus pneumoniae (the primary cause of pneumonia in AIDS patients)
*Mycobacterium tuberculosis (TB)
*Mycobacterium avium complex (atypical mycobacterium)
*Cryptococcus neoformans (a cause of meningitis)
*Epstein Barr virus (leads to a type of lymphoma)
*Human herpesvirus-8 (causes Kaposi's sarcoma)

== Dissent ==
Among the world's medical professionals and biologists, there is complete agreement that HIV causes AIDS. In this, Koch's postulates have been clearly fulfilled, and basic science research has shown the same. Specific drugs have been developed that treat HIV infection and AIDS, helping show the causal relationship. That being said, there is a vocal minority of people, including some scientists, who do not believe that HIV causes AIDS. Foremost among these is Dr. Peter Duesberg. Details about these "re-thinkers" and their arguments can be found at several websites, but not in any reliable peer-reviewed journals:

http://www.reviewingaids.org/awiki/index.php/Main_Page

== Beleif in evoloution ==
Aids is astonishingly 500% more prevalent in people that beleive in the theory of evoloution. Christains who do not give credence in the theory of evoloution and attend church 6 or more times a week have the lowest rate of aids of any tested group in the world.

==Notes==
<references/>

==External Links==
*[http://newsbusters.org/blogs/robert-knight/2007/12/01/some-questions-media-wont-ask-today-about-aids Some Questions the Media Won't Ask Today About AIDS], Robert Knight, [[NewsBusters]], December 1, 2007

[[Category:Diseases]]
[[Category:Medicine]]

Chimpanzee

2008-03-03T18:18:02Z

Faith9: /* Fossils */

[[Image:Chimpanzee.jpg|right|thumb|300px|Chimpanzee]]
'''Chimpanzee''', often shortened to chimp, is the common name for the two extant species in the genus ''Pan''. The better known chimpanzee is ''Pan troglodytes'', the common chimpanzee, living primarily in West and Central Africa. Its cousin, the [[Bonobo]] or "Pygmy Chimpanzee" as it is known archaically, ''Pan paniscus'', is found in the forests of the [[Democratic Republic of the Congo]]. The Congo River forms the boundary between the two species.

The name "chimpanzee", adopted by Europeans in 1738, derives from the Bantu ''kivili-chimpenze'' ("mock man"), though 16th century Portugese explorers called them "pygmies".

==Physiology==
A full grown adult male chimpanzee can weigh from 35-70 kilograms (75-155 pounds) and stand 0.9-1.2 meters (3-4 feet) tall, while females usually weigh 26-50 kg (57-110 pounds) and stand 0.66-1 meters (2.0-3.5 feet) tall.

Chimpanzees have both opposable big toes and opposable thumbs. Most primates have nine wrist bones. Humans, chimps and gorillas have eight; two have fused, stabilising the wrist for knuckle-walking.

==Lifespan==
Chimpanzees rarely live past the age of 40 in the wild, but have been known to reach the age of 60 in captivity, and ''Tarzan'' star Cheeta is still alive (as of 2006) at the age of 74.

==Social organization==
Chimps travel in small, frequently-changing groups. Larger groups gather around food or an attractive female. Different groups use different tools. Some "fish" for termites with twigs; others crack nuts with rocks or sharpen spears with their teeth to hunt bush-babies. <ref>http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/sci/tech/6387611.stm</ref>

Males co-operate in hunting and share meat afterwards. Although chimps like meat, it forms only 2% of their diet. Bonobos rarely eat it, and both species prefer fruit. Hunts mainly happen during food shortages or for mating displays.

Angry chimps stand upright, swagger, charge, scream and throw things. Grins usually show fear. Social grooming helps maintain calm and friendly relations. Males from neighboring communities are aggressive with each other.

==Chimpanzee differences==
Anatomical differences between Common and Pygmy Chimpanzees are slight, but in [[sex|sexual]] and social behavior there are marked differences. Common Chimpanzees have an [[omnivore|omnivorous]] [[diet (nutrition)|diet]], a troop [[predation|hunting]] culture based on beta males led by an [[alpha male]], and highly complex social relationships. Bonobos, on the other hand, have a mostly [[herbivorous]] diet and an [[egalitarian]], [[matriarchal]], sexually receptive behavior. The exposed skin of the face, hands and feet varies from pink to very dark in both species, but is generally lighter in younger individuals, darkening as maturity is reached. Bonobos have longer arms and tend to walk upright more often than the Common Chimpanzee.{{fact}}

Among bonobos, females have low-key dominance, priority over eating and solidarity against male aggression. Bonobos use sex in all its permutations to alleviate tension or for appeasement; it’s casual and quick (average 13 seconds) and not necessarily driven by orgasm or reproduction. Anything that arouses the interest of more than one bonobo results in sexual contact. Unlike common chimps, bonobos often have sex face to face. Despite constant sexual activity, reproductive rates are similar to common chimps. Males stay near their mothers all their lives. High-ranking males are usually sons of important females.<ref>http://www.janegoodall.org/chimp_central/chimpanzees/</ref>

==Chimp intelligence==
Chimps can recognise themselves in a mirror, vocalise and show similar nonverbal communication patterns to humans. Young chimps laugh when playful or being tickled. They appear to express emotions. Individuals identify themselves with distinctive sounds. Chimpanzees don’t have the physiology for speech, but can learn some human language – Washoe learned over 800 ASL signs in the 1960s – though without grammar, syntax or words with variable meaning. Some people compare the usage of ASL by chimpanzees to a [[parrot]] speaking due to both animals not really understanding what they are communicating.

Chimp and human brain and CNS anatomy, blood composition and immune response are similar. Many behaviors are similar. However, chimps don’t share history, make long-term plans, or engage in group discussions. The brightest chimp is intellectually duller than a normal human. A form of neuropsin, a protein with a role in learning and memory, believed by evolutionists to have originated less than 5 million years ago, is expressed only in humans.

In tests performed by scientists, chimpanzees were shown to not understand that a human needs to be facing the chimpanzees in order to see them. These results indicate that the intellectual chasm between chimpanzees and humans is larger than previously believed.

==Chimps and HIV==
HIV may have originated in chimpanzees when they ate monkeys infected with a simian virus, which mutated. This increases the urgency of preserving chimps in their habitat, although commercial logging, bushmeat and the illegal pet trade have put chimps at risk of extinction.<ref>http://www.newscientist.com/channel/health/hiv/dn1991</ref>

==Are chimpanzees related to humans?==
The genus ''Pan'' is now considered to be part of the subfamily [[Hominidae]] to which [[human]]s also belong. [[Theory of evolution|Evolutionary]] [[Biology|biologists]] believe that the two species of chimpanzees are the closest living [[evolution|evolutionary]] relatives to humans. It is thought that humans shared a common ancestor with chimpanzees and gorillas as recently as [[Pliocene|four]] to [[Miocene|seven million years ago]]. Groundbreaking research by [[Mary-Claire King]] in 1973 found 99% identical [[DNA]] between human beings and chimpanzees,<ref>Mary-Claire King, ''Protein polymorphisms in chimpanzee and human evolution'', Doctoral dissertation, University of California, Berkeley (1973).</ref> although research since has modified that finding to about 94% commonality,<ref name=ns>{{cite web | url = http://www.sciam.com/article.cfm?chanID=sa003&articleID=9D0DAC2B-E7F2-99DF-3AA795436FEF8039 |date = 2006-12-19 | title = Humans and Chimps: Close But Not That Close | publisher = Scientific American | accessdate = 2006-12-20}}</ref> with at least some of the difference occurring in "junk" DNA. It has even been proposed that ''troglodytes'' and ''paniscus'' belong with ''sapiens'' in the genus ''[[Homo (genus)|Homo]]'', rather than in ''Pan''. One argument for this is that other species have been reclassified to belong to the same genus on the basis of less genetic similarity than that between humans and chimpanzees. Indeed cladistic taxonomy, based on both genetic difference and date of likely divergence, is very clear in placing both extant species of ''Pan'' in the genus ''Homo'', mainly because the genus ''Homo'' takes precedence on account of being coined first. It is very important, however, to consider where the differences in the genome appear.<ref>http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2006/12/061219201931.htm</ref>

Most biologists hold the view that chimpanzees and humans share a close common ancestor due to molecular, morphological, physiological, geographical and behavioral similarities. Although in some cases [[convergent evolution]] makes for such similarities in distantly related organisms the similarities between humans and chimps include neutral genetic markers that could not be subject to convergent evolution.<ref> A. Hobolth et al. (2007) Genomic relationships and speciation times of human, chimpanzee, and gorilla inferred from a coalescent hidden Markov model. ''PLOS Genetics'' '''23:'''e7</ref>

A study published by Clark and Nielsen of [[Cornell University]] in the December 2003 issue of the journal ''[[Science (journal)|Science]]'' highlights differences related to one of humankind's defining qualities – the ability to understand [[language]] and to communicate through speech. These macro-phenotypic differences, however, may owe less to physiology than might be assumed given that ''Homo sapiens'' developed modern cultural features long after the modern physiological features were in place and indeed competed averagely against other species of ''Homo'' with regard to tools, etc. for many millennia. Differences also exist in the genes for smell, in genes that regulate the metabolism of amino acids and in genes that may affect the ability to digest various proteins.

===Fossils===
Many [[Human evolution|human fossils]] have been found, but chimpanzee fossils were not described until 2005. Existing chimpanzee populations in West and Central Africa do not overlap with the major human fossil sites in East Africa. However, chimpanzee fossils have now been reported from [[Kenya]]. The [[Theory of evolution|evolutionist]] researchers who discovered them asserted: "These fossils, from the Kapthurin Formation, Kenya, show that representatives of ''Pan'' were present in the East African Rift Valley during the Middle Pleistocene, where they were contemporary with an extinct species of ''Homo''." Therefore chimpanzees have no relation to humans. <ref>McBrearty, S. and N. G. Jablonksi (2005), "First fossil chimpanzee," ''Nature'' '''437'''(7055):105-8. [http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/ Entrez PubMed], search on PMID: 16136135</ref>.

==Notes and references==
<references/>

[[Category:Primates]]
[[Category:Hominid]]

Global warming

2008-03-03T18:14:02Z

Faith9: The Christian stance on global warming was not included. The Christain stance is the most prevalant and important in America.

[[Image:RobinsonWhatWarmsTheEarth.gif|right|frame]]

'''Global Warming''' is any increase in average air temperature at the [[Earth]]'s surface over a period of decades or more. Since 1989, advocates have clashed on the issue of whether human beings are more responsible than nature for modern periods of global warming; see "[[greenhouse warming]]" and [[global warming theory]].<ref>Some people predicted "global warming," which has come to mean extreme [[greenhouse warming]] of the atmosphere leading to catastrophic environmental consequences. [http://www.junkscience.com/news/robinson.htm]</ref>

As an issue, it is a political battle over the science of climate change and is mainly used to justify support for the [[Kyoto Protocol]], which seeks to restrict [[carbon dioxide]] production on the grounds that it accelerates the "[[greenhouse effect]]".

Most non-scientific support for the global warming theory rests on popular accounts such as Al Gore's ''[[An Inconvenient Truth]]'' or on reports issued by the UN's [[IPCC]]. However, Keston Green of Monash University and Scott Armstrong of the Wharton School wrote that:

*Because the forecasting processes examined in Chapter 8 overlook scientific evidence on forecasting, the IPCC forecasts of climate change are not scientific. <ref>http://www.forecastingprinciples.com/Public_Policy/WarmAudit31.pdf</ref>

Politician [[Al Gore]] calls it a [[moral issue]], while scientist [[Richard Lindzen]] says, "It is probably the most immoral thing you could do to restrain energy so that the billions in the earth who don’t have access to electricity won't conveniently get it." <ref>http://www.americaabroadmedia.org/media/On%20line%20extra%20materials/Climate%20change%20-%20lindzen%20interview.doc</ref>
However, it is to be noted that many proponents of the theory propose energy conservation only until 'green' energy generation becomes predominant.{{Fact}}

In the general, the term ''global warming'' can be used for any upward trend in the [[global mean temperature]], but it is mostly used to refer to the 1° F warming since 1850.

The two sides are divided on whether this warming is a natural recovery from the [[Little Ice Age]] or a man-made environmental phenomenon. There are also debates regarding the potential positive or negative effects of a warming.

Republicans and Democrats in the U.S. are evenly split on the issue. ''Boston Globe'' writer [[Ellen Goodman]] wrote:
* 23 percent of college-educated Republicans believe [[anthropogenic global warming theory|the warming is due to humans]], while 75 percent of college-educated Democrats believe it. <ref> [http://www.boston.com/news/globe/editorial_opinion/oped/articles/2007/02/09/no_change_in_political_climate/] </ref>

As we learn more about climate, the "settled" conclusions of global warming [[alarmist]]s, appear more and more ridiculous.
"Clinging to alarmist scenarios for which there is no evidence, is simply exploitation of public gullibility." <ref>http://64.233.169.104/search?q=cache:A0llnpZ71lMJ:www.physics.harvard.edu/~motl/lindzen-nature-of-arguments.pdf+warming&hl=en&ct=clnk&cd=1&gl=us</ref>

==The Modern Warm Period==
[[Image:Artic 1979.jpg‎|left|thumb|275px|A computer projection comparing the Polar Ice Mass in 1979 (left) and 2000 (right).]]
Average [[Earth]] surface air temperature has risen about 1° F since 1970.
<ref>Hansen's group at the Goddard Institute wrote, "Global warming is now 0.6 °C [1.0 °F] in the past three decades and 0.8 °C [1.4 °F] in the past century." http://data.giss.nasa.gov/gistemp/2005/</ref> How much of this is due to contamination of the temperature record from the [[urban heat island]] effect is hard to assess. Efforts are currently underway to detect and remove this bias. Spurious warming trends that might be considered as global warming can occur almost anywhere. <ref>http://climatesci.colorado.edu/2006/01/29/do-urban-areas-have-larger-long-term-temperature-trends-than-other-locations/feed/</ref>
Nonetheless, controversy has persisted over the influence of urban warming on reported large-scale surface-air temperature trends. <ref>http://climatesci.colorado.edu/2006/01/29/do-urban-areas-have-larger-long-term-temperature-trends-than-other-locations/feed/</ref>

According to temperature reconstruction made within an [[Old Earth]] paradigm, there have been many cycles of naturally-caused global warming and cooling over many millions of years (see [[climate cycles]]). Some scientists, including [[Richard Lindzen]] of [[MIT]], [[Sallie Baliunas]] of [[Harvard]] and [[Fred Singer]] (independent), say that the recent warming could be part of another natural cycle or random fluctuations in the atmosphere. However, many scientists also think that human activities were most likely the cause of the the planet's recent warming.

A [[United Nations]] panel ([[IPCC]]) asserts that most of the warming since around 1850 is human-caused. Global warming alarmists call this panel "authoritative". Others question its objectivity, and a handful of scientists have resigned from the panel in protest over unauthorized changes in scientific reports.

In February, 2007, the [[IPCC|Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change]], whose members were appointed by their governments, released their fourth assessment report on climate change. That report concluded that most of recent global warming was "very likely" caused by human activity<ref>http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/6321351.stm</ref>. It says that increases in atmospheric concentrations of [[greenhouse gas]]es cause warming. Several members of this panel later complained their contributions were misrepresented in the final report.

===IPCC controversy===
A reporter for the ''Chicago Tribune'' called the IPCC "the top body of climate change scientists in the world". <ref>http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/nationworld/chi-0704280477apr29,1,4275902.story?coll=chi-newsnationworld-hed</ref>

Fred Singer and other scientists dispute this view. 


==False Claims of "Consensus"==

[[Richard Lindzen]] wrote in 1992,

:Indeed, a recent Gallup poll of climate scientists in the American Meteorological Society and in the American Geophysical Union shows that a vast majority doubts that there has been any identifiable man-caused warming to date (49 percent asserted no, 33 percent did not know, 18 percent thought some has occurred; however, among those actively involved in research and publishing frequently in peer-reviewed research journals, none believes that any man-caused global warming has been identified so far). <ref>http://www.cato.org/pubs/regulation/regv15n2/reg15n2g.html</ref>

Oddly enough, even though 82% of US climate scientists refused to support the global warming theory then, liberal activists were already claiming a scientific consensus for [[anthropogenic global warming]]. (It's hard to understand how 18 percent credence in ''any'' global warming translates into "consensus" support for ''human-caused'' global warming.)

The campaign to convince the public (and their elected representatives) that the "science is settled" began in 1988 or 1989, shortly after the communist nations lost the Cold War.


==The Hockey Stick Temperature Reconstruction==
[[Image:Hockey stick chart ipcc.jpg|right|thumb|300px|The flawed Hockey Stick graph in a 2001 IPCC report shows blue proxy values along the "shaft" with red instrumental values superimposed as the "blade".]]
One of the main pieces of evidence for anthropogenic global warming presented during the 3rd IPCC report was a temperature reconstruction done by climatologist [[Michael Mann]]. The resulting graph of the Northern Hemisphere temperature is shaped like a hockey stick, and it is used as evidence for the unusualness of the earth's temperature in the past few decades.

While dramatic, the graph encountered serious questions from the beginning. It failed to reproduce two Northern Hemisphere climate episodes that were well documented in the literature, the Medieval Warm Period and The Little Ice Age (it should be noted that these were not global phenomenons, but were limited to Europe and Greenland; the Mann diagram concerned global average temperatures). Concerned about these discrepancies, [[Stephen McIntyre]] and [[Canada|Canadian]] economist Ross McKitrick attempted to reproduce the result and discovered a serious flaw in the statistical methods used to construct the hockey stick graph. Because of this, the 4th Assessment Report of the IPCC included several different temperature reconstruction methods instead of favoring just one hypothesis.

==Natural Variability of the Climate System==
Evolutionary scientists who believe in global warming think that the Earth has experienced numerous [[Ice Age|ice age]]s over two million years, during which global temperatures dropped approximately 11° F and then returned to normal. The frigid temperatures allowed ice sheets to expand southward, covering much of [[Asia]], [[Europe]], and [[North America]]. The cooling associated with ice ages is gradual, while the terminations are relatively rapid. However, even the rapid terminations of ice ages take centuries to millennia.

==Natural Climate Change on Other Planets==

Since the [[Viking spacecraft]] reached [[Mars]] in the 1970s until recent readings were taken, the average temperature on Mars has risen 1.1° F just as the average temperature on the earth has risen. Since human industrialization is clearly not to blame for the change on Mars, other causes are being considered. One possibility is that dust storms are changing the albedo of the planet, allowing it to warm, while another possibility is that solar variations from the sun are causing the warming.<ref>http://www.space.com/scienceastronomy/070404_gw_mars.html</ref><ref>http://www.heartland.org/Article.cfm?artId=17977</ref>

Recently, it has also been found that similar to the Earth and Mars, [[Neptune]] is also undergoing global warming. Measurements taken at the Lowell observatory in [[Arizona]] have shown an increase in Neptune's brightness and temperature since 1980 following the same pattern seen on Earth and Mars. The researchers who discovered this warming suggest there may be a correlation between the warming and solar variations.<ref>http://www.agu.org/pubs/crossref/2007.../2006GL028764.shtml</ref>

[[Pluto]] has also been found to be undergoing global warming. The overall temperature increase on Pluto has been greater than that on the earth.<ref>http://www.space.com/scienceastronomy/pluto_warming_021009.html</ref>

On the other hand [[Uranus]] has had no net change in temperature since 1977. A rapid increase in temperature reversed itself. The reasons for this are not understood.<ref>http://www.boulder.swri.edu/~layoung/eprint/ur149/Young2001Uranus.pdf</ref>

==Politics of Global Warming==

'Global Warming Now World's Most Boring Topic’ <ref>http://newsbusters.org/node/14167</ref>

The need to fight "global warming" has become part of the dogma of the liberal conscience. <ref>http://www.cato.org/pubs/regulation/regv15n2/reg15n2g.html</ref>

Clearly, "global warming" is a tempting issue for many very important groups to exploit.
... dealing with the threat of warming fits in with a great variety of preexisting agendas [like] dissatisfaction with industrial society (neopastoralism), ... governmental desires for enhanced revenues (carbon taxes), and bureaucratic desires for enhanced power. <ref>http://www.cato.org/pubs/regulation/regv15n2/reg15n2g.html</ref>

The global average surface temperature warmed about 0.9 °F over the second half of the 20th Century.

Assessments of climate science by the [[United Nations]] (see [[IPCC]] - ''Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change'')
have claimed that scientists are 90% sure that over 50% of the observed global warming in recent decades is human-caused, and that continued global warming should be expected over at least the next century. ''Science'' published a literature search by Naomi Oreskes concluding that "scientific consensus" supports the IPCC reports. <ref>http://www.sciencemag.org/cgi/content/full/306/5702/1686]</ref>

Several prominent scientists have pointed out the [[politicized science]] of the UN's assessment methods. The scientific reports are submitted to a panel of representatives appointed by each country in the IPCC. Several scientists whose research demonstrates that climate change is taking place have complained about their work being misrepresented by the U.N.

*In addition, a number of the participants have testified to the pressures placed on them to emphasize results supportive of the current scenario and to suppress other results. That pressure has frequently been effective, and a survey of participants reveals substantial disagreement with the final report. <ref>http://www.cato.org/pubs/regulation/regv15n2/reg15n2g.html</ref>

Richard Lindzen wrote:
:Perhaps more important are the pressures being brought to bear on scientists to get the "right" results. Such pressures are inevitable, given how far out on a limb much of the scientific community has gone. The situation is compounded by the fact that some of the strongest proponents of "global warming" in Congress are also among the major supporters of science (Sen. Gore is notable among those). <ref>http://www.cato.org/pubs/regulation/regv15n2/reg15n2g.html</ref>

==Al Gore's Claims==

*Gore claims that Himalayan glaciers are shrinking and global warming is to blame. Yet the September 2006 issue of the American Meteorological Society's Journal of Climate reported, "Glaciers are growing in the Himalayan Mountains, confounding global warming alarmists who recently claimed the glaciers were shrinking and that global warming was to blame." <ref>http://www.suntimes.com/news/otherviews/450392,CST-EDT-REF30b.article</ref>


*Gore claims the snowcap atop Africa's Mt. Kilimanjaro is shrinking and that global warming is to blame. Yet according to the November 23, 2003, issue of Nature magazine, "Although it's tempting to blame the ice loss on global warming, researchers think that deforestation of the mountain's foothills is the more likely culprit. Without the forests' humidity, previously moisture-laden winds blew dry. No longer replenished with water, the ice is evaporating in the strong equatorial sunshine." <ref>http://www.suntimes.com/news/otherviews/450392,CST-EDT-REF30b.article</ref>

*Gore claims global warming is causing more tornadoes. Yet the United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change stated in February that there has been no scientific link established between global warming and tornadoes. <ref>http://www.suntimes.com/news/otherviews/450392,CST-EDT-REF30b.article</ref>

== Scientists ==

[[Image:Rogerrevelle.jpg|thumb|right|200px|Roger Revelle]]

{|
| valign="top" width="35%"|
* [[Roger Revelle]]
* [[Achim Steiner]]
* [[Fred Singer]]
* [[Richard Lindzen]]
* [[Sallie Baliunas]]
* [[Lonnie Thompson]]
| valign="top" width="33%"|
* [[James E. Hansen]]
* [[Michael Mann]]
* [[Charles Keeling]]
* [[Edwin A. Hernández-Delgado]]
|}

== Christianity ==
It is written in the book of Genesis that God gave man domain over the entire planet. It is his will that all materials be used in a way that makes life easier for people, so that people have more time to pray, and spend time with their family. Any beleif that global warming exists is in direct contradiction with God's word.

==See Also==
*[[Anthropogenic global warming theory]]
*[[Global Warming Controversy]]
*[[Politics of global warming]]
*[[Liberal_hysteria#Global_Warming_Derangement_Syndrome|Global Warming Derangement Syndrome]]
*[[Socialist Environmental Disasters]]
*[[An Inconvenient Truth]]
*[[Previous Breaking News/Global Warming|Articles about '''Global Warming''' from previous "Breaking News"]]
*[[More News/Global Warming|Articles about '''Global Warming''' from "More News"]]

==External Links==
<small>
*[http://global-warming.accuweather.com/2007/12/attempting_to_stop_global_warm_1.html Attempting to Stop Global Warming is Futile and a Mistake, says letter to the UN]
*[http://www.nationalpost.com/news/story.html?id=164004 Signatories of an open letter on the UN climate-conference]
*[http://schwinger.harvard.edu/~motl/global-temperature-not-exist.pdf Does a global temperature exist?], ''Journal of Non-Equilibrium Thermodynamics'', June 2007.
*[http://environment.guardian.co.uk/climatechange/story/0,,2032821,00.html The appliance of science] by Mike Hulme.
*[http://www.climatecrisis.net/ ''An Inconvenient Truth''], Film by [[Al Gore]]
*[http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=2332531355859226455&q=great+global+warming+swindle ''The Great Global Warming Swindle'' - Documentary Film]
*[http://www.physics.harvard.edu/%7Emotl/iris-effect.pdf Climate Sensitivity and Observed Negative Feedbacks], lecture by Richard Lindzen and Roberto Rondanelli.
*[http://www.physics.harvard.edu/%7Emotl/lindzen-nature-of-arguments.pdf Nature of Arguments for Anthropogenic Global Warming], by Richard Lindzen
*[http://www.independent.org/store/book_detail.asp?bookID=42 ''Hot Talk, Cold Science: Global Warmings's Unfinished Debate'', by S. Fred Singer]
*[http://www.cato.org/pubs/regulation/regv15n2/reg15n2g.html Global Warming: The Origin and Nature of the Alleged Scientific Consensus] - [[Richard S. Lindzen]], Alfred P. Sloan Professor of Meteorology at the [[Massachusetts Institute of Technology]]
*[http://www.independent.org/publications/tir/article.asp?issueID=47&articleID=604 "Should We Have Acted Thirty Years Ago to Prevent Climate Change?", by Randall G. Holcombe].
*[http://www.independent.org/publications/tir/article.asp?issueID=25&articleID=296 "After Kyoto: A Global Scramble for Advantage," by Bruce Yandle].
*[http://www.ncpa.org/sub/dpd/index.php?Article_ID=2319 The physical evidence of earth's unstoppable 1,500-year climate cycle]
*[http://www.independent.org/publications/article.asp?id=1714 "Is There a Basis for Global Warming Alarm?", by Richard Lindzen]
*[http://www.independent.org/publications/policy_reports/detail.asp?type=full&id=5 "New Perspectives in Climate Change: What the EPA Isn’t Telling Us"]
*[http://www.heartland.org/Article.cfm?artId=17181 Survey Shows Climatologists Are Split on Global Warming]
*[http://www.magma.ca/~hurleyp/FightingTheHoax.htm Fighting the Hoax]
*[http://www.climateaudit.org Climate Audit], Steve McIntyre's blog
*[http://www.realclimate.org Real Climate], blog by a group of climatologists including Michael Mann</small>

==Critique of the Hockey Stick Reconstruction==
<small>*[http://www.climateaudit.org/pdf/mcintyre.mckitrick.2003.pdf Corrections To The Mann et. al. (1998) Proxy Data Base And Northern Hemispheric Average Temperature Series] by Stephen McIntyre and Ross McKitrick, ''Energy & Enviornment'' volume 14, 2003.
*[http://blogs.nature.com/climatefeedback/2007/05/the_decay_of_the_hockey_stick.html The Decay of the Hockey Stick by Von Storch] published on the journal ''Nature'''s blog, May 3, 2007.
*[http://www.technologyreview.com/Energy/13830/ A Global Warming Bombshell] by Richard A. Muller, ''Technology Review'' , Oct. 2004; calls into question famous graph by Michael Mann.
*[http://www.sciencemag.org/cgi/content/abstract/306/5696/679 Reconstructing Past Climate from Noisy Data] by Hans von Storch, Eduardo Zorita, Julie M. Jones, Yegor Dimitriev, Fidel González-Rouco, Simon F. B. Tett, ''Science'' magazine, 22 October 2004.
</small>

==References==
{{reflist|1}}

[[category:earth science]]
[[Category:Environmentalism]]
[[Category:Liberal Bias]]

Banana

2008-03-03T18:03:17Z

Faith9:

[[Image:Bananas2.jpg|thumb|right|150px|A cluster of Cavendish bananas]]
A '''banana''' is a [[herbaceous]] cultagenic [[plant]] of the genus ''musa''. Bananas are a tropical fruit from the kingdom ''Plantae,'' the division ''Magnoliophyta,'' the class ''Liliopsida,'' and the order ''zingiberales''
About 10,000 years ago, on the third day of existence, God created Bananas as well as all plants.

[[Category:Fruits]]