Global warming is one of the biggest liberal scare tactics about the environment. Global warming has many implications, from the existence
of polar ice caps and the level of the oceans to the size of deserts and the ability of farmers to raise crops. Most of the negative
effects associated with the theory of global warming are unfounded, though, and only people who do not understand the volatile nature of
the Earth's climate will believe this theory.
Currently, the best scientific evidence is inconclusive, and it does not establish a clear link between human actions and changes in the average temperature on Earth. The most inconvenient truth for Al Gore is that there is not enough evidence to prove that global warming exists, and in fact plenty of scientific evidence refutes this theory.
Global warming alarmists frequently try to claim that warmer temperatures on Earth would cause the polar ice caps to melt, which would cause ocean levels to rise. In order to understand what would happen if the polar ice caps were to melt, we must first review some things that most of us learned in 7th grade science class (liberals should pay extra attention here!) Density is a scientific measurement of the mass per unit of volume of a given substance. Liquid water, whose chemical formula is H2O, is the standard for density. Although it varies with temperature, the density of pure water is about 1.0. That is, water that weighs one gram will take up about one cubic centimeter of space. One divided by one equals 1.0, the density of water.
Objects with a density less than 1.0 will float, while substances with a density greater than 1.0 will sink in liquid water. For example, Styrofoam has a density of about 0.1 so it easily floats, but gold has a density of about 19.3 so it sinks when placed in liquid water. Ice has a density of about 0.92. Therefore, as anyone who has ever had a glass of water with ice cubes in it knows, ice floats in liquid water. Ocean water contains salt and many other dissolved minerals. This makes its density about 1.024 at a temperature of 50 degrees Fahrenheit, which is a slightly greater density than that of pure fresh water. This is only a minor difference, though, and ice floats even more readily in salt water than in fresh water.
If you do not believe that solid objects float more readily in salt water than in fresh water, then go to the Great Salt Lake in Utah or the Dead Sea in Israel. If you swim in the water, you will be surprised at how easy it is to float. You are likely to see people lounging on their backs, enjoying their enhanced buoyancy. The density of water changes not only with how many minerals are dissolved in it, but also based on its temperature. When water freezes, it expands and takes up more space. In scientific terms, its mass does not change but its volume does. This is why ice floats. This principle may sound simple, but it has important implications for a scenario in which the polar ice caps melt.
The ice covering the North Pole is floating, and there is no land underneath most of the Arctic. If this ice (with its density of 0.92) were to melt then it would be liquid water. Liberal political advocates jump to the conclusion that the level of the Earth's oceans would rise if the ice cap covering the North Pole were to melt. Nothing could be further from the truth. When ice melts, it takes up less space. Here is a simple experiment to illustrate this point. Take a plastic cup, fill it with water, and freeze it. (Kids, try this at home! Then please explain the results to Al Gore.) Next, let the cup full of ice melt. Measure the level to which the ice rises in the cup versus that of the liquid water. Yes, ice does occupy more volume than liquid water. That is why its density is lower than that of liquid water. If this were not true, then ice would sink, which would be unfortunate when trying to enjoy a scotch on the rocks. (Incidentally, scotch has a density similar to that of water.)
Think about what this means for the enormous block of ice floating in the Arctic Ocean. If it were to melt, the average level of the oceans would decrease, not increase. That is, there would be slightly more dry land if most of the ice floating in the Arctic Ocean melted. Not exactly what liberals such as Al Gore told you, is it?
To read more arguments disproving global warming and other alarmist liberal theories about the environment, check out this book:
"How the Left Stole the Environmental Movement" by Eric Lawrence and Darren Russell
Currently, the best scientific evidence is inconclusive, and it does not establish a clear link between human actions and changes in the average temperature on Earth. The most inconvenient truth for Al Gore is that there is not enough evidence to prove that global warming exists, and in fact plenty of scientific evidence refutes this theory.
Global warming alarmists frequently try to claim that warmer temperatures on Earth would cause the polar ice caps to melt, which would cause ocean levels to rise. In order to understand what would happen if the polar ice caps were to melt, we must first review some things that most of us learned in 7th grade science class (liberals should pay extra attention here!) Density is a scientific measurement of the mass per unit of volume of a given substance. Liquid water, whose chemical formula is H2O, is the standard for density. Although it varies with temperature, the density of pure water is about 1.0. That is, water that weighs one gram will take up about one cubic centimeter of space. One divided by one equals 1.0, the density of water.
Objects with a density less than 1.0 will float, while substances with a density greater than 1.0 will sink in liquid water. For example, Styrofoam has a density of about 0.1 so it easily floats, but gold has a density of about 19.3 so it sinks when placed in liquid water. Ice has a density of about 0.92. Therefore, as anyone who has ever had a glass of water with ice cubes in it knows, ice floats in liquid water. Ocean water contains salt and many other dissolved minerals. This makes its density about 1.024 at a temperature of 50 degrees Fahrenheit, which is a slightly greater density than that of pure fresh water. This is only a minor difference, though, and ice floats even more readily in salt water than in fresh water.
If you do not believe that solid objects float more readily in salt water than in fresh water, then go to the Great Salt Lake in Utah or the Dead Sea in Israel. If you swim in the water, you will be surprised at how easy it is to float. You are likely to see people lounging on their backs, enjoying their enhanced buoyancy. The density of water changes not only with how many minerals are dissolved in it, but also based on its temperature. When water freezes, it expands and takes up more space. In scientific terms, its mass does not change but its volume does. This is why ice floats. This principle may sound simple, but it has important implications for a scenario in which the polar ice caps melt.
The ice covering the North Pole is floating, and there is no land underneath most of the Arctic. If this ice (with its density of 0.92) were to melt then it would be liquid water. Liberal political advocates jump to the conclusion that the level of the Earth's oceans would rise if the ice cap covering the North Pole were to melt. Nothing could be further from the truth. When ice melts, it takes up less space. Here is a simple experiment to illustrate this point. Take a plastic cup, fill it with water, and freeze it. (Kids, try this at home! Then please explain the results to Al Gore.) Next, let the cup full of ice melt. Measure the level to which the ice rises in the cup versus that of the liquid water. Yes, ice does occupy more volume than liquid water. That is why its density is lower than that of liquid water. If this were not true, then ice would sink, which would be unfortunate when trying to enjoy a scotch on the rocks. (Incidentally, scotch has a density similar to that of water.)
Think about what this means for the enormous block of ice floating in the Arctic Ocean. If it were to melt, the average level of the oceans would decrease, not increase. That is, there would be slightly more dry land if most of the ice floating in the Arctic Ocean melted. Not exactly what liberals such as Al Gore told you, is it?
To read more arguments disproving global warming and other alarmist liberal theories about the environment, check out this book:
"How the Left Stole the Environmental Movement" by Eric Lawrence and Darren Russell
