I don't know about you, but I find the whole debate about global warming to be extremely odd. Perhaps it's because I've been engaged in the heating and air-conditioning business for so many years, or maybe it's because the issue is so ambiguous that it has always been a challenge to figure out just who really knows if it's truly an issue. As I write this article, there appears to be a global unraveling of the entire “global warming concept” because of unsubstantiated scientific data, poor or flawed recordkeeping and the ever-present influence of “special interest groups.” My feeling is that the majority of people with any semblance of common sense have felt, for a long time, that there might be something amiss. It seems any time you have politicians, the news media, actors and actresses (all of whom are highly educated scientists…not!) proclaiming a world calamity, then it seems wise to become a bit suspicious of their motives.
I have been suspicious of the whole global warming idea from the start. Fifty years ago and early in my HVACR career (yes, as hard as it is to envision, I am that old), I worked as a mechanical designer for a consulting engineering firm performing heating and cooling load calculations. I remember being fascinated when the ASHRAE Journal showed that the average outdoor temperature in virtually every reported location never varied more than one-half a degree from year to year. This fact alone gave rise to my suspicions of how, all of a sudden, we found ourselves thrust into a global warming crisis just a few years ago. Many say that our government loves crisis because they then don't have to waste effort to resolve unrelated and unimportant issues while everyone focuses on the global warming crisis.
That appears to be a fact since the global warming debate continues to heighten, and a consensus from learned scientists is never likely to occur. I find that lack of a consensus highly suspect. After all, these are highly educated and experienced individuals, not a bunch of guys debating the issue over a couple of beers at the local pub. If scientists with the knowledge and data cannot come to some agreement, then why are we wasting so much energy and concern unless, unless…there's money involved. I've now introduced the infamous “follow the money” concept into the argument. I know some will say that's not playing fair, since we're talking about the future of our grandchildren, polar bears and even ice cubes. I would have liked to ignore the fact that there is money involved, but have you considered the number of jobs, industries, governmental agencies and international scientific bodies, radio, TV and printed materials, to name just a few, that are (and have been) benefiting from a perpetuation of the global warming scare, not to mention the “green movement”?
I wholeheartedly support several aspects of the entire global warming debate: the conservation of resources, renewable energy sources and recycling. But I have to ask: Did we need to be frightened half to death to realize the need to stop wasting our resources? Well, perhaps not, but it is certainly effective. Historically, it seems it takes a natural or man-made crisis to occur before the resources and technology are used to perform the actions that many knew we should have been doing all along.
I suppose I'm just a bit cynical in my developing years (I like that better than old age), but whether it's global warming, climate change, H1N1, the obliteration of the world's financial markets, the demise of the U.S. auto industry, the end of new home construction or an out-of-control health care industry, it always seems that government generally either caused the problems or allowed them to happen but is, of course, always ready and able to save us. Thanks for small favors!
Frankly, I'm getting tired of news that frightens me into heart failure day after day and having our government constantly administer mouth-to-mouth resuscitation. I'd rather be left alone and allowed to survive on my own, just as our forefathers did when they developed this great nation.
Have a great day!
Don Frendberg,
Executive vice president / COO