Really smart people think we're goners

Okay, so they may not go that far. But if you listen to the media and a number of scientists - people who have spent years and years studying things that I've never studied - you can't help but agree with this AP headline: "Arctic Ice Melting Rapidly, Study Says."

Of course, I can't help but agree with the statement either. Why? Because 600 years ago the Thames River in London froze over in the winter. Now it doesn't. That settles it for me.

But still, at question is this:

Scientists point to the sudden and rapid melting as a sure sign of man-made global warming.

"Sudden" and "rapid" are the operative words here. Apparently, neither one is desired, and if either one happens it's the result of humans and their evil impact on the planet.

If ice age theorists are to be believed, the most recent North American glaciation period came in the Wisconsin glaciation, which ended 10,000 years ago. Of course, I'm very thankful for this period because it created all of the wonderful lakes in northern Wisconsin.

Whatever. I'm not even going to go there. I'm just going to enjoy the great fishing.

But regardless, if as recently as 10,000 years ago northern Wisconsin was covered in ice, at what rate did it have to melt so that you have to go to northern Canada before you find it now? Did the cavemen have conferences in Seoul brainstorming how to keep the ice from melting? You know, that ice that held their precious water and igloo material. (I know, I'm shooting from the hip here and being totally unscientific and really downright wrong in my summarization of events of 10,000 years ago. But then, I wonder if my supposition is really any more wrong than the scientists'??)

If you listen to the scientists, the ice has been melting for thousands of years. The problem with all of the "stop global warming" advocates is they operate in a world that says that the rate of the last 50 to 100 years is obviously the natural rate at which things must occur. They don't suppose that warming can happen more rapidly at some point in time than it did during another point in time. Additionally, they have little to go on but what they know from their limited time here on earth.

I'm a huge global warming skeptic. Don't get me wrong; I avoid using styrofoam cups for a reason. I figure that if there's even a chance it'll damage the environment, I should probably try to avoid it. It's why I call myself a conservationist, not an environmentalist. I don't worship Mother Earth. I don't even call it my mother. I just like it a lot and think that God probably wants us to be good stewards of what He gave us.

But I don't go nuts because a bunch of retirement homes on Miami Beach may go under water in 400 years. I have other things to worry about. Like styrofoam or paper?