The Mars Paradox

Let's say we had two men. One had a million dollars and the other had only $385 dollars. Both had spending habits at a rate of $40,000 a year. The guy with a million dollars could live for 25 years at that rate. The guy will only $385 could only live a little over 3 days.

The reason for this example is to put into perspective the amount of carbon dioxide (CO2) that we have here on earth. As part of our overall atmosphere, carbon dioxide is only 385 parts-per-million (ppm) or, about four-one hundredths of one percent of our atmosphere. The bulk of our atmosphere is nitrogen at 78%. Oxygen makes up about 21% of our total atmosphere. (See Full Story)

Clearly, carbon dioxide, that supposed greenhouse gas, is a very minute gas here on Earth. In fact, it is only called a "trace" gas. According to the dictionary, the term "trace" is defined as: "a barely discernible indication or evidence of some quantity, quality, characteristic, or expression." Now, granted, it has risen from 215 ppm to today's 385 ppm in the last 100 years; but, it still remains a minutely insignificant part of our atmosphere. Isn't it a little hard to believe that such a small element of our atmosphere is capable of warming this planet to the possible extinction of mankind?

On Mars, CO2 is the majority gas in that atmosphere. Mars is 95 percent carbon dioxide (See Full Story). Yet, the temps on that planet dip down to a frigid -200 degrees Fahrenheit. That's pretty damn cold. In fact, the highest ever "observed" temperature on Mars is what could easily be considered a Martian skinny-dipping temperature of 65 degrees. In comparison, here on earth, the coldest temps in Antarctica dip to a balmy (relative to Mars) temperature of -130 degrees.

So, here's the paradox. With so much CO2 in Mars' atmosphere, why "isn't" Mars burning up with Global Warming? After all, a greenhouse gas is a greenhouse gas; whether it be on Mars or here on Earth. Further, as much as we can tell, there are no humans running around on that planet in SUV's; no flat screen TV's being run by coal-fired power plants; and, there are no Martian cows whose tailpipes are expelling significant amounts of CO2 (and other gases). Yet, Mars, like us, is going through a warming period (See Full Story). A climatologist might explain away Mars' cold temps by saying it is due to its proximity to our sun and its very thin atmosphere. OK? But, why is there warming without mankind?

Just maybe, it might NOT be CO2 that's responsible for warming climate conditions here on earth or on Mars. Ya think? Could Mars' current warming and ours be based on something that our Sun is doing? Na. What fun would that be? I guess I'll stick with the Gore hypothesis and just stop breathing to save our planet!

A 2008 Space Odyssey

As if we didn't have enough to worry about, it now appears that Jupiter is in the midst of Global Warming (See Full Story). I'm not sure if it's because of gasoline powered cars or because of cow flatulence or both, but this distant neighbor in our solar system appears to be getting hotter. This comes on the heels of a report, just last year, that Mars was undergoing a similar warming (See Full Story).

I am sure we are all waiting to hear "what" the guru of Global Warming, Al Gore, has to say about this. Maybe the earth should establish a system of carbon credits for our solar system. Maybe a tree planting system? You could reduce your solar-system carbon footprint by planting a few trees on either Mars or Jupiter. (I really think that trees along the canals on Mars would be a nice touch!)

Do you think the hurricanes on Mars and Jupiter are increasing in their frequency and intensity due to their Global Warming? I'm sure Al knows!

Just maybe Jupiter and Mars are two excellent examples of what a lot of scientists are saying: That our global warming is a result of increased solar activity. Of course, Al Gore would say this is nonsense science. Instead, he would stand by his claim that those scientists who don't recognized that global warming is a result of human activity are in the "bag" for the big oil companies and other big corporations! Maybe he's right. Why should we listen to a bunch of scientists with Ph.D's in things like climatology and geophysics and astrophysics when we could listen to Al Gore with his Bachelor of Arts and his major in Government? That has always made sense to me!?!? How about you?