You know..

There was a time when I would actually partially agree that some ideas should be given time, to be shown the light of day. At the time I felt, in some instances that healthy discussion about concepts were a great idea. Now, now I am not such a fan of giving some ideals time to see the light of day.

Yeah, when I was younger, I thought it was amusing when people wanted to discuss concepts like evolution. I still do find it amusing, because when people who are more knowledgeable about a subject start talking and discussing things, I can learn things that I am unaware of, or the latest information. When I was younger I would engage in conversations about the flat earth model, climate change, and a host of issues that we were learning about. Most of it was curiosity on my behalf, to learn new things, to try and understand why people would try and dismiss over a millennia worth of knowledge, and study for a hair brain idea. At one time, I would actually attempt to have a serious dialogue with those who believed these things, not because I enjoyed the prospect of discussing things with someone who used circular logic, or just didn't care enough to listen, but because we should all realize these things have been studied, our knowledge has grown, things have changed, and people can grow. As one participant I grew, I learned their beliefs, why they believed the things they did, and I hoped that they would see my prospective, that in some small way I could help them grow, as they had helped me grow.

There are many things in this world we don't understand, things that we, at current time cannot fully grasp or understand, and unlike some of my peers, I don't say “therefore God,” in these matters, I simply feel that we have reached a level of understanding that is insufficient to explain such events. The way I see it, we have held onto this “therefore God,” notion, but some of us have reworked it, therefore “evil scientists,” or therefore this... We are still trying to understand the origins of the Universe (or multi-verse), we are trying to understand the origin of life, the inner workings of the planets of our solar system, while we are looking for other planets that could harbor life as we understand it today. Knowledge is a never ending quest, and the more we think we learn and know, the more we should realize that we don't really know much of anything.

But something has changed. While I will still look at the things people say, and while I will look into these things, tired debunked arguments fly about, and people really don't grasp science, nor do they want to. 9-11 might have been an inside job, but the towers were not imploded, at least not as far as I can tell from multiple sources. Evolution isn't a lie, we've seen its evidence for hundreds of years now. The Earth is not flat, and space while vacuum like is not devoid of everything. The Big Bang Theory is a misnomer, it was really akin to a massive rapid expansion, as everything that exists, has existed and will ever exist expanded from a singularity, a single dense spot in the universe. We can debate how that single dense spot came to be, because as of this moment, I do not think it is known or widely accepted how this current turn of events came to be. If you are curious read, read peer reviewed material from actual scientists on the matter, kick it around in your own mind, maybe friends who are curious and enjoy discussing such topics. But I have observed a disturbing trend, paranoia.

In this age of the internet, I have seen beliefs come to light, gain traction, and come to have strong support. Insane theories that move past normal conspiracy theories. Certainly the internet has played a role in these events, it is the downside of the internet. For all the freedoms it should have, that it currently has, its the people who are the weak link, that are its ultimate weakness. When encountering something I am not familiar with, I research, many people research, we dig and poke, we prod around to get all the information we can, from sources that are reputable. But I see more people who do not do that. Yeah, I come here, I spout my views, I drop my opinions, and speak my peace, and I rarely show my own research. It is a lazy way of doing things, but it also serves a purpose. I want you, the reader, to do your own research, to take the time to come to your own conclusions, to think about what I say, and come up with your own thoughts, and if they are incompatible with my own, I want you to call me out, with sound reason.

Take this for instance, in the wake of devastating flooding in Texas and other parts of the world, raging wild fires in other parts of the US and Canada, I recently saw someone talking about how Harvey was a created storm. The words of Al Gore have been twisted to fit a narrative, “Humans create weather,” to paraphrase. To the best of my knowledge, we cannot create weather, the planet does that all on its own. We can certainly influence it in some small part. If you start a wild fire, and you have it burning hot enough, for a long enough period, it will eventually result in a “firestorm.” A massive rain storm, it is part of the planet's counterbalance, a wildfire can burn immense chunks of land quickly, and the result is that moisture is placed in the atmosphere, and it eventually cools, condenses and falls back to the ground, extinguishing the fire or preventing it from spreading further. Why not let them burn themselves out, as they are a natural part of the way our planet works? Because of the human toll they take. Flooding is natural, but again, just look at the human toll of it. We are balancing whats best for the environment with what is best for us. That said, and back to the point, I saw that there are people who believe that Harvey was an augmented human controlled hurricane. Some mysterious organization, or even the government itself has figured out how to create, grow, and let loose massive storms that cost human lives, and create economic destruction, like some villain from a James Bond movie. Hey Sy-Fy Channel, here is your plot for Sharknado 6... Sharknado's are a corporate conspiracy developed by a shadowy Home Construction Union and insurance companies. Get on that, and make sure to mail me a check.

So, the gist of this goes something like this. For the last few decades, since the late 1990s, someone has figured out how to create and control weather events, blizzards, hurricanes, tornadoes, and the like. These events are then let loose on the people of various countries in order to create fear of death from severe storm systems, and to create economic environments beneficial to whoever they are. They will often point to several severe storms making landfall on the same day, every so many years apart. I guess this is because every so many years people start getting agitated with the way things are going, and a huge tragedy is just enough to divert peoples attention. I have noticed that in one of the more popular sites to promote this, that they use the phrase “climate change alarmists,” as if to say that these storms are being created to force alterations to our lifestyles to limit the damage of Global Climate Change, which I believe they feel to be a hoax. The problem is I see people who often discuss science, who know a great deal on the subject falling in line with this belief. Only they see it as a means to dismiss climate change, which seems contradictory to me.

Look, if you want to believe that the government or some secret cabal of people are creating super-storms to reek havoc on the world, thats your deal. But do yourself a favor, research things first, before you propagate the latest greatest rumor of the month. The fact is, 95%+ of the scientists in the world are not perpetrating a hoax on us, Climate Change is happening, in some form or fashion you can debate how much we are responsible for it. We also need to get some other facets of our world out of the way. Climate is not weather, but weather is a part of climate. Look at it this way, we cannot forecast the weather accurately a week and a half out. If the weatherman tells me its going to be 105 degrees with 100% humidity the 13^th, I can probably laugh and know that he is likely going to get it wrong. But if a scientist comes along and says, this winter is going to be slightly warmer and dryer than normal in your area, you can hold off on the Arctic-wear, until the Polar Vortexes start. It doesn't mean not to get those cloths out, cleaned up and ready to wear, it just means that you likely won't need them. If a scientists comes along and says based on the current information we have, it appears that the next decade will see warmer winters with more snow, and hotter summers, they are probably going to be right. Weather is unpredictable in the short term, the climate on the other hand, that is fairly stable and is the overall picture of everything weather related over the course of a long period of time. So, hurricane Harvey, being a weather event is part of the climate, augmented by warmer waters that are a result of measurable Climate Change. As Irma goes through its dance of rapidly intensifying, loosing strength, and rebuilding in a normal hurricane's life cycle, and while it is potentially taking aim at the East Coast of the US, keep in mind that things are going to get worse, not because of some villainous plot to gain profits, but because we haven't been good shepherds to our home. Not everything is a conspiracy, and not sometimes, the simplest explanation is also the correct one. Harvey was a horrible storm, Irma might become one, its nature being nature, only we've been giving nature steroids.