科学VS政治：油气行业需要为气候变化负责吗？

Ketiboa Blay：

The problem seems to be in the question “Is the Oil Industry Responsible for Climate Change?” The question seems to suggestion that the industry is the only factor of climate change. Yes, the process of production which burns and exposes harmful gases into the atmosphere; oil spills that destroy ecological endowments; and the use of end products such fuels and oils that pollute the atmosphere, all contribute to climate change, But it is absolutely wrong to blame the phenomenon solely on the Oil and Gas industry. Climate change started long, long ago even before oil and gas exploration and use. Once man came unto the world scene and commenced agricultural production, settlement and infrastructure construction, forestry depletion and landscape changes and their accompanying climate issues also commenced. It was only a matter of time that humans would realise their negative impact on the environment climate-wise. Yes, oil and gas are contributing to the speeding up of climate change, but they are not the only culprits.

Mike Schmidt：

You’ve asked for opinions. I’m not a climate researcher, so that’s all I’ve got. Here goes:
Is there global warming and resulting climate change? Yes. It is the result of increased levels of greenhouse gases, particularly carbon dioxide and methane.
Is it anthropogenic? Yes

Is the oil and gas industry the cause? Only in part, and even there, it is primarily an indirect cause. There are other important causes, e.g. agricultural practices, deforestation, etc., but they have better P.R. But the consumption of hydrocarbons is definitely a contributing factor.

Only indirectly? While the production of oil and gas inevitably leads to increased methane levels, it is the increased levels of carbon dioxide that is particularly concerning. Creating a supply of oil and gas does not increase the levels of carbon dioxide; the demand for burning oil and gas increases the levels of carbon dioxide. Creating a supply is moderately correlated to creating a demand, as our recent experience with crude oil prices demonstrates.

Can the oil industry really afford ignore the issue? No, and for several reasons: 1) Climate change is a global problem with enormous impacts. Not just flooding coastlines (pity the people of Miami and most of the third world), but droughts that cause massive social dislocations and create the circumstances that allow ISIS to form and exist. 2) The fact that there are other contributing factors doesn’t change that the consumption of oil and gas is a contributor. There is a role for the oil and gas industry to play. 3) Even if the oil and gas industry can convince itself that is has no responsibility to address this problem, most of the world sees it differently. We operate with the permission of society. Lose that permission, and we don’t operate, whether we think that is reasonable or not. 4) Our industry has the skills to address this problem. It is a problem that desperately needs to be addressed. So, we have a duty to do something about it.

My opinions, for what they are worth.

Kosta Leontaritis：

My extensive research experience in energy and thermodynamics including modeling of these phenomena tells me that even considering the possibility that the Oil Industry may be responsible for lasting climate change of the Earth is ludicrous, let alone trying to prove it rigorously.

There are so many known and dominant factors beyond human control that could be responsible for the Earth’s current climate change that make it impossible for one to scientifically prove that the Oil Industry is indeed responsible for the climate change.

Even the deforestation mentioned above is a midget factor on the Earth’s climate compared to the impact the sun, planets, and galaxy have. So I respectfully ask all those who say that the Oil Industry “contributes” to climate change to provide convincing simulations/calculations and evidence that compares the “contribution” of the Oil Industry to that of the sun, planets, and galaxy.

If we are to take this topic out of the realm of gut-feel and hip-shooting or more accurately our of the realm of politics, the supporters of this idea should provide a detailed scientific energy balance model proving their case. The great Aristotle, whom I call the inventor of Politics, writes in his book Ethics and Politics that …political science tries to settle issues that can have no logical or technical explanation. People simply agree to settle these issues by majority vote. …. I submit that the cause of the Earth’s climate change has a technical explanation. The charge that the Oil Industry “contributes” to climate change is technically irrelevant and political in nature. Humanity cannot decide such highly technical and important issues using politics. As a scientist I believe that some day, probably in the long distant future, humans will advance to the point that they can determine accurately the “contribution” of the Oil Industry to that of the sun, planets, and galaxy. Only then this issue will be truly settled.

Robert Ellsworth：

Well ,it is time to stop asking a question that puts blame on the oil and gas industry for something they have little if any blame for producing. This is a political question and is best answered by fools like Al Gore and Obama.
Climate change is controlled primarily by the Suns’ surface activity.

The amount of heat and energy radiated by the sun when there are few or no sunspots “Bubbling Away” is far less than when sunspot activity is high and there are many sunspots. Sunspots occur in cycles that increase and decrease over time, typically 200 years if my memory is correct. So, about every 200 years we have change. When there are lots of surface disturbances on the Sun we get hotter weather and ice melts etc. When the activity falls off the ice freezes, crops (primarily grain) are affected and global temperatures fall. These “Climate Changes” are not caused by mankind but by the sun. In fact in the last couple years the polar ice at the North Pole has increased by about 25% and appears set to grow again this coming winter.

In fact we are at a slow period of sunspots now and winter weather can be expected to become colder than expected for the next decade or longer. What is also to be expected are more large and serious earthquakes around the world. For some reasons yet to be fully explained when these cycles occur the world experiences a higher number of real nasty earthquakes. Case in point Japans big shaker which almost put them out of the nuke power station business occurred at the beginning of this latest Minimum, as the period of fewer sunspots is called, started.

So, this money and effort we are spending to clean up the greenhouse gases is pure BS. NASA and scientists worldwide have been telling ours and their political hacks about this cool down since early 2007 and now it appears to be on us.
If you have any doubt on this, take some time and look into it. The history on this goes back tens of cycles for as long as man has recorded history. Right now we are into a “Flat Sun” period with no Bubbling sunspots and it is going to get cold, real cold, if all these real scientists are right and our “Greenies” and fools are wrong, which I believe is the case.

Beverly Jernigan：
No. However, global warming/climate change is man-made. Man made it up!
The global climate change industry is worth an annual $1.5 trillion dollars, that’s the equivalent of $4 billion dollars a day. While there might be some ill informed people who actually believe this lie, most are profiteers. The climate change propagandists need someone to line their pockets, they have chosen our industry. Upton Sinclair said, “It is difficult to get a man to understand something, when his salary depends upon his not understanding it!” God help us all.

Patti Taylor：

It is both interesting and annoying that the term adopted to describe human-created environmental impact is “climate change”. Seems to me there has been climate change since the formation of the earth; some very violent and not man-made. I believe we are foolhardy to think we can control climate change. What we can do is better manage environmental impacts.