Scientists are not taking lightly the fact that Griffin, the head of NASA doesn’t understand the seriousness of global warming, with some calling on him to resign. Some reactions:

James Hansen, NASA’s top climate scientist: “It’s an incredibly arrogant and ignorant statement. It indicates a complete ignorance of understanding the implications of climate change.”

Michael Oppenheimer, Professor of Geosciences and International Affairs at Princeton University: “It’s astounding that the head of a major U.S. science agency could hold such attitudes — basically ignorance about the global warming problem. It’s so astonishing that I think he should resign.”

Gavin Schmidt, NASA climate scientist: “Griffin’s comments seem surprisingly naive. We are not in a situation where we are shopping around for an ideal climate, but that we have adapted to the climate we have, and that therefore large changes to it are not likely to be beneficial.”

Berrien Moore, Director of the Institute for the Study of Earth, Oceans, and Space at the University of New Hampshire: “I don’t understand it. I’m really stunned he would say something like that. I mean, I just really find it shocking.”

There's a difference between climate change brought on by Man's avarice and carelessness, and climate change that results from natural cycles in weather and tectonics.

Natural climate changes take place gradually, over many milennnia. That allows God's creatures to adapt and survive.

Climate changes resulting from Man's selfish ignorance are abrupt and cataclysmic. They anihilate living things that cannot adapt quickly enough. They are as cataclysmic as collisions with asteroids or massive volcanic eruptions, and the nuclear winters that follow.

We can't change the inevitable cycles of nature nor the glorious accidents that will happen in our physical Universe.

But we can change our own behavior. We can pollute less. We can give living species time to adapt to climate change.

If you tell me "God wants me to pollute” or that “God entitles me to hold
Dominion over the Earth” I’ll have no answer.

If you believe that "We are nearing the End of Days". If you believe you will “Fly away to Glory Land" ... I’ll have no counterargument. We have a fundamental disagreement about truth and reality that will never be resolved in our lifetimes.

Otherwise, let's do what we can to preserve Mother Earth and let her get on with her self-healing processes. I do not believe that she ever was meant to deal with our detritus.

I think people are missing Michael Griffin's point.
Lord knows have no use for George Bush, and it would be foolish to rush blindly TOWARDS global warming (who knows what the consequences might be?), but if it happens:

Perhaps the "south Pole" would become a much nicer place to live; Canada, Russia, etc. would have longer growing seasons and could produce much more food; more oil could be recovered from Russia (frozen ground in Siberia makes drilling very difficult).
So... Global warming might greatly IMPROVE the lives of much of the world's population. Are those people less deserving than the folks who prosper from TODAY's climate?

From wikipedia:
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Dr. Griffin holds seven degrees, and is pursuing his eighth. In chronological order of attainment, Dr. Griffin's degrees include:

* BS Physics (The Johns Hopkins University, 1971)
* MS Aerospace Science (The Catholic University of America, 1974)
* PhD Aerospace Engineering (University of Maryland, College Park, 1977)
* MEng Electrical Engineering (University of Southern California, 1979)
* MS Applied Physics (The Johns Hopkins University, 1983)
* MBA Master of Business Administration (Loyola College in Maryland)
* MEng Civil Engineering (The George Washington University, 1998)

Dr. Griffin was also working toward an MS in computer science at Johns Hopkins University before being appointed as NASA chief. Dr. Griffin has been a professor at various universities, teaching courses in spacecraft design, applied mathematics, guidance and navigation, compressible flow, computational fluid dynamics, spacecraft altitude control, astrodynamics, and introductory aerospace engineering. He is the lead author of more than two dozen technical papers, and is co-author with James R. French of the graduate astronautical engineering textbook, "Space Vehicle Design." ISBN 1-56347-539-1 Dr. Griffin is also a general aviation flight instructor and pilot, and part-owner of a small airplane.
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If anyone sees anything in that lengthy impressive list of degrees that even hints at this guy having any qualifications as a climate scientist, let me know. Further, check for the papers he has published on the subject.

The NASA chief is in good company. Former German Chancellor Helmut Schmidt called for an end to the "hysteria" over global warming in the lead-up to the summit. The topic is "hysterical, overheated, and that is especially because of the media," Schmidt told Germany's Bild daily. There has always been climate change on earth, Schmidt said. "We've had warm- and ice-ages for hundreds of thousands of years," he said, and added that the reasons behind the multiple climate changes have been "inadequately researched for the time being."

To assume that global climate change can be altered by any plans made at the Heiligendamm summit is "idiotic," he said.

Joyce T.,

I hope you're not actually giving any credence to either of them as if they had any climate science expertise.

When you want to know the truth about climate change, check peer review pubs first. Check popular press with references to specific peer reviewed articles second. The rest is mostly ignorable.

If you are truly interested in the real data and have the patience for reading a full length book, try The Weather Makers. If you're worried about peer review for a book, and you should be, just check the bibliography at the end. It is full of references to the peer reviewed articles that the book summarizes.

Here's a link if you'd like to buy it in soft cover. It exists in hard cover too if you prefer.

http://www.bestwebbuys.com/9780802142924

oh my gosh Paul,
You are just as ignorant of the seriousness of Global Warming as Griffin. Did you ever stop to wonder what the sixth great extinction means to humans and the planet. Consider only one creature, the honey bee..the colonies are dying off world wide at an alarming rate. We are totally dependant on the bees to pollinate a giant portion of our food sources. The Agriculture business is just about ready to panic. This is from just one creature suffering from stress and dying off. What about all the others that we depend on? Do you get the picture...the physical, economic chaos that is starting to happen...it's not just about hot air.

NASA administrator Michael Griffin said in the closed-door meeting Monday at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena that “unfortunately, this is an issue which has become far more political than technical, and it would have been well for me to have stayed out of it.”

“All I can really do is apologize to all you guys.... I feel badly that I caused this amount of controversy over something like this,” he said.

hum...Sorry he's still showing signs of ignorance over the matter. More "political over technical"? It's political because it's become clear to many that we must do something about it that only political action can accomplish. And then he says "over something like this" still indicating that he thinks it's not serious enough to have some serious thought on it.

You are right "madimodel". It is a backhanded "apology". Better that he didn't say anything.

Even the apology sounds like a diversion to me. There's nothing political about global warming. If we continue to treat it as a primarily political issue rather than a real scientific issue with real world catastrophic consequences, we will be in very real trouble. We're talking about global civilizational collapse and potential human extinction. What's political about that??!!??