Monday Links: The Health Industry's Big Lie, Atmospheric CO2 Thickens, and the DSM's Dangers

I recently discovered Patrick Mustain through a guest piece on Scientific American. He’s also written a more in-depth piece on how the consumer fitness industry disguises the actual causes of America’s problems with obesity. I recommend giving it a read.

On Scienceblogs, alarm over our contribution to global warming increases. Earlier this month, the amount of carbon dioxide in Earth’s atmosphere passed 400 parts per million. This is nearly one and a half times the CO₂ density of the atmosphere in pre-industrial times, just over 200 years ago. And according to Peter Gleick at Significant Figures, CO₂ levels haven’t been this high since three to five million years ago—before humans even evolved. For those of you inspired to political action, Greg Laden has a letter template you can modify and send to your congressman, senator, or other state or federal representative.

Finally, the Economist runs an article with a brief critiqueof the psychiatric profession, arguing that reliance on only one book (the DSM-V) to diagnose mental illness is a dangerous game.

The Case for Global Warming, Part 3: How Bad Can it Get?

In my previous posts, I established, as is accepted in the scientific community, that global warming is a real phenomenon, and that human activity is what drives this warming trend. However, as alarming as the data appears, it makes sense to question what this actually means. What does a warming world look like? Would it truly have a negative effect, and if so, how severe would it be?

The Case for Global Warming, Part 1

This is the first in a series of blog posts on anthropogenic global warming, or global warming caused by humans. Today, I introduce the subject and establish the existence of a sudden, unprecedented warming trend. I will discuss the subject in more detail in future installments.

I have not always believed that global warming was real, or of concern. For a period spanning my late elementary school days to the freshman year of college, I regarded the idea with a heavy dose of skepticism. In fact, I suspected it was false, and either a hoax or, more likely, an overreaction.