Comments on: Bacteria froze the Earth, researchers say

A deep freeze 2.3 billion years ago may have been caused by bacteria, an insight opening up debate on how climate change operates.

[GRobLewis]

Politicizing the news

What a moronic and politically-charged subhead in the RSS
description of your story: "Who causes global warming? Single-
celled organisms--and not SUV drivers--may be the real culprit."
Nowhere were SUV drivers mentioned in the story, yet this bit of
calculated misrepresentation effectively absolves fossil fuel
gluttons from any responsibility for their mindless and destructive
consumption. In fact, the story blamed microbes for global
FREEZING, not warming! And I thought only Fox News was the
propaganda arm of the Bush administration.

[adornoe]

Your bias is very apparent

It is apparent from your comment that only a story supporting the global warming myth, which predominates the headlines lately, would satidfy you.

The story did not go into the politics of global warming/cooling other than to mention SUVs once. Yet you, demonstarting your apparent agenda and political leaning, went on to attack the author of the article and FOX with nothing to back up your accusations.

[Earl Benser]

It's too bad that you can't read....

... but then it's obvious that you can't think either. Your ranting,
even if it were in any way correct, has nothing to do with the
article. Please get down off your soapbox and take time to
understand what's really being said

Yes, 'Snowball Earth' did occur. The microbe theory makes sense
(also explains the iron ore deposits caused as the free oxygen
first combined with the iron dissolved in sea water). Global
warming occurred later as the volcanos replenished the CO2 and
other gases before plant life had direct access to the
atmosphere. And now, CO2 and other gases are starting another
global warming, partly from the fossil fuel burning that you
condemn so severely.

I assume that you walk everywhere you go? .. and you don't own
cows? ... and you don't have any termites?... and that you don't
believe in methyl hydrate?

[Earl Benser]

Actually,

Rereading your response makes me think that you were reading a
previous version of the article, and that, since your post, the article
was corrected .

If so, I withdraw my previous comments with apologies.

I'm not sure, however, about the rant against Fox.

[Stating]

What This Story Really Proves

What this story really proves is that the scientists really have no conclusive proof what caused global warming/cooling in the past and what may cause it in the future. So lest we all get caught up in solving the WRONG problem, the focus needs to shift. Jettison the global warming/cooling argument and just agree that the less impact we have on Earth's environment the better. And the quest to do this will lead to better, cleaner, more sustainable technology.

[CompEng]

Scientific progress

I think this article does indeed add evidence to the case that there's alot we don't know, but I don't think we should find that discouraging. It just means we're very slowly moving from an entirely qualitative study of global environmental effect to a more quantitative understanding. I find that exciting and encouraging, to know that while much is still a mystery, we are slowly converging on true understanding of how things work.
In the meantime, it may be safest not to meddle with our environment too much, but I find it encouraging that we are making progress.

[Thomas, David]

CNET is NOT Scientific America

If you keep this up you must change your name to the "CNET
Enquirer", or simply create an off-shoot to "report" this ... stuff.

Get back on track.

[Zakynthos]

i like it

be quiet, I like this stuff, its diff than the usual geek comp net stuff

Fascinating

Fascinating, thanks for reporting this.

[Mister C]

More cool stuff!

If you liked that then try here:

http://www.newscientist.com/home.ns

There is enough interesting stuff to keep you busy for days!

[Razzl]

cookbook for how to prep other planets for colonization?

I'm not quite sure what set off the round of political bickering--this article is a straightforward and knowledgeable report on a scientific theory which is related to filling in the evolutionary history of the planet rather than explaining current global warning. Given the evidence that exists for the severity of the problem brought on in the early climate the last scientist's comment was not gratuitous, not partisan, and springs reasonably from the evidence.

I found it interesting that this sequence of chemical change of methane may point the way to how some of the more promising potential colonization points in the solar system, such as the moons of mars, could be prepared for use by introducing bacteria to convert their methane atmospheres...

[Mystigo]

Re: cookbook for how to prep other planets for colonization

It would be an interesting starting point for terraforming. But you
need water, presumably lots of it, and millions of years as well. We
might be able to find the water, but as for the millions of years,
that's kind of doubtful. We need a clean cheap source of energy
here first before we can go colonizing the stars.

[Earl Benser]

The quantity of methane .....

.... on the moons of Mars wouldn't even begin to fill you Bic. And
it's not too likely that a earth bacteria could survive any farther
from the Sun, like at Jupiter or Saturn distances.

[ramonck]

yup

hahaha

Can help solve Earth problems

While not "colonization of other planets", advanced space exploration can help improve life on Earth, through:

- Technological spinoffs.
- Solar power satellites.
- Moving polluting/dangerous things into space.
- Extraction of space resources (asteroidal metals, cometary methane).
- Probably some other stuff that I don't know about.