Is any one out there as freaked out as me about global warming??

Question

It seems like it's still being swept under the carpet as a myth. Why are we as a people so unwilling to start making simple changes? Are we that selfish???

I heard there's a new movie out about it that Al Gore made. Anyone know the name?

Answer 1

The Earth goes into and out of ice ages every 80 thousand years or so. And has done for the last 5 billion years.

The planet is currently on its way out of an ice age that really only ended 10 thousand years ago. Glaciers have been retreating and so have the polar ice caps. Humans have a "recorded" history of barely 4000 years and detailed weather records for only a few centuries; not enough information to say for sure whether the rate of global warming is a normal part of the pattern or not.
Surely, people can argue that we are responsible for many "greenhouse gasses". But if we weren't here the planet would be evolving in some other way and possibly would be producing greenhouse gasses from multitudes of some strange algae, or bacteria, or plantlife or creatures. Or some other gasses that would cause our atmosphere to evolve differently.

To think that we have some sort of Galactic significance is, I think, rather speciescentric. We are just another dandelion in the great vast steppe-land of our cosmos. Now, hopefully our dandelion seeds will have the opportunity to spread to new places and we will hopefully populate far-away planets. Not to say we shouldn't be looking after our environment (because we should).

Preventing global warming is not a simple task. But if we are to survive as a species, then the more we know about our history and the history of our planet (and our universe) the better we can make our chances of survival.

In conclusion: as far as global warming goes... don't sweat it. (haha)

Answer 2

yes well we still have time to slow it down but the government is just covering up. there is a letter that was written by a climatologist and edited by the government and when it came back to the public there was nothing that was left the same. They basically turned it around from a dangerous and serious problem into something we dont need to worry about. If we dont fix the problem now in 10years the earth will be at a point of no return and there will be rapid warming and no way to stop it .. if this happens then global warming is going to be a big problem sooner then people expect. there is so much evidence of the polar ice caps melting ... if they do melt the ocean is going to rise and all of the coastal areas are going to be under miles of water ... this has happened in the past ... obviously its just a movie but if anyone has seen the day after tomorrow this is what is happening .. if the ice caps melt and the water cools down the ocean currents will stop and there will be no warm air circulating into cooler areas and vice versa

Answer 3

Well here's the thing about global warming: For years there was not enough data to prove that it was happening. I still don't know that there is enough data to PROVE that global temperatures are rising, but lets assume that they are and ask ourselves the question WHY.

The Earth is a living system just like you are. It has cycles and it has many interconnected parts. Humans are part of the whole system. But the system has been churning along loooong before humans existed. Global warming is generally caused by high levels of carbon dioxide (CO2) in the atmosphere. If you look at a plot of data gathered from ice cores in the artic, you'll see that historically the levels of CO2 in the earth's atmosphere have been much higher than now. Although the levels have been increasing over the past 100 years, they are still at what amounts to an all-time low. And by all-time I mean millions of years.

One of the other posters mentioned that there is billions of tons of CO2 locked up in the polar ice caps that can be released into the atmosphere if the caps melt. This is true. But ask yourself: where did all that CO2 come from? Dinosaurs driving around in Cadillac Escalades and cranking out manufactured goods by the millions of tons?? OF COURSE NOT. The carbon dioxide is a natural part of the Earth's system. There have been ice ages and heat waves for all of time and this points to a simple conclusion: Yes humankind is contributing to a rise in overall CO2 levels in the atmosphere but this contribution is absolutely miniscule compared to the naturally existing CO2 that naturally fluctuates in and out of the ice/oceans/air.

So yes, global warming is probably real, but it is also probably happening more as a result of the Earth's natural cycles than anything humans have done. Remember also that the media likes to capitalize on the milisecond-length attention span most Americans have developed. Climate change is not a year-to-year thing. Its a century-to-century thing or more likely millenia-to-millenia. So I highly doubt that you will need a boat to get to Omaha in the next 10 years even though the TV news like to scare into thinking that.

Answer 4

Most people are just trying to make a living and the big picture is a bit too much. A lot of the problem stems from over population .....imagine, with half the worlds population, especially in developed countries, global warming probably would exist.
Individuals are basically not the problem, its hard for them to change the system, as much is changed from political will. For example, even though everyone knows how bad land clearing is its still going strong in many countries because polititians want to stay in power by looking after the poor at the expense of the environment. With a little of the right knowledge neither needs to be sacrificed but with 200 countries political systems!!!! ouch.
Its great that you care but try not to internalise the worlds problems....don't want grey hairs too soon.
Cheers.

Answer 5

Yes, I've been freaked out for quite some time. People don't like change, especially when they think it might negatively affect their standard of living (even though global warming will dramatically change that standard if they don't take positive steps). Yes, many people are selfish. But that doesn't mean you have to be or that you can't do everything you can to help reduce global warming. Turn your "freaked out" energy into something positive--there are many things you can do each day to make a difference, at home, as a volunteer, at work (see sources). I've incorporated many things into my lifestyle, and I must say it's improved it, not made it worse. And I feel better about it.

Answer 6

The name of the Gore documentary is: An Inconvenient Truth

The trouble with global warming is that no one really has a straight-forward solution at this point. Things are being done world-wide, but at the usual government snail's pace.

Even if these things are done, are you ready to pay two to three times as much for electricity, gas for your car, groceries, etc?

Answer 7

The world economy is totally dependent on cheap energy and that can only be supplied by coal and oil right now. You can be sure that lots of people are working on alternative energy sources because there is plenty of money to be made in that area, but it is not so easy as some people think.

I am just curious, what simple changes do you have in mind and are you making them yourself?

Answer 8

There isn't much we can do. Just read on Yahoo news today that with the permafrost melting, trapped carbon will be released back into the atmosphere at a level of 75 times more than the release we do now in burning our fossil fuels. I say it is time we put all scientist in the world on large government salaries and tell them to find a F****** solution now!

Answer 9

I think you're losing sleep over something when there are bigger problems killing people & the environment right now: war, diseases, famines, overpopulation, destruction of resources, energy crisis, fragile American food supply system, etc

Although we are seeing average temperatures rise, we cannot be sure if it's (1) a natural fluctuation or (2) truly caused 100% by man's actions

Answer 10

Yes. Stephen Hawking

see http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/articleshow/1651692.cms