Does anyone believe that climate change is not due to human impact, but infact, natural global cycles?

Answer 1

Yes!
Scientists do not agree on this point - there is still a lot of data to gather before science catches up with the true cause of climate change.
Let's look at what's happening - we've got some hot weather, in some areas - we have drought over the equator - we have a high level of storms. Earthquakes are building up and volcanoes are more active. Sunspots are increasing as the sun moves into one of its more active phases, (that only happens every n-thousand years - can't remember the exact period.)
In the 70s scientists were reporting that we were coming to a mini ice age. Indeed, land-based polar ice is not melting at the rate expected had we truely been experiencing 'global warming'.
The increased sunspot activity, they say, corresponds all too neatly with changes happening on earth, and, incidentally, to every other planet in our solar system.
The concern over 'greenhouse gases' seems to be something of an anomaly. We need greenhouse gas. It is important. We need it to hold the heat in around us - it's always been there. Our contribution to it is minimal - our emissions do not account for the fluctuations, in fact these were happening before we were really producing any emissions.
I know we feel guilty about our use of the earth's resources. We have been thoughtless - have lost respect for our environment and abused it.
I think to feel guilt, to blame mankind, is not helpful. What is helpful, is to take responsibility. What we do know is that we are experiencing climate change. We know that we are running out of conventional energy. We know that we do not take care for our environment enough. We know that we do not care for the balance of life on our planet enough.
I agree there are too many people on earth, our influence must have an effect, though perhaps we sometimes over estimate that effect. It may not necessarily be that CO2 is the problem. There are other areas not fully studied yet, such as the effect of reactive nitrogen. The answer is ... that we cannot answer this question from a scientific point of view - the results just aren't in yet.
It is because we do not know that there is all the more reason to start treating the earth with respect. I do not subscribe to the doom and gloom group - human beings have survived extreme temperatures for Millenia and we can certainly do it again. But we can start to rebuild respect - use resources that are not harmful to our health, other creature's health, or the atmosphere - re-learn how to recycle, reuse and repair.

Answer 2

Everyone, including Al Gore, believes that all PAST climate changes were due to natural causes. These people also believe that SOME future climate changes will be due to natural causes. So I think you really mean to ask if anyone believes that the climate change expected in the near future will be due to natural causes. Well, it is still a future climate change. No significant change has taken place yet. People who say the change has already started are jumping the gun I think. The real question will be, if the climate does change the way that people who are using man-made causes to make the prediction are saying it will, would that convince people that the cause was really man-made? I think that would convince most, but not all, the doubters. Some people do not even believe the Earth is round!

Answer 3

Its a difficult one because i have heard differing things. I heard that we are over due an ice age but that appearing incorrect. What actually is happening is in every ice ages cycle (much like a year) there is warm and cold times we are in the middle of an ice age in a warm time (and we are overdue by about 40000 years to reenter the cold climate). The human effect on this in my opinion may have sped up the process and more moved the seasons than completeley changed them.

If the recent hot days hit a record " hotest day for 100 years" then thats 100 year where its actually cooled down surely.

Answer 4

The influence of natural cycles is a part of climate change, but the magnitude of climate change we are experiencing and are likely to experierence is due to a combination of natural and anthropogenic (man-made) sources. Natural cycles alone would not account for the changes that are occuring. Read the third IPCC report (or at least the summaries) to see some of the research that has gone into this area of study.

Answer 5

I think it is a little bit of both - a natural cycle that has been accelerated by human activities. In terms of how long the earth has been around, humans have not been around long enough to know what consists of a normal cycle of the earth. There once was an Ice Age, makes sense that there would be an opposite cycle, i.e., what we have called Global Warming.

Answer 6

A bit of both really, the seasons seem to be moving later in the year and some places are getting colder and others warmer, change is inevitable even in a perfect world.
However, you've gotta face it that pollution is a big big problem. 1 jumbo jet burns 10000 litres on a 10 hour trip 1000 litres an hour. all that carbon has to go somewhere??That's just one flight, how many flights are there a day??Hundreds of thousands. then theres cars, lorries, ships, power stations. I think man's(as in humans) main aim at the moment should be utilising alternative, enviromentally friendly sources of energy. We have discovered different ways to produce energy, now we just need to utilise them, sun ( energy sent from the sun in 1 minute is enough to provide for all the earth's power for 1 whole year), wind, wave, tidal. All enviromentally friendly ways of doing it, if we have the resources. Why don't we use it more?

Answer 7

Surely the human interference has 'contributed' to climate change, but I dont believe it is the sole reason.

Earth is a "restless planet". Continents have moved, snow filled regions have become deserts, giant rivers have eroded away at fertile lands etc... changes are happening all the time...

6 BILLION people are right now burdening our fragile mother earth - there is going to be an impact of our actions, surely - but at the same time our existence on earth is as insignificant as any other animal who ruled the planet before us.

so I say although we humans have some influence on the climate change because of pollution etc, these changes are inevitable and were to happen anyway....

Answer 8

Earth is currently in a 'mini ice-age':usually there is no polar ice-cap at all and planetary weather systems, temperature, and gas ratios in the atmosphere tend to change every sixty thousand years or so, a very normal occurence in the history of the Earth. To worry about this is perhaps unwise, never mind whether it may or may not be linked to a human effect. The polar ice-caps will melt one day, there will be no glaciers, Carbon Dioxide levels will be higher or lower, Ozone levels will be higher or lower. Granted at this time humanity is having some effect but these things happen. And in any case, since, as environmentalists are telling us, we will have used our planets deposits of fossil fuels within the next twenty years, beyond that point we will not be able to produce so much carbon dioxide into the atmosphere.

Answer 9

Yes, climate change is a natural occurrence. The Earth has gone through many hot and cold periods/cycles and it looks as though we're heading into a hot period now.

The question you need to ask yourself is, "Is man speeding up this process, or has he reversed the natural cycle (ie, it's getting hotter now when it should be getting cooler) because of pollution?"

IMO, man rapes the Earth continuously because we are selfish, therefore leading to an un-natural rise in the Earths temperature.

Answer 10

I hate answering a question with a question, but I feel I must.

Got to the World Almanac and see how over six billion people now inhabit earth, which has grown so much in recent times as compared to all previous centuries, and factor in that many are becoming accustomed to the modern conviences which utilize automobiles and airplanes...etc...

So, do you feel that the inconsistent weather pattern and melting of glaciers is all due to natural progression, or do humans contribute much to this?