Is this the indirect cause of global warming?

Question

world population 50 years ago approx 2,834,158,518
this year approx 6,525,486,603
by year 2050an estimated 9,224,375,956.

Answer 1

Yes, as more people need more industry, more greenhouse gases are emitted, causing more global warming.

CO2 is 30% higher than it has been for 650,000 years. Methane is 130% greater. These are two of the main pollutants humans put into the atmosphere in excess, and they are two of the primary greenhouse gases.

Look at the 'hockeystick', which shows a dramatic warming since 1950 after a fairly stable climate for 1000 years. In fact, the 10 hottest years in recorded history have all happened since 1990, with 2005 being the hottest, and 2006 is shaping up to maybe break that record.
(see links below)

There has NEVER been an article doubting man's influence on global warming published in a peer-reviewed journal. A recent study of almost 1000 proved that.

Yes, the earth naturally heats and cools, but the rate and amount we are warming now is unprecedented in the recent geologic past. We are doing this, and we must stop it. This is not some political statement or rhetoric. This is science trying to educate a crass, ignorant public of the damage they are doing. The magnitude of temperature increase ALREADY is about 10x that of the 'little ice age' of the middle ages, and rate and amount are only going up.

Just to be clear, glacial and interglacial cycles are mainly controlled by astronomical fluctuations, but we have a detailed record of the last 7 cycles, and what the climate and CO2 is doing now is way different and extreme. The rate of increase is much higher than in the past AND the value itself is much higher.

HI CO2:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/sci/tech/4467420.stm
HOCKEY STICK:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/sci/tech/5109188.stm
General climate stuff:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/sci/tech/3897061.stm

Answer 2

The Earth has experienced natural global warming and cooling many times in the past, and can offer useful insights into present processes. It is thought by some geologists that a rapid buildup of greenhouse gases caused the Earth to experience global warming in the early Jurassic period, with average temperatures rising by 5 °C (9.0 °F). Research by the Open University published in Geology (32: 157–160, 2004 [64]) indicates that this caused the rate of rock weathering to increase by 400%. As such weathering locks away carbon in calcite and dolomite, carbon dioxide levels dropped back to normal over roughly the next 150,000 years.

Sudden releases of methane from clathrate compounds (the Clathrate Gun Hypothesis), have been hypothesized as a cause for other past global warming events, including the Permian-Triassic extinction event and the Paleocene-Eocene Thermal Maximum. However, warming at the end of the last glacial period is thought not to be due to methane release [65]. Instead natural variations in the Earth's orbit are believed to have triggered the retreat of ice sheets by changing the amount of solar radiation received at high latitude and led to deglaciation.

Paleoclimatologist William Ruddiman has argued (e.g. Scientific American, March 2005) that human influence on the global climate actually began around 8,000 years ago with the development of agriculture. In his opinion, this prevented carbon dioxide (and later methane) levels falling as rapidly as they would have done otherwise. Ruddiman argues that without this effect, the Earth would be entering, or already have entered, a new ice age. However other work in this area (Nature 2004) argues that the present interglacial is most analogous to the interglacial 400,000 years ago that lasted approximately 28,000 years, in which case there is no need to invoke the spread of agriculture for having delayed the next ice age.

Answer 3

Yes, population increase is an indirect cause. As the population increases we manufacture more goods - need more housing and more energy and so produce more carbon. The only country to limit population growth has been China. People argue for an increase in population to provide a generation of young people to work and provide for the elderly. However, it would be better in the future to have robots doing the work. Those people who now sit behind desks sending jokes by email to their friends, shuffling papers and making phone calls; could be redeployed caring for the elderly who need it. However, less elderly people need care now than say 50 years ago. People who are commissioned to pile up bricks and call it a work of art could be put some some alternative use that machines and robots couldn't do. maybe, going around oiling the machines and robots? If you think you will be around in 2056 when there will probably be 25,000,000,000 people wandering the planet listening to MP111's on their multi-media mobile cellular computers and watching video as they travel in nuclear powered vehicles to their home office at the other end of their homes - start worrying now......

Answer 4

The pollution from the expanding population is likely to exert some influence on climate. However, any effects are small compared with natural variations in climate. It's been both a lot hotter and a lot cooler in the not-to-distant geological past, and the hottest periods known happened a long time before humans had ever evolved.

Answer 5

You got part of it right and that is if the population continues to increase we will reach a point when there will not be enough materials or food fo the people and then through our stupidity we will have global warming. in fact it will probably be thermal nuclear global warming.

Answer 6

The impact of population explosion/increase in global warming has not never been connected.When more people take in oxygen and exhale hot CO2 it may affect.The progessive decrease in vegetation,forests,destruction of natural resources etc may affect global warming.Proper research is required based on all these parameters.

Answer 7

If you are talking in terms of bodily functions having an impact on climate change, then you should be looking the effect sheep have on the climate. Othewrwise, yes, more people = more energy = more energy transferred to the atmosphere = higher temperatures and more intense weather events

Answer 8

Selfish people are th cause of global warming, people who don't think how what we do now will affect our kids and there kids futures so in a way yes, becuse there will be more selfish people!

Answer 9

Hi,

I don't think that is the problem...
Pollution is the problem - all sorts of pollution; smoke! It heats the earth ...

Karl
http://www.imcmake-money-fast-online.com

Answer 10

this has no relation with globle warming
the pop growth is due to other reasons like medication, high birth rate................etc.
but not globle warming