Gulf Stream Shut Down In Progress - Cold Time Ahead?

Question

With all the current hype on global warming, both scientific and political, everyone in northern Europe are preparing for hotter temperature and the effects they will have on our lives. But surely we are putting too much faith in this scenario. With the slowing of the gulf stream (the ocean current that bring us our mild weather) in progress and speeding up we should really be preparing for ice, not fire. Years and years ago, we all thought the world was flat and the atom couldn't be split and space walking was science fiction. Could we be wrong about global 'Warming'? Should we really call it 'Climate Change' instead? Because 'Warming', doesn't mean warming for everyone. Dont put too much faith in our politicians, scientist and computers because lets face it, they have all been wrong in the past and they will be wrong again. What do you all think? Global warming or Climate Change? And remember, there's a big difference between the two.

Answer 1

Do you mean that global warming is man made but climate change is something thats been going on for millenia? Wasn't the sahara green once? Maybe the world needs to change climate to survive? Whatever the reason, it is certainly changing. My Spring flowers went into bloom today. Don't know if that's a regular thing cos I never planted before but October's a bit early for them, isn't it?

Answer 2

I struggle with the science on this one, i am told that carbon dioxide is the primary cuase of Climate change/ global warming. Yet as far as i can work out, carbon dioxide is a colourless gas, that is heavier then air,
((C = 12 O2 =2* 16 = 44) air = O2 = 32) numbers are Relative atomic mass))
thus after the energy (heat) has been disapted in to the atmosphere, it should cool and return to earth?

I am told it bonds to water with a weak ionic bond and then allows water to absorb more energy. I can't get my head round the idea that a weak ionic bond is stronger then gravities attraction. (If some one coudl explain?)

Then there is the other part to the green house effect, which does not sit with emprical observation. I am told by top sceintist and i am just a lay man, that sunlight comes down through the clouds, losses some of it's energy hits the earth then bounces back into the clouds where, due to the carbon dioxide present more energy is absorbed and the energy is bounced back down to the ground. Which would lead one to assume that the heating effect should be a secondary one i.e. the air should be humid (as one needs clouds for the 'green house' effect to work, and the sunlight should be diffuse due to the presence of these clouds? I think these are reasonable assumptions.

But conversely what has been observed especially in the southern Hemi sphere is a increase in the intensity of the sun light. Now if there is more sunlight getting through therefore there is more engery, hence there will be an increase in temperature. As observed by countless weather stations.

The question is why is there more sunlight hitting the earth, then previously. I would suggest that the reason we are warming up is not due to Carbon burning but to the large holes in the Ozone layer, which protects us from the sun's harmful UV light?

I think we are looking in the wrong place and need to truly work out whats going on. I am only using my what i know to arrive at these conclusions, if some one with a greater interlect could intervene that would be grand.

Answer 3

The more the planet heats up the more the polar ice caps will melt. The melted water will be fresh not salt water, the gulf stream works like a an escalator going round and round, what makes the water sink is the salt content so if more fresh water gets into the sea the gulf stream will not sink and this will in turn stop the escalator effect, once the gulf stream stops we will not get the warm water we need to create the climate we have. I think there is a good chance of this happening. Unfortunately we will probably get more cloud which will stop the sunlight getting through making it even colder and more cloud will bounce any heat back to the Earths surface but not enough to keep us warm. We will enter an ice age, most of us will die due to the ground freezing up and no vegetation which means animals will have nothing to graze on, we don't have fires anymore we all have gas and electric so you will have no way of keeping warm and with people dying all over the place disease will set in and people will starve to death because all the roads and air and sea ports will be frozen up. Not a pretty picture I know but sometimes we have to hear inconvenient truths!

Answer 4

Doomsdayers suck. Year after year, NASA measures the planet's temperature, and there has been no change. It warms up some places and cools down in others, but the average is the same.

In the late 1890's the glaciers started a fast melt-off. In the early 1900's, they came back. It was reported at the time in National Geographic magazines, available in their CD sets.

This stuff happens all the time. And, it seems like the more information we have, the more panicky people get over minor short term changes.

We are well within the 2000 year range of temperature variation.

I am 64 years old, and in my lifetime, the doomsdayers have predicted ice age and burn up and ice age and burn up. Enough already.

Yes, they are wrong about global warming. And, they will be wrong again.

Answer 5

The Gulf Stream may be slowing but the water in the Atlantic Ocean is warming up, that's why there's been more hurricanes the last couple of years in the Caribbean and they've been able to reach closer to Britain because they continue to be fed warm rising air by the warmer water. So in about 100 years time we'll have hurricanes hitting Britain in the Summer and massive blizzards and snowstorms and ice in the Winter.

Answer 6

What an intelligent question!
easy to see your Irish.Global warming is the latest boogeyman to keep us all afraid and control able.
Only about 45% scientists believe this to be true in fact.
The 55% aren't given any media time so we only hear one side of the argument.
And remember most of these scientists can't even get the weather predictions for the week right never mind the next 50 years.
Additionally the ice caps around greenland actually got thicker this year but no one reported.
The world i think goes in its own cycles regardless if we drive big suvs or not so just sit back and enjoy the ride and have a beer.thank you

Answer 7

The Gulf Stream wont shut down as such but more likely to move, either North or South...

Global Warming is not man made but simply a cycle and it has been doing this for millons of years. Man doesnt help global warming and he will not stop it no matter what we do but here in the uk will will be taxed for not being green enough, how pathetic can you get.

Answer 8

both it will get warmer and then the gulf stream will slow so more ice is kept up north each winter till the new ice age starts again
say 10 thousand years before it comes full circle back to something like we have now meanwhile the ice 1km thick over the UK sure as hell is going to push up the heating bills

Answer 9

I was trying to explain to a Japanese friend last week exactly that what you put so much more eloquelntly (can't spell that this late). Anyway, it would mean no more palmtrees in Portmeirion. And definitly no more palm trees in Fort William but maybe the Rhododendrons would hold out a bit longer.

I thought it was called climat change anyway?

Answer 10

The end result is about the same. Humans are going to face a rough go of it and hopefully it will be the smartest, the brawniest, as in the past, who survive. Does it really matter whether the me-firsts get washed off the planet or frozen to death?