Are Humans THE cause of Global Warming??

Question

Ok the earth is warming and the climate is changing. Why does a) it need to be considered catastrophic, and b) it have to be true that humans are THE cause. We never ever hear about the good things that will come from global warming...why is that? will there be absolutely no benefits? Think for yourself and see if the scare tactics about global warming really make it worth getting to worried about.

Answer 1

partially yes.
the levels of the global warming are much more than they have ever been. the earth goes through a natural cycle of cleansing but since humans have been on the earth (mainly the industrial age) we have produced more gases into the air and changing the equilibrium of the earth. i know both sides of the global warming issue and yes it is best for someone to know everything about the subject before making any decision on the issue.

Answer 2

Humans are not the cause of global warming but they may be contributors to it. As an atmospheric chemist I have to say that climate change is a difficult thing to predict. Our observations are made on the planetary scale and many variables contribute. With so many variables it is hard to construct an accurate model. For instance humans have been producing CO2 at increasing rates since the industrial revolution but this is due to a society based on the combustion of hydrocarbons for fuel. So if different kinds of energy were used we might see a decrease in the CO2 levels this could have the effect of cooling the atmosphere but it might not. We have to recall that we are part of the solar system and activity on the sun plays a very strong role in the climate here on Earth. How much sunlight reaches the Earth will have a dramatic impact on the temperature of the Earth. There is not a large body of data that tracks these changes over long periods of time (decades or centuries) so we do not have a good handle on how changes on the Sun might effect us here on Earth. This is just an example of two variables that are difficut to predict there are many more but just these two things can cause a drastic change the predicted output of an atmospheric model.

The good news is that in the United States research scientists are exploring new types of energy for consumer use, and power plants are developing cleaner ways to burn fuel and keep the air clean. Remember we have a bunch of smart folks working to solve these issues for this nation. Consider countries like China, Mexico, India, and Pakistan. In some news stories about global warming these countries are seldom mentioned giving the impression that the U.S. is responsible for global warming but the facts show that the countries listed above contribute greatly to global pollution.
A lot of "news" about global warming is hype or politically motivated to initiate things like a global warming tax. The answer is that as scientists we just don't know how much humans contribute to the current trend in global warming. We do know there are things we should do and are doing as a society to combat CO2 emissions. As we continue to study the issue we may be able to give a better answer.
Read some of the links below for some interesting articles on the subject.

Answer 3

Evidence is showing nothing has come good about the global warming so far.

Effects, the artic and anartica climate warms up and changing the eco-systems. If you don't care about the polar bears and penguins, but you have to care about the fishery in the regions. We harvest massive marine products from that region everyyear.

Also, the global ocean warms up has caused the drop in the planktons. Why would you care about the microscopic plants and animals ? We should care because it is the base of the food chain for the fishery. Small animals and fishes eats these for food, and big fish eat small fish and animals. As the diminishing of the population of the planktons, there is much less fish around. Also, with the plankton diminishing, the less oxygen density around. These microscopic plants help reduce the co2 and gives out o2. With reduction of the planktons, thus further more green house gas. it is a bad cycle.

Next, if the polar glazier melts, the ocean level rises, reduces the amount of land on Earth. With land reduction, less ground for people and plantation. That will intensify the competition between people and food.


In responding to the first question, there are different factor contributing to the global warming. Some are natuarl phenomena and some are mankind related. For what the industrial world are doing, it is contributing to the global warming. It is certainly speed its up.

Answer 4

About 10 yrs ago we were first told about Global Warming, and that in 10 yrs (or now) the earth will be devastated. Wrong! To answer your first question, yes it can be catastrophic, however, it is a natural process that cannot be changed by buying 20$ light bulbs and recycling plastic. Believe it or not the Earth goes through cycles in which it cools off, then warms up, wash, rinse repeat. SUV's didn't kill the dinosaurs, it was what we would now call, if we wanted to sell millions of dollars worth of heaters, Global Cooling. Global cooling's effect for a period of time is what we would call and Ice Age. Which is exactly what we are coming out of. As to the second question, humans are not the cause. If you want to blame anybody, blame cows. That's right blame our bovine friends. You see cattle through their flatulence produce Methane gas. This is known to be 10x worse than CO2. They, the cattle, were pinned at one time to be the leading culprits that were single handily destroying the Ozone layer. Another fine scare brought to us by our Environmentalist friends such as Mr. Gore (who also by the way created the Internet).

Here are some useful tips.
1. If the sky above the clouds is blue then the Ozone layer is fine.
2. If it is hot in the summertime, it's because it is Summer.
3. If the hurricane season didn't produce one hurricane this year, don't expect an apology from the NWS for them being wrong.

Answer 5

Our buildings are responsible for 1/3 of greenhouse gas emissions??? Where do people get these statistics, at best they are fuzzy, at worst completely made up. These are people completely fabricating stories and calling them facts, and then uneducated Hollywood types like Leo DeCrappio, who have more money than brain cells, decide that it's their job to 'educate the masses' about these 'horrible situations' when in fact they are nothing more than a state of fear.

Remember the cancer causing high power lines? Yah, that was all trumped up beyond belief and now has been proven false, and that's what we have here. Oh, we spent some 25 BILLION dollars on the power line fable.

"Oh my goodness, how can you say this?" How? Because lets talk about a few things. Volcanic eruptions for one. It has been said that nearly 1000 times the amount of debris and gas is expelled into the atmosphere by ONE volcanic eruption than man has ever done.

What about swamps? Do you realize that a swamp is a continual festering decomposing gas releaser, and likely releases more gas into the atmosphere than even volcanos do.

Ask yourself this question. Why do environmental agencies who are supposed to be 'unbiased' have so many lawyers and so few scientists? Why are we trying to force thru legislation, policies that have never been proven at best in theory and worse in application? Don't believe that? Show me one temperature model from the last 20 years that predicted 5 years in advance or more that was even remotely close to correct present day?

None of them are even close. In fact in the mid 1990's we were talking about how we were moving into another ice age. So now we are to listen to these same so called experts predict Global Warming when they have never been right about temperature prediction models before? Sorry, I'm not going to listen to that sort of crap.

No one knows if the earth really is warming. If the earth is warming, no one knows if anything we as humans have done has had any substantial contribution whatsoever to the changes in conditions. Any warming may very well be part of a progression of the earth's natural climate pattern over a very long period of time, certainly much longer than human record keeping has taken place.

This is just another state of fear, where the media gets everyone in an uproar, ignorant actors and musicians and other famous moron types talk out of their behinds without knowing what they are saying, and try to drag the government in to repair a problem that doesn't even exist.

Answer 6

a) The problem is that we can't predict what will happen where. Undoubtably there will be local effects that will be "good" (which really depends on your point of view anyway) - some farmers might get more rain at the right time of year, some crops might grow faster, people who don't like the cold will appreciate milder winters. But we'd have to expect an equal number of "bad" outcomes (some places will likely become colder, for example). One issue is that we've developed our land use patterns around current sea levels and climates - if they change, even if the overall planet we're left with is "better", a lot of painful and expensive adjustment will have to take place, and where political boundaries stand in the way of that adjustment there will be conflict.

It will get ugly if their are serious economic shocks, or if we end up with large numbers of "climate refugees".

b) The climate is a system, and we are part of that system. We influence it, but we do not control it. We do not fully understand our influence, but we're now operating on a scale where we should be questioning it. Scare tactics are necessary because that's what it takes to get awareness, which is the first step towards mitigation and adaptation. In our political systems nature is regarded as just another interest group, but you can't negotiate with a climate.

Answer 7

No. Want to read something I did for the official question?


"STOP SCARING YOURSELVES.

I know this will never be read by anyone, but it has to be.

Look at the chart that shows temperature changes. Look at it. Tell me, how large are the temperature changes? High to low, it's about six degrees celcius. Tell me that's a massive change. Tell me that. Moreover, the temperature began going up before the Industrial Revolution.

Also, you say our houses create 1/3 of the greenhouse gas emmissions. Yes, but only of what humans create. And how much do humans create? About 10% of the total. What you said is a blatant form of propaganda. Why do humans only create 10%? Let me tell you.

First, what are greenhouse gases? Those that trap heat. Carbon dioxide is a big one. What processes make carbon dioxide?

Fires.
Lightning. (Big one.)
Volcanoes. (Huge, though rare.)

The list goes on. Also, what can be the results of global warming?

Ice in glaciers can melt, causing a rise in the water level and flooding.

Uh, no. Have you ever wondered why ice floats? It's less dense than liquid water. Plus, less than 10% of glaciers are above water, the rest is under. Thus, if glaciers melted, the water level WOULD GO DOWN.

I swear, I have NO idea what scientists are up to.

I just hope someone, somewhere reads this and understands.
That means you."

Answer 8

NO NO NO NO and NO.
We do not have the power to control the Climate, the Sun and Solar Storms in the Atmosphere.

Scientists are just now understanding the effects of the Sun on earth's climate and ocen temperatures
Maybe we all need to ask Gore and Di Caprio what caused the Little Ice Age???

Western Europe experienced a general cooling of the climate between the years 1150 and 1460 and a very cold climate between 1560 and 1850 that brought dire consequences to its peoples. The colder weather impacted agriculture, health, economics, social strife, emigration, and even art and literature. Increased glaciation and storms also had a devastating affect on those that lived near glaciers and the sea.

Answer 9

Yes and no. We contribute to a naturally occurring cycle. The planet goes through phases of cooling and warming, and that's been proved through core samples of ice.
Humans are not the entire cause of Global Warming. We merely contribute to it with producing greenhouse gases.
I imagine that very little good will occur if the polar ice caps melt entirely. There will be a great loss in animal and plant diversity if it becomes too warm in the polar regions. Also all of the water trapped in the ice caps will raise the volume of the oceans and throw it of balance, causing more loss of plant and animal life. As to benefits of global warming to humans. There are none. Loss of landmass would mean squeezing burgeoning populations into smaller areas creating more crime and poorer living conditions. There would be a loss of cultural diversity as well, as people move to deal with climate changes.

Answer 10

There are too many humans on this space ship we call Earth. Our population has outstripped our technology to take care of our human needs.

Our planet is similiar to the Titanic disaster. When the collapsable life boats were full and the people already aboard could take on no more--they started beating off the people trying to get aboard. Similiarly, the earth can hold only so many people--if we overload it then we will all sink too!

The people of the world need to take control of our population growth--so far, only china has attempted to do anything--and limit the population growth of the earth.