is global warming upon us now??

Answer 1

Yes. of course it is. we can directly observe the fact that the earth is warming.

The only debate that is going on right now concerning global climate change is that of the cause. Is it naturaly occuring? man made? a little of both?
What can we do about it?

Answer 2

The climate system varies both through natural, "internal" processes as well as in response to variations in external "forcing" from both human and non-human causes, including solar activity, volcanic emissions, and greenhouse gases. Climatologists agree that the earth has warmed recently. The detailed causes of this change remain an active field of research, but the scientific consensus identifies greenhouse gases as the primary cause of the recent warming. Outside of the scientific community, however, this conclusion can be controversial.

Adding carbon dioxide (CO2) or methane (CH4) to Earth's atmosphere, with no other changes, will make the planet's surface warmer; greenhouse gases create a natural greenhouse effect without which temperatures on Earth would be an estimated 30 °C (54 °F) lower, and the Earth uninhabitable. It is therefore not correct to say that there is a debate between those who "believe in" and "oppose" the theory that adding carbon dioxide or methane to the Earth's atmosphere will, absent any mitigating actions or effects, result in warmer surface temperatures on Earth. Rather, the debate is about what the net effect of the addition of carbon dioxide and methane will be, when allowing for compounding or mitigating factors.

One example of an important feedback process is ice-albedo feedback. The increased CO2 in the atmosphere warms the Earth's surface and leads to melting of ice near the poles. As the ice melts, land or open water takes its place. Both land and open water are less reflective than ice, and so absorb more solar radiation. This causes more warming, which in turn causes more melting, and the cycle continues.

Due to the thermal inertia of the earth's oceans and slow responses of other indirect effects, the Earth's current climate is not in equilibrium with the forcing imposed by increased greenhouse gases. Climate commitment studies indicate that, even if greenhouse gases were stabilized at present day levels, a further warming of perhaps 0.5 °C to 1.0 °C (0.9–1.8 °F) would still occur.

Answer 3

When asked what I think about “Global Warming”, I usually respond that, “I am in favor of it!”

For the sake of this question, I will posit that "Global Warming" is real, although I don't actually think there is a sufficient baseline of data to conclude this issue one way or the other, since we only have data for a few centuries and reliable data for only the last 60 or so years (less in most parts of the world). However, let's say that the whole planet really is showing a significant warming trend, and that the cause of this is human activities.

So, what should we do about it? Firstly, the question alone assumes that a general warming trend is, or would be, a "bad thing". Let us examine that assumption:

It is generally believed (falsely) that, only in the last century, humans have become so populous and our technology so powerful that we can significantly impact our environment. In fact, humans have been cutting down forests to create farmland for about six thousand years. In the process we have turned millions of hectares of land that was previously verdant and fertile into vast deserts. Note the difference between biblical descriptions of the lands now known as Iraq and the Arabian Peninsula and their current arid state. The archeological record shows that civilizations rose and fell in these locations that could not have been supported by the land today. So, what happened? The human populations of these civilizations, through intensive agriculture, modified the local landscape. This has been happening throughout human history on lesser and greater scales. The steady encroachments of deserts throughout the world, primarily the Sahara and Gobi can be attributed to human activities. Much of the land in Eastern Europe and Central Asia has been so intensively farmed over many millennia that today the landscape appears tired and inhospitable (think of Afghanistan). So, let us not wring our hands and lament the evils of modern technology. Our ancient farmer ancestors were far more destructive of the environment then our current farming. In fact, today, our modern agricultural technology is much better at sustainable farming than it has ever been.

So, now that we know that we humans have been changing our environment (sometimes for the worse) for a long time, let's look at what a warming of the environment might actually do. While we do this, let us remember that the whole biosphere of the planet is giant complex system that uses negative feedback to prevent or attenuate rapid changes. What that means is that when we "push" something the system "pushes" back. If the system were so delicate that it could be catastrophically and permanently changed by even significant outside forces, life could never have originated on this planet in the first place. Events such as the massive meteor or comet strike in Siberia that initiated the die-off of the dinosaurs would have precipitated such a massive climate change that all life on Earth would have died off instead of just the large animals.

The primary result of a global warming trend would be to produce (on average) more rain on more parts of the planet. The additional rain would ensure more green plants. More green plants would mean more demand for and consumption of carbon dioxide. Since it is the increase in carbon dioxide in the atmosphere that is producing this trend, when the additional plants begin to consume more carbon dioxide than is being produced, the trend will then be reversed and a new equilibrium established. That is the essence of any negative feedback system. So, are we facing the catastrophe that implied by the original question? Absolutely not! Might changes in the environment affect humans? Maybe, but not on the scale that is implied by the question. In any case, we humans have been dealing with such things for quite some time now, and I am not at all worried about our ability to cope with it. On the bright side, a global warming could reinvigorate many of the vast areas of the planet that have previously been used up by human farming. On balance, I see more positives associated with global warming than negatives. And this is why I say that I am in favor of it.

I am old enough to remember that when I was a kid, the environmental catastrophe that everyone worried about was “nuclear winter”. For those of you not old enough to remember this, all of the “Experts” were warning us that if we had a nuclear war that so much dust would be blown into the stratosphere that the planet would reflect the sun’s heat into space and that this would cool down the surface of the earth and precipitate a new ice age. Well, cooler heads prevailed and we never did have that nuclear war. However, I figure that if it ever really gets too hot, we can always use that concept to cool the planet down. I am speaking somewhat “tongue in cheek”, of course. My real point is that I have lived through countless predicted catastrophes that never happened. Does anyone still remember African Killer Bees? Or, for that matter, look up a guy named Malthus. More than two hundred years ago he predicted, on the basis of mathematical projections of the world’s population increase and the amount of food produced per acre of land, that the end of civilization as a result of a massive famine and food riots was eminent. For some reason, we seem to like getting our knickers in a knot over things that just don’t need to be worried about. Why is that? Well, for one thing it sells newspapers (or airtime). For another, it justifies large grants for “further studies”.

I would much rather see all this effort, attention, and money being put to something really important… like figuring out how to eliminate spam from the internet.

Answer 4

First answer is correct. Earth just flying through space like a drunk driver. Now it get a little warm and we see Natural Results to this. The amount of time involved for this, we will not see a cooling effect any time soon. So, we will hear those that can use this to manipulate people for various reasons. Hundreds/Thousands of years from now the Global Cooling people can play their game. ;-)

Answer 5

Yes..
The globe has been warming & cooling with warming as a general
trend for the past 13,000 years...Since the last Ice age..

Answer 6

Yes, I heard Elvis talking about it the other day.

I'm just joking, don't jump all over me. Yes, I believe it is upon us. EVERYONE needs to help in the fight to lessen it, but not everyone is willing to do anything.

Answer 7

Yes. The polar ice caps are melting & there are photos from the air confirming this.

Answer 8

Basically