Global warming, humans fault or the Earth's natural cycle?

Question

http://60minutes.yahoo.com/

I was watching the 60 Minutes special on Yahoo about global warming. I do beleive that humans have some part in it, but there is still one question lingering in the back of my mind. In the interview, the scientist said that these current conditions havn't met the Earth in hundreds of years, or even thousands of years. So what happened during those time period where these tempuratures and carbon levels were the same before? It couldn't have been your average Joe heating his house or driving his Hummer cross country. This leads me to beleive that what we are experiance may be a result of the Earth's natural cycle. Am I wrong?

Answer 1

Since i'm home tonight (I'm broke from christmas shopping, lol) ;heres my 2 cents.
First of all: we're all being lied to ;if that isn't obvious by now theres not much hope for the na'ive.
Just after WW2, the US went into a huge industrialization.In rebuilding Europe into the early 50's the US smelted more steel , mined more iron, cement, etc. than ever before in history.Ironically,a few yrs later the weather was warmer/drier in England& northern and western europe(now Ukraine).Southern Europe at that time was wetter than usual(heavier snowfall).
Fast forward to the 60's & the economic industrialization of Japan.Virtually nothing happened yrs later,except for El-nino, la-nina,... an "enigma" from the pacific that comes but once a decade. Trouble was it came 2yrs later instead of ten, and then again the next year,(that's when it got the label "la-nina").what a joke!
Fast forward again to China's mid-late 90's expansion.Post reform China didn't really modernize in earnest until 1998 or so. and look at the change in the weather NOW(2005 & 2006) in the US.

What do all these "occurances" have in common? THE JET STREAM. The US jet carries over the N atlantic into northern Europe/Ukraine. Japans curls into the Pacific heating the water there. finally East Asia's moves north over Kamchatka, and into Canada then southward into the US(normally).The change in jet stream currents, and the heating of same dramatically changes temps.

Its my belief that man certainly does influence the weather.The earth is a living biological mass, it will react in kind.

Answer 2

Yes. I sorry to say you are wrong.

During the 1990s there wasn't enough data to say whether it was human activity or natural cycle that was causing global warming. In fact you may (or may not, depending on age) remember that in the 1970s the perceived threat from nature was not global warming but the onset of the next Ice Age!

However, since the 90s the computer models have been refined as more data has become available. Many of the latest systems run thousands upon thousands of scenarios, with the results being clustered. All of them come to the conclusion that it is human activity in causing the massive release of carbon into the atmosphere that has caused the warming that has been monitored directly since the 1950s, and can be traced back through study of ice cores, tree-rings and the like, to the 1700s and the start of the industrial revolution.

Only the likes of President Bush stand in the face of the science now. Ten years ago your view point may have been valid.

No longer.

Answer 3

I think it's both, we may very well be speeding up the process but it is natural for climates to change. At one point where I live was under a giant glacier of unimaginable proportions, it took one heck of a warming to melt that. There has also been many little ice ages if you take the time to research it.

The worry is more that this warming could have potentially dire consequences for us. With the warming, tides will change, growing areas will be affected as well as a lot of wild life will find themselves unsuited to there territory. It may not be just our fault but a lot of extinctions could come of it.

I also think the other worry and the part where the blame kinda starts to settle on human activities is that darn hole in the ozone layer. Also buy changing some of our habits we may be able slow down the warm up and give us and our animal friends a chance to grow accustomed to the change.

Well that's my 2 cents.

*cheers*

I have to say I strongly disagree with 13 ceasers, time started way before the 1700's in fact in perspective to the age of our world that isn't really that long ago. Short term data can point to things untrue. As stated before I do agree we are making things worse

Answer 4

My understanding of the situation is that the earth is in a cycle of ice ages and tropical ages, us being in a tropical age currently. As one would naturally assume, the earth will have warmed, ending the ice age and will continue to do so until we reach the peak of this tropical age and then start to cool off again and back into an ice age. Much like our seasons work having peaks of summer and winter. If the planet is warming, is this not because we have just come out of the last ice age 10,000 or so years ago and warming up to the tropical age?

Answer 5

There are three things that contribute to the warming of the earth.

1. Changes in the sun
2. Natural changes on Earth
3. Man's actions

The only question is what is the percentage that each of the above is contributing to the warming trend that we are in now. In my opinion the human contribution is much smaller than the natural contributions.

Answer 6

Global Climate Change (AKA Global Warming) is brought on by earth's natural cycles and humans. However, the human role is much higher than what it should be. We are excelerating global climate change into dangerous levels. You can help by asking auto manufacturers to reduce greeenhouse gas emissions, http://ran.org/what_we_do/zero_emissions/. You can also go vegetarian, http://www.earthsave.org/globalwarming.htm.

Answer 7

I believe it is the earths natural cycle.However I believe that humans are exacerbating the situation.With all the deforestation going on in the amazon and the increased emissions from the explosion of the economies of China and India,to name a few,I feel that it is a combination of man and natural processes.Where it will lead is anyones guess.

Answer 8

I AGREE 100%

the earth has warm and cold periods {ice age}

we are responsible for some, but 90% is nature

Answer 9

international warming may be led to by using both. yet at present the warming we are experiencing is being pushed by using an advance in greenhouse gasoline emissions which stems from human events. The organic aspects which have pushed climate replace in the previous (like Milankovitch cycles - properly worth googling, they are rather exciting - or significant photo voltaic activity) only are not in play today.

Answer 10

Sounds like you get it all figured out