is anyone scared? if anyone hasnt notice, our winters havent been that cold lately. Is Global warming coming?

Question

Or is it already here. Is it only going to get worse? Were is the snow? we are all going to die because no one will stand up and help? what do we do?

Answer 1

yes, i'm terrified. i have two kids and pity them. i love this earth. i think its worth saving and preserving. i think it has value in and of itself. i think people abuse it daily. and i think people who don't care just b/c they won't "be around" are shallow and short sighted. obviously they don't have kids. what about our children and our children's children?? why doesn't anyone care about them? why are people only concerned about themselves? it's one thing not to believe in global warming and have your reasons but its quite another to blatantly say "who cares?" - it won't be a problem they themselves have to deal with - and just be generally stupid about it just b/c they have a bad attitude.

Answer 2

Global warming is not just coming, it is here. This is a fact, you only have to look at the trend in average temperatures over the last 150 years to see it. What is subject to debate is 1) what is causing it, 2) how bad will it get 3) should we try to do anything about it and if so what?

Here is my take :

1) It's pretty much due to natural variations in global temperatures, driven primarily by changes in solar output. How I got there: We know that prior to about 1200 CE the weather in Europe was slightly warmer than it is now. The actual average temperature cannot be determined, but chronicals of the time indicate longer growing periods and less snowfall than currently seen. About 700 years ago, Europe entered what has come to be known as the "little ice age." This was a period of successively colder winters and crop failures and longer periods of snow cover. At its peak, snow was reported to remain on the ground year round in far northern areas such as Scotland. About 200 years ago, a warming trend began and this is the global warming we see.

During this period of global warming, the correleation between temperatures and solar activity is much better than the correlation between temperatures and atmospheric carbon dioxide. Also, most data suggest that the mechanism for warming is that the surface heats up first and then warms the atmosphere. An increase in the green house effect would work the other way, the lower atmospher (where the CO2 is) would heat up first and then warm the surface.

2) We don't know and cannot predict how warm it is going to get. How I got there: Since this is a natural cycle, we can only model it based on data from past cycles, unfortunately we do not have a sufficient data base since we have only been measuring temperatues for about 150 years. We have no idea how much solar activity will increase before the sun (A well know variable star) decides to go back into decline. It may only get as warm as the before the little ice age or it may get much warmer. It has been much warmer in the distant pass (think age of the dinosaurs).

3) There is not much we can do so we just need to learn to deal with it. How I got there: There is nothing we can do to trump the sun. It would be easier to stop a hurricane by asking everyone to collectively exhale against the storm. In a more scientific vein, one study indicated that we would have to reduce the emissions of CO2 by 50% to produce a measurable effect, and even then all we could hope to do is stop further increases.

Answer 3

Okay, soapbox time...

Yes, Global Warming is already a problem. The loss of permafrost in the Arctic regions, the recession of glaciers on a global scale, the migration of temperate species further and further north each year, and the increasingly unpredictable weather all point to a gradual increase in the average global temperature. It's something to be concerned about, not just because your own corner of the world might experience warmer temperatures -- we're still only talking about a rise of a few degrees, on average -- but because the changes in global climate patterns can affect how well crops grow in a particular area, the direction and strength of ocean currents, intensity of weather systems due to the change in the amount of heat energy available to fuel them, and the length of the seasons. Moreover, the overall concentration of CO2 in the atmosphere can affect ocean acidity, growth patterns of all plant life, and could (over the long run) actually affect the maturation process for animals (growth rate, developmental issues, etc) due to a change in available oxygen (more CO2 means, for the same overall atmospheric pressure, a smaller oxygen partial pressure).

That being said, it's hard to say from a single season that anything new is happening, because we're talking about a process that takes decades to really show its effects -- you can't just say that it's Global Warming just because you didn't get a lot of snow this year.

By the way, to the naysayers who offer "proof" that Global Warming is not occurring, I'd recommend getting the facts straight. First of all, no one seriously links the ozone hole with global warming -- the two phenomenon are caused by completely different processes. Secondly, the soot and other chemical contaminants released through burning fossil fuels does reflect some light away from earth, but no one has offered conclusive proof that it reflects enough away to effectively offset the Greenhouse Effect; they are relatively minor constituents in exhaust (and anyway, with their contribution to acid rain, many industrialized nations have installed scrubbers on their exhaust stacks to capture most of the particulates and toxic gases, so they're not even as much of a factor in Global Warming s they used to be)

Solutions? I've written about it before and I'll do it again. Write to your congress-people to make some changes to energy policy, get involved in conservation organizations that do more than just talk about the problem. Insulate your house and get more energy-efficient appliances. Find alternatives means of transportation besides internal combusion vehicles. Become a concerned consumer and buy products with a minimum of packaging and preferrably produced locally (less transportation and packaging = less energy expended getting into your hot little hands) Support renewable energy. When you're cold, wear a sweater rather than cranking the heat up high enough to cook meat in your living room. There are lots of little things that add up to a lot of change.

Answer 4

yes we are experiencing global warming and have been pretty much since industrialization began spreading over the planet. But this is not the first time we have experienced it in the lifetime of the planet. The shifts in the magnetic poles seem to have a great deal to do with this type of warming as well. But as explained in a recent television broadcast don't worry about it getting to warm. Worry that the global warming will cause another ice age. This has to do with the ocean currents becoming to warm.

Answer 5

Do not worry so much! Global warming is a problem that we will deal with, either by learning to live with it or by finding a way to control it. Either way, you are NOT going to die from it, and neither is anyone else. It is simply not a life threatening problem. Natural global warming has happened before, will happen again, and the effects of artificial global warming are no different than those of natural global warming.

Answer 6

Scared? Of what? Earth's climate is cyclical, warming up sometimes and cooling down the other times. This is due to solar radiation from our Sun, not by you driving your Honda to go see a movie. Cars and stuff may dirty the air, but they are not going to change the Earth's climate.
Take a few science courses so you can learn the facts and not the politically correct 'pseudo-science' dribble that the media pushes.
Remember, 1000 years ago, Southern Greenland was lush and green. Today Southern Greenland is covered with ice and snow.

Answer 7

I am afraid, yes. Not because of Global warming, though. I am afraid of mankind's stubbornness. I am afraid that, with a really lax attitude, mankind will be its own death. I am afraid, yes. Also, some of man's processes are triggering natural processes that normally would have happened a little slower. Some lakes that were normally frozen over are now releasing gas bubbles. Sure, some gases reflect sunlight. SO WHAT???? It depends on what we burn. When we burn things that release mainly greenhouse gases, that imbalances the atmosphere. When we try to rebalance it, we further imbalance it. But I am not entirely afraid. I have a feeling that man kind will hopefully realize its mistakes, and I have faith...

Answer 8

I've been doing a lot of research on global warming, and found bunches of scientific evidence to prove that it is not happening:
Don't shut down just because I'm saying this. Please keep reading. There is no need to worry about global warming. I seem to be in the minority with this belief, but have evidence to back my view. The earth’s main source of energy is the sun. The sun shines on the earth, giving the earth energy to warm the planet, but light just bounces off the earth and radiates into space. This cools the planet. If that were the end, the earth would be a freezing wasteland. But there are certain gasses (greenhouse gasses) that trap the light from the sun. The gasses are principally water vapor, methane, and carbon dioxide. Now this is what worries most scientists. Since the industrial revolution, we have been putting a lot more carbon dioxide into the air. Also, the population of the earth is greater than it has ever been, so more people breathe out carbon dioxide. Between these two factors, there is a lot more carbon dioxide in the air than there used to be. As a result, there is a lot more carbon dioxide that can trap a lot more light that would otherwise radiate into space. This causes global warming, right? Well, not exactly. Please keep reading and let me explain why. Studies prove that carbon dioxide amounts produced by human activity, are only 3% of the natural processes on the earth. That is not a significant amount. Also, when humans burn fossil fuels, many other gasses are released besides carbon dioxide. Some of these gasses reflect light instead of absorbing it. This actually cools the planet. So any human produced carbon dioxide is “cancelled out” by the cooling effect of other gasses.
Please keep reading. I have one more point to make. The hole in the ozone layer is thought by some to be linked to global warming. This is not true, as you will hopefully see soon. Ultraviolet light has so much energy that it kills living tissue. Cells that are exposed to it die at a high rate. Ozone is a gas that is made up of three oxygen atoms, forming a filter. It filters ultraviolet light so it does not kill everything on the planet. As you can see, it is a big problem to have a hole where ultraviolet light gets through. So let me tell about the ozone hole.
On October 8, 1993, scientists discovered a “hole” in the ozone layer. It was greatly disturbing, and much research and money was poured into it. The scientists discovered that, under certain conditions, chlorine atoms break down ozone into oxygen. They found these chlorine atoms in the ozone layer above Antarctica. Many sources put chlorine into the atmosphere; one source got a lot of attention: Chlorofluorocarbons, or CFCs. CFCs are incredibly useful in these ways: they are used as medical sterilizers, for refrigeration, and used to efficiently put out fires. Plus they are non-toxic! Well, now they are banned. We can still use them, but cannot make them anymore. Eventually the supplies will run out. You might be asking, how do CFCs get into the ozone layer? Well, in August, a weather phenomenon in Antarctica occurs. It is called the Polar Vortex. Winds steadily blow upwards, and temperatures can reach as low as –130 degrees Fahrenheit. Chlorine containing ice particles get blown up into the ozone layer, and the chlorine can then destroy the ozone layer. By November, the Polar Vortex is gone.
So in the end, the ozone hole is a seasonal phenomenon that happens four months out of the year. Also, how many people live in Antarctica? Hardly any do. So the CFC ban will reduce the depth of the ozone whole (it won’t completely eliminate it because it was there before CFCs were used) for four months were hardly any people live. The ban won’t save lives; it will actually result in death. Think about it. Third world countries will not receive food due to lack of efficient refrigeration. Fires will last longer and be larger without the CFCs to put it out quickly. Infections will increase due to inefficient medical sterilizers. Use the cost/benefit analysis, and you will see that a CFC ban is a bad decision.
I do not believe that the ozone hole is related to global warming because of this: there are two layers in the atmosphere: the homosphere and the heterosphere. In the homosphere, there are (from bottom to top) the troposphere, stratosphere, and mesosphere. In the troposphere, the temperature decreases with increasing altitude. But in the stratosphere, the temperature increases with increasing altitude. Once you get into the mesosphere the temperature decreases with increasing altitude again. Why does the temperature increase with increasing altitude though? It is because that is where the ozone layer is located. As you know, ozone molecules filter the heat, causing them to heat up. This increases the temperature of the ozone layer, and therefore the stratosphere. Now, if there was a decrease in ozone, I would think that there would be less ozone to filter ultraviolet light, and therefore less heat being transferred to the ozone layer. So, as you can see, a decrease in ozone would result in a cooling effect rather than heating. It is absurd to believe that the ozone hole has to do with global warming.
If you have seen charts illustrating the rise in temperature over the last few years, look at the range of temperature change, and don’t be fooled by the drastic change. Some graphs show lines that look like huge changes, but the temperature change is so small it is written in decimal numbers. I would recommend the book How To Lie with Statistics by Darrel Huff.
I hope that whoever reads this will learn something, and realize that global warming is not a problem. Don't be scared.

I know, it's a lot of writing, but I just wanted to get the scientific proof out there. Merry Christmas!

Answer 9

I know. I can;t stand it! I live up north and it is a bit too mild for me. If it is global warming then I think I'll have to move to Canada. no wait! i'll deal with the January summers instead.

Answer 10

There have been tropical forests at high latitudes before. That's where coal mines come from.
It may well happen again.
Unless technology solves the problem.
Maybe by putting in orbit clouds of light reflecting dust particles.

Answer 11

Winters vary too much to notice just from that, but the fact that there is *permafrost* melting should be a big ol' clue-by-four to the side of the head.