Global Warming Fake?!?!?

Question

My friend's mother told me that this is normal, and the earth goes though this all the time, and if I'd look back in history I'd see. Right now its apparently going though its heating stage...and wen on in my 20's(I'm 15), that the earth will start too cool down. This goes against everything I've learned in school. What is correct?

Answer 1

Your friend's mom is partially correct. If she had all of the data, she maybe could have given you a complete answer. I think what she was trying to say was the "global warming crisis" that you might be getting scared into a frenzy over in school, and by sloppy media stories, and Al Gore, is perpetrating bad science and driven by some fairly fanantical folks who want to blame the USA for changing the weather. The weather is changing - it's always changing!

Lately the frenzy is all about the rising C02 levels and trying to blame the USA for being too industrious. Never mind that C02 is a natural by-product of biological activity. Oh, and did anyone in school bother to point out to you that C02 is not the most significant green house gas in the atmosphere? Did you know that WATER VAPOR is the most significant green house gas? The folks perpetrating the frenzy don't like to talk about that fact because it's hard to blame the USA for water emissions, or even concoct a story for how the USA could be responsible for emitting water that covers the majority of this planet.

This year it's warm on the east coast. But did you actually look at the weather trends where you live over the past ten years? How about the past 50 years? Gee, there was a winter season five years ago where it was even warmer than it is this year. And gee, there were many winters inbetween where it was colder than it is this year. And did you ever stop to look at the rest of the world and notice that some are having much colder weather? Do you think that because it's warm this winter where you are, that maybe it might get cold again next winter or is it just going to get hotter until we all burn to a crisp? Think a little and put all the facts out there and look at the data.

In case you didn't study geological history, the earth has gone through numerous ice ages. Much of North America was covered under MILES of thick ice. The last ice age ended thousands of years ago, when very few humans even inhabited North America. The earth has been warming ever since.

Now think about that. Entire continents covered in miles of glaciers that were so massive they reshaped mountains and ground them into glacial till. That's a lot of massive climate change that had nothing to do with human activity.

In case you hadn't heard, there is warming happening on the rest of the planets in the solar system. Should we start freaking out about the rising heat on Venus and Mars? We shoudn't because it's the sun that is getting hotter, and there isn't a thing you can change about that fact. Unless you can make the sun stop rising, in which case I have to ask why on Earth you'd want to have a frozen planet.

What your friends mom was probably trying to say was that the "global warming crisis" is not a crisis because it's a natural phenomena that occurs over thousands of years and is largely driven by solar activity, geological activity, and not by whether the Republicans or the Democrats are in office. It is entirely likely that the earth is getting warmer right now and will continue to warm for another century. But no one can say for certain. After all, it's been about 1,000 years since the last stretch of really warm weather and overall it's been getting warmer ever since the last Ice Age.

Answer 2

That is just a theory, just like global warming is a theory. Some people believe that global warming is really happening, while others believe there is nothing to worry about. You can't say for sure whether or not global warming exists as that is just an opinion.

I can tell you that it's true that there have been heating stages in the past that have occurred. If that's what's happening right now then things will cool down. Of course, global warming is still a possibility.

I'm 13, so this probably won't mean much to you. Still, don't disregard what I said.

Answer 3

The earth is over four billion years old (4 000 000 000) and has gone through thousands of heating and cooling cycles. SUVs were only invented 50 years ago therefore climate changes can occur without them- Oh wait, George Bush thinks that the earth was created 10 000 years ago and dinosaurs died in Noah's flood.

20 000 years ago New York City was covered by a glacier. Where are the smokestacks that caused that glacier to recede??

There are whale bones in the middle of the Sahara desert; those whales did not walk out to the middle of the desert. Where are the cow farts that caused that inland ocean to dry up?

Global warming is based on a simple principle: if you give a $100 000 environmental study grant to a college professor, he is not going to start looking for evidence that disproves the global warming theory.

Answer 4

Your friend's mother would be correct that the Earth can go through heating and cooling cycles (for instance, ice ages).

She would be wrong if she believes that global warming is fake or exaggerated. Logically, there cannot be cycles of heating and cooling if the globe does not warm up. That would not make any sense.

The concern is how much greater and faster is the globe warming up due to human intervention. And more importantly, what is the impact of that intervention.

Rather than tackle the issue regarding the potential human impact, opponents create a distraction by implying that there is no such thing as "global warming". So, opponents created doubts in people's minds whether or not the Earth is actually getting warmer while at the same time claiming that the Earth goes through these cycles -- the "argument" isn't even logical as I noted above. And people bought into it like they do with rumors at work or school.

A warmer earth means, obviously, warmer temperatures. Warmer temperatures means more water is vaporizing. Water vapor is, of course, a greenhouse gas which opponents like to point out -- as if creating more greenhouse gases somehow helps.

What is often neglected by opponents due to convenience is the fact that water vapor is removed from the atmosphere. We call that removal process 'rain'. More water vapor means more rain. If you happen to live in a part of the world that already gets a lot of rain, then that would be unfortunate.

The net balance of removal (rain) and source (water vaporizing) is used to determine "residence time" (or "atmospheric lifetime"). The residence time of water vapor is measured in days. CO2 is in years. Years versus days, I think it is obvious which has more potential to heat up the atmosphere. (CO2, of course, doesn't get removed by "raining" but it is removed by other processes like photosynthesis of plants).

What is also ignored by opponents is that a warmer Earth means that the atmosphere was able to hold more energy. That additional energy doesn't simply disappear. More energy means stronger storms.

Answer 5

Lets be real for a minute. Do you realize that humans are # 9 on the list of things that cause global warming. That is right. We are behind the sun. Wow that is a shocker! Who would have thought that. Next is ocean water. Yup evaporating ocean water gets into the atmosphere and traps heat. Number three is a volcanic eruption. One eruption emits more pollutants into the atmosphere than man. So lets be real if global warming does exist it is not because of man but becuase of the forces of mother nature which we cannot stop. So stop believing the liberal media and liberal educators. And one more thought...did you know that the earth will eventually be engulfed by the corona of the sun and blow up.

Answer 6

I've heard of this only once before and not heard of this idea until now. Only what I have heard is that the sun is going through a warmer than usual stage. I guess you could compare it to expanding and contracting that makes it go through the ebb and flow of hotter or cooler temperatures through time.

During the medieval warm period, there was virtually no ice in the Arctic - in 1421 a Chinese naval squadron sailed right round the Arctic and reported no ice. (The Antarctic, which holds 90% of the world's ice, has cooled and gained mass in the past 30 years.)

Four of Thompson's six ice cores indicate the Medieval Warm Period was as warm as or warmer than any recent decade.

Answer 7

Exxon Mobil spent 16 million dollars to deliberately mislead the public into believing that global warming is fake--there was a news story on it a few days ago. Apparently your friend's mom bought into it.
However, global warming is very much real. We have been this hot in the past, but the rate of increase is unprecedented. Also, the correlation with greenhouse gases is novel. Unfortunately, deliberate bad science has created the illusion of a debate, while serious scientists universally acknowledge that global warming, as we see it now, is occuring faster than it ever has in the geologic past and is also directly linked to human actions.

Answer 8

My mom for some reason believes the same. Yes, the Earth might go through cycles.....but here it's been 20 degrees above normal in just one year. Scientists Say even 2-3 degrees is bad. Watch some discovery channel and such if/when they have shows on about it, you'll learn a lot.

Answer 9

You probably go to a public (government) school. They like to teach the 'Global Warming' hack science because it is politically correct.
Your Mom is right though. Warming and cooling of the Earth's weather is caused by Solar radiation from our Sun and not by your driving to the store for an ice cream. The Sun's radiation output is cyclical, hence...we have warm periods followed by cool periods.
Continue to study Science so you wont be deceived by those with a political agenda!
Remember this..Greenland was lush and green 1000 years ago. Today it is covered with ice and snow.

Answer 10

nope.... look into history... you dint even need to go that far... if that lady thinks **** will be back to normal in 5 years... look to about 5 years before the first "el' nino" winter, go back 5 years, it was cold and rainy in the winter, and hot, but not he11 hot, in the summer, now it is hell hot in the summer and hot in the winter, i had my a/c on when i was coming home from school today!!.. tell me the planet is not heating up!!.. I'm in the SF bay area... it used to rain a lot in the winter.... this will be the first year it didn't rain like 75% of the winter!!... in 5 years the problem will be even worse... it cant be stoped... i love it when people say that if... IF... everyone got electric cars and solar panels and we stoped all forms of air pollution things will magically improve... it will just stop the progress... but it will take a lot more to actually get things back to normal... not to mention that will never happen... its not a "stage" buddy... earth is no teenager... its our impending doom... sorry... but since the begging of humans on this planet our fate was sealed!!

-shamar