global warming: fact or fiction?

Question

is there a point to it?
Do we have anything to worry about?

Answer 1

Human activities release more than 150 times the amount of CO2 emitted by volcanoes. And CO2 is a proven green house gas. And the average worldwide temperature has been increasing for decades and it has been most obvious in the last 10 years.

What do you think?

http://volcanoes.usgs.gov/Hazards/What/VolGas/volgas.html

"Comparison of CO2 emissions from volcanoes vs. human activities.
Scientists have calculated that volcanoes emit between about 130-230 million tonnes (145-255 million tons) of CO2 into the atmosphere every year (Gerlach, 1999, 1992). This estimate includes both subaerial and submarine volcanoes, about in equal amounts. Emissions of CO2 by human activities, including fossil fuel burning, cement production, and gas flaring, amount to about 22 billion tonnes per year (24 billion tons) [ ( Marland, et al., 1998) - The reference gives the amount of released carbon (C), rather than CO2.]. Human activities release more than 150 times the amount of CO2 emitted by volcanoes--the equivalent of nearly 17,000 additional volcanoes like Kilauea (Kilauea emits about 13.2 million tonnes/year)!"

Answer 2

Actually the temperature of the earth has increased less than 7/10 of 1 degree (C) from 1880 to 2005. That is an increase of about 1 degree (F) in 125 years. You may choose to believe that is global warming or you may not. Source: http://data.giss.nasa.gov/gistemp/2005/2005cal_fig1.gif There are numerous charts all over the internet showing the same. Some say that 1 degree is enough to impact the global climate, others say it's not. Most proponents of global warming think the earth's temperature has risen much more than that and don't even know that it has only risen by 1 degree. But the charts do not lie as do the proponents on both sides of this issue. The average temperature in the Antarctica is 109 degrees below zero. Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Antarctica#Climate It seems to me 108 below (one degree warmer) is still pretty cold and not enough to melt anything. But there are those that say it will.

Back in the '70s all the hype was about global COOLING and another ice age was coming. I remember that they blamed pollution for that too. They said that all the pollution was darkening the skies and not as much sun was coming through so the earth was cooling off. It took many years to discover that they were mistaken and it was all just hype. Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Global_cooling So when someone says, "the sky is falling" don't believe everything you hear on either side of the issue. There are Spin Doctors galore out there.

Most of the time people will form an opinion and not really be informed about the subject with which they become so opinionated about. So it's best that you not form your opinions from other's opinions, (as in this forum) but on the facts presented. (Many do not provide any proof or links to prove their point, just their opinion.) With that said we do have a responsibility to do our part by doing whatever is within your power to keep our planet alive and well.

I hope that helps...

Answer 3

Fact and Fiction

Yes, we've caused many problems with pollutants, and other economically issues that defect our environment. But the thing many people do not see is the greater factor, mother nature.

It's around the time where the sun is beginning to show signs of buring midway through the hydrogen phase, and with the different buring methods, you got to think, maybe there is going to be heat increases. Now we have an Ozone, and other atmospherical layers to protect us, but the simple question is, is that going to control severe sun heat increases?

So no... the destroying of our atmosphere is not helping anyone, especially with the sun slowly running out of hydrogen. And yes- the sun will NOT last forever, and once all that hydrogen is gone, the sun and this planet will be gone. But until the disappearing of the sun, all hell will break loose on Earth, Moon, Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupitar, Uranus, Saturn, Neptune, and all the other little satellite planets (pluto).

As for you, me, and all the other viewers, your life will NOT directly be affected, but your kid's may. Besides the extra 2-10 degree increase in temperature in our lifetime, we will not see any dramatic change. Of course, polar ices will melt, sea levels raise, and maybe even NYC, and Florida, and New Orleans again, be under water. The new hotspot you ask? Will be the central states, and inland.


Hope this was fun to read!
Alex


By the way, global cooling can be caused by global warming. Because when the ice caps melt, and YES that ice is coold... they cause the seas to drop in temperature, and may cause a severe ice cap over the seas.

Answer 4

Most scientists agree that it is happening and we do need to be worried about it. Most of the people on Yahoo Answers that watch FoxNews claim it's all fiction. They will point to the fact that in the past, scientists have claimed the country was getting too cold or too hot and that we would experience a catastrophe, but nothing happened. I guess they figure that if scientists were wrong in the past, they must be wrong today.

I'm not a scientist, but I find it funny that so many people on message boards (who are not scientists) swear up and down that they know the truth about global warming. Most of these people "in the know" probably don't even have college degrees.

I guess the bad news is that a lot of us will die. The good news is if you live in middle America, you will have beach front property after the ice caps melt and the oceans flood the coasts.

Answer 5

Emperically, yes the northern hemisphere is definitelly becoming more temperate. but we are still nowhere near as warm as during the period from 800-1300 A.D. when the Vikings/Norseman were able to grow grain in Greenland where today there is permafrost. This planet has had a long term propensity of being much colder than it is today. All the crying about the "disaster" of global warming seems to dismiss the fact that the Earth's climate is always changing; either getting warmer or getting colder. SInce food does not grow well in snow, I would rather it be geting warmer rather than colder.

Answer 6

The problem I have against it is they say that CO2 has increased by 30% and I cant find it. Using some very good instruments I find 1 to 2 ppm. That is nothing . The reason that the CO2 is not there is plants remove it .Study Photosynthesis no the net. If Co2 is not there neither is global warming. If the plants are taking care of the CO2 what is all the hype about????

Answer 7

Fiction:
Here is the way it really works,
The sun sends heat energy toward earth
average temperature increases
plant life increases
water evaporates
clouds form
volcanos and animals emit CO2
volcanos emit chlorine gas
swamps ,animals, and volcanos emit methane
cloud cover increases
albedo (the 'white level') increases
heat energy is reflected
average temperature decreases
plant life decreases
animal life decreases
cloud cover decreases
less heat energy is reflected
average temperature increases

cycle repeats.
It's not 'global warming', it's 'global thermostat'
This planet's average temperature cycles around the freezing point of water.

Answer 8

Yes it is a fact that we are causing Global warming and here is an Experiment I want all of you to try: Pump Smoke and carbon gase's into a contained area add sunlight and see how much warmer the Temperature gets as heat cannot escape through those gase's and the tiny particulates released from them.

Go to www.StopGlobalwarming.com and sign the Petition so that we can be part of the solution. Also go to www.Undoit.org and sign thiers.

Answer 9

We have loads to worry about like polar ice caps are melting and the habitat for many cold climate animals is diminishing and the ice melt is causing some strange effects in the oceans by rapid and deep cooling causing deep sea creatures to come to the surface for feeding (recent reports of Giant Squid that were though to be extinct comes to mind) All of this means a change in food resources as well as currents and water availability. We can't live without a viable water source so we need to assure the protection of what we have. There are many web resources that have specific examples like National Geographic:http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2004/12/1206_041206_global_warming.html
National climate center: http://www.ncdc.noaa.gov/oa/climate/globalwarming.html and the National Wildlife federation: http://www.nwf.org/globalwarming/index.cfm
We should be aware, concerned and proactive in our protection of the earths resources.

Answer 10

Fact

Yes there is a point to it.

Do some research online and you will see all the issues. There isnt enough space in this answer box to properly address the Global Warming issue.