Do you think Global Warming is a Natural Cycle? Please post your opinions:?

Answer 1

No.

Not only has the average temperature passed anything the planet has seen in the last 12,000 years, somewhere back about 2003, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Ice_Age_Temperature.png , the RATE of temperature change is absolutely astounding and accelerating. It is moving so fast, there is no time for new species to evolve; no time for anything to adapt. It's predicted that by 2080, it will pass anything the Earth has seen in the last 5 million years! (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Five_Myr_Climate_Change.png , http://www.channel4.com/science/microsites/U/ukweather2080/5_predicting.html )

Some people talk about the Medieval Warm Period. Well ok, we went shooting past that back in 2003. Here's what the last 2000 years of temperature looks like: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:2000_Year_Temperature_Comparison.png . But this graph just goes to 2004. The one in CO2science (visit link below) was done in 2006 and really shows how far we've gone.

People reveal their failure to understand the science when they poohpooh the global warming threat by saying it's less than one degree. If you look at the graph (link below), that one degree is HUGE in the scale of average weather change. That one degree average over the entire planet is 12 degrees at the poles. But the real problem is the speed of change and that it's accelerating, since as the polar ice caps melt, they no longer reflect the sun's rays. How much does it have to change for some people to wake up and face the music? From http://www.channel4.com/science/microsites/U/ukweather2080/5_predicting.html , "The Hadley models predict a 2080s temperature increase for the UK of between approximately 2°C with the low emissions scenario and 4°C with the high emissions scenario. This may not sound like a great deal, but just a fraction of a degree can have huge implications on the climate, with very noticeable consequences."

Here's the numbers; judge for yourself. The amount of CO2 in the atmosphere has increased from 250 ppm to 381 ppm (parts per million) in the last 115 years (http://awesomenature.tribe.net/thread/fcc70c8b-be7e-489b-85f7-6c6c08031c65 ). In the last 30 years, it's increased by 30 ppm. This rate of change is totally unprecedented. Prior to the last 100 years, over the entire last 800,000 years for which we can determine atmospheric CO2, it took 1000 years to accumulate such a change (http://awesomenature.tribe.net/thread/fcc70c8b-be7e-489b-85f7-6c6c08031c65 ). What else is totally unprecedented about the last 115 years? Industrialization and the population explosion. Duh. This is not rocket science; it is simple arithmetic!

"... the good news is that, within the foreseeable future, Maine residents will be able to stop banking their foundations and to store their down parkas and snow blowers in the barn permanently. The bad news is that a lot of those barns will be underwater" (http://awesomenature.tribe.net/thread/fcc70c8b-be7e-489b-85f7-6c6c08031c65 )



If global warming wasn't a real threat, why have 178 nations ratified the Kyoto Protocol to limit CO2 emissions? Why are the US and Australia the only two holdouts among the industrilaized nations?

There are self-interested people and groups doing everything they can to confuse and obfuscate the issues around global warming, similar to what the tobacco companies did back a few years ago, before they started losing lawsuits. These are a small group of very vocal people on the oil industry payroll (http://www.wetcanvas.com/forums/showthread.php?t=389313&page=16 ) and others whose livelihood and comfort depends on things continuing as they have been.

Answer 2

The earth is getting warmer, we know this and it is not in dispute, even by the oil companies. The evidence is all around us: ice caps are melting, glaciers are shrinking, desertification is increasing, storms around the globe are becoming more intense, El Ninos are becoming stronger and more frequent.
Many people will dispute the scientists because they fear that the lifestyle they are accustomed to is now threatened, so you might consider this. Those who tell you that global warming is man made will also tell you what the mechanism causing the warming is. They will tell you that the causation is too much CO2 in the atmosphere that is making the planet warmer. They explain how this works, and why we should all be very concerned.
Those that tell you Global warming is not man made and will often tell you the planet goes through natural cycles of warming and cooling. They will tell you of past ice ages, but don’t tell you what caused those ice ages. They will tell you that the earth was much warmer a thousand years ago, but don’t explain the reasons that caused that warm period. Most importantly, they don't tell you what is what is causing this period of warming. They give no explanation to what these natural mechanisms are. They will sometimes tell you what they “might be”. They leave you hanging, and hope you to simply take the explanation that “it’s natural” and assume you won’t question the answer. Natural phenomena have explanations too; deniers of man made warming never point to that definitive reason behind the warming the way climatologists point to CO2 as the culprit.
You must look at the facts too, and decide on what you choose to believe. Could the atmosphere be affected by pumping 23 billion metric tonnes of carbon dioxide every year? Ask yourself if you are you willing to gamble the planet’s, and your children’s future by not doing anything to curb your own carbon emissions?

Answer 3

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 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 4

Yes. In fact I know it is. There have been both ice ages and warm periods where all polar ice melted in the past.

But there is also ample evidence that human activity has recently begun to take a not-trivial role in that natural cycle.

Answer 5

i think it can be think of this OK
first global worming starts
then people will get together and solve this by not polluting the earth
then after a while it starts again