What do you believe is the main cause of global warming?

Question

I believe that Global Warming has been going on since the Earth was first created and theres nothing we can do to stop it.

Answer 1

Yes, there are natural cycles of heat and cold that we can't prevent. But all of the factors that go into these cycles can be affected by what we do. For example, CO2 is a greenhouse gas. The more of it in the atmosphere, the more heat is retained on the surface. If we add CO2 by combustion to what is naturally produced, we can increase its effect. Conversely, plant life is the main natural source of CO2 reduction, because plants take CO2 out of the air to grow. The main sources of plant life that do this are primarily in the oceans as plankton and other sea plants, and to a lesser degree, the land bound trees and plants.
So what happens as we cut down more forests and build houses or factories, or add more pollution to the water, destroying the sea ecosystem? Well, now there's less plant life to offset the increased CO2 production, and the whole effect is far worse than what Mother Nature had intended.
In the natural order of things, a cooling cycle follows the heating cycle mostly because with the increase in heat and CO2, it would ordinarily be a situation in which plants, both land and sea, would thrive and flourish. But if the trees are gone, if the plankton is gone or severely reduced, there won't be enough plant life to start the reverse cycle by taking CO2 out of the air.

Answer 2

Well, on one level, this is true. I see several very thoroughly researched answers with all the relevant websites listed so I won't repeat what they have said. Those who think this is all a liberal conspiracy are sadly mistaken.
My father, a biology professor, was warning about overpopulation and overconsumption and destruction of wetlands, forests and the ocean, back in the 60s. Those who say this warm spell happened back in the middle Ages may be right. But...there is one factor that many of you naysayers have overlooked. The earth has never been as populated as it is now. The use of fossil fuels was not a factor in the middle ages, nor had manufacturing become mechanized. The incredible surge of population, industrialization, transportation, and destruction of the environment is relatively new and the results are easy to see. Do you know the phrase " don't sh*t where you sleep"?
We have overlogged parts of the world (look at Sub-Saharan Africa) and are creating deserts. The rainforests, with their enormous diversity of life, both plant and animal, are being cut down so corporations can grow ...beef? for McDonald's, or grain to feed the beef. We have overfished the oceans and the fish that are left are smaller and harder to find. The chain of life, which began in the ocean, is being broken down, and when the bottom falls out (i.e. the smallest thing in the chain, such as an algae or protozoan, disappears), everything above it will collapse.
If we pollute the ocean and the shores, the tiniest, most sensitive organisms die and everything above them will too. Guess who is at the top of the food chain?????
If you want to see a great series that incorporates humor and serious thought, the Henson series "Dinosaurs" which came out in the early 90s, deals with global warming, extinction, pollution, and many other examples of man's follies. It makes it easy enough for a child to understand.
I could go on forever but won't bore you. Look around you.

Answer 3

The main cause, hands down is natural solar cycles, caused in part by an erratic earth orbit, causing hot cold cycles every 120,000 years (Google "Milankovitch cycles"), , and as the temperature naturally increases, so does the atmospheric Co2 (Google "Vostok Ice core studies"). Mans contribution to atmospheric greenhouse gasses MIGHT be a contributing factor, but no serious scientist or organization has been able to show any clear evidence of just how much that may be. Most are government paid and on government grants, running around yelling "the sky is falling" with no proof except melting ice caps due to natural solar cycles. Socialist liberal government thrives on crises and adversity, using them to justify higher taxes and tighter controls on personal behavior. "We are from the government, we are here to help you".

Answer 4

global warming is a myth! the poles are actually getting colder and the ice is getting thicker because of this it moves out to the edges more slowly and does not replenish the ice apron that is breaking up. in studying ice age cycles it is found that the cycles correspond to the solar system traveling through the dust of the galactic plane, and guess where we're headed right now!

Answer 5

To get an understanding of it.
CO2 is not the problem the plants God put here has done a very good job.
Methane is total ignorance. Methane is a very light gas and will go very high in the atmosphere. Knowing that how would u measure it to say that the level is too high. I have done some moor research and all the methane has vanished. Where did it go???

Answer 6

the earth has had cycles of global warming forever. people may have contributed a little bit, but not anywhere enough to "cause" global warming. all the reports that you hear about are exagerated because they dont factor in the fact that the earth itself can contribute to global warming. its happened in the past and it will happen again in the future.

Answer 7

Um--you obviously do not understand what you're speaking about. you're making statements in a professorial way as if that gives you your comments some validity, yet they don't. Your "data" are a blend of distortions, and falsehoods weaved jointly to strengthen the unfavorable propaganda that vested pursuits contained in the status quo (the oil, gas, and coal market; extremists committed to a loose market time table specifically else) use to cloud an difficulty it really is scientifically not unclear. enable me repeat that: there is not any doubt about the reality of international warming, neither is there any doubt about the major motives of this warming--to wit, the burning of fossil fuels. the shown reality that your answer grow to be picked because the "best" answer is alarming contained in the acute. (continued less than)

Answer 8

Many people think global warming is natural. Some think it's a deliberate hoax. I agree that some individuals exaggerate environmental problems. But that's not true in this case, the vast majority of the scientific community is united and sincere. Here's some of the science involved.

The arguments about volcanoes are flat wrong, bordering on ridiculous. Volcanoes emit a tiny fraction of what man produces. And the dust they throw up cancels most of that out.

"a far greater amount of CO2 is contributed to the atmosphere by human activities each year than by volcanic eruptions. Volcanoes contribute about 110 million tons/year, whereas other sources contribute about 10 billion tons/year" Actually it averaged 26.4 (25,3-27.5) billion tons year from 2000-2005. See: http://www.ipcc.ch/SPM2feb07.pdf

http://www.geology.sdsu.edu/how_volcanoe...

The IPCC report considered the measured values of solar variation, and it's nowhere near enough to cause the wrming. The total warming is 2.6 watts per meter squared. The solar incrose is 0.12 watts per meter squared.

And the warming is far more rapid than any natural cycle could be.

http://www.ipcc.ch/spm2feb07.pdf...

Natural CO2 emissions may be more than man. But naturally produced CO2 is recycled by the "carbon cycle". Man is messing that up by digging up carbon the natural cycle buried over millions of years, and buring it very fast. Here's the data. The little squiggles are the natural cycle doing its' thing. CO2 goes down in the summer when plants are active, and up in the winter when they're not. The huge increase is us, burning fossil fuels.

http://scrippsco2.ucsd.edu/graphics_gallery/mauna_loa_record/mlo_record.html

The scientific evidence is overwhelming, which is why these people, who are not liberals, think it's real. You may or may not respect all of them, but surely you respect some of them.

"The science of global warming is clear. We know enough to act now. We must act now."

James Rogers, CEO of Charlotte-based Duke Energy.

"The overwhelming majority of atmospheric scientists around the world and our own National Academy of Sciences are in essential agreement on the facts of global warming and the significant contribution of human activity to that trend."

Russell E. Train, former environmental official under Presidents Nixon and Ford

"We simply must do everything we can in our power to slow down global warming before it is too late. The science is clear. The global warming debate is over."

Arnold Schwarzenegger, Republican, Governor, California

"Our nation has both an obligation and self-interest in facing head-on the serious environmental, economic and national security threat posed by global warming."

John McCain, Republican, Senator, Arizona

"These technologies will help us become better stewards of the environment - and they will help us to confront the serious challenge of global climate change."

President George Bush

We can't stop it, but we could dramatically reduce the impacts.

We need to reduce man's contribution to the greenhouse effect (which is known as "global warming"). We can do that by:

Conserving energy. There are many websites about how to do that.

Reducing emissions of greenhouse gases, focusing on the big sources, cars, trucks, and electric and industrial power plants. It's easy to get diverted by smaller sources.

Developing alternatives to burning fossil fuels, including all of them; nuclear, solar, wind, and biofuels. It's a big problem, we need all the tools.

Developing methods to capture ("sequester") greenhouse gases produced by man.

By greenhouse gases produced by man, I mostly mean the big one, carbon dioxide.

There are other, more imaginative solutions. We should look at them, but need to not get diverted too much from the important things, listed above. There is no magic answer, this will require hard work.

Answer 9

ignorance causes global warming! people who think that global warming is a left wing propaganda to get votes. its obvious that what do effects the environment. if they think that the ozone is just opening up due to naturally causes then i guess we were wrong about cfc. lets put cfc back into the cans and spray it in the air.

Answer 10

maybe...but people have increased the rate of this effect by such things as pollution