Global warming and references?

Question

Why is it that everybody out there is ready to say that a "recent study showed that..." but nobody ever gives any REAL references to what that study was and why it was conducted.

It's not that I don't believe in global warming, just that I'm sick and tired of hearing about how "researches proved," "recent studies have shown," and all this nonsense.

I'm a researcher myself and I can tell you for certain that I can prove just about I want to if I feel like it and even if I don't, the average person can't read a real technical paper or a professional journal article in the first place.
So can anybody out there give me a real publication (non an Al Gore movie, not an article in a newspaper, not something from an environmental group, definitely not a link to a website) that says something.

Michael E.
Are you trying to prove my point or answer my question.

Answer 1

Studies to show global warming is real are plentiful and easy to find. Studies linking global warming to man-made pollutants are non-existent....but a bunch of scientists recently paired up with a bunch of politicians (for government grant money) to suggest America is responsible for all of the world's problems....there are plenty of sources to support this as well.

Answer 2

Well, you ask two questions. First, why does everyone etc. The answer is that here at Yahoo! Answers, people do a lot of spitting at each other using regurgitated news items. People who accept the thesis cite the IPCC reports, while skeptics cite all range of other stuff they heard once. A question I tried to answer the other day cited a poll of meteorologists from 1997. Everyone here seems to be trying to prove how dumb everyone else is without making a solid case. In the case of global warming, it is exacerbated by the fact that the published material must number in the 10s of 1000s of articles, most on a narrow and technically difficult parts of the question.

Your second question asks for references. For an overview, you can start with the policy summary of the newest IPCC work, the Fourth Assessment Report.

http://www.ipcc.ch/SPM2feb07.pdf

It is very clear, though lacking in further references because it is an 18-page executive summary. The full report with references will be published soon.

If you don't mind reading stuff slightly out of date, then the easiest way into the literature is the IPCC Third Assessment Report at

http://www.grida.no/climate/ipcc_tar/wg1/index.htm

Each paragraph includes references to the relevent published studies in the form "(Smith 1997)" and at the end of each chapter is a references list to translate that into a detailed cite.

For more recent information, the quickest way to find references, unfortunately, is wikipedia, which has articles on climate change and a host of related topics and controversies.

Answer 3

The major report that just came out was from the IPCC (Intergovernmental Report on Climate Change) and included MANY of the world's leading scientists. They included scientists who are both very concerned about global warming as well as those who are skeptical. So it was a very 'inclusive' and unbiased report. I know you said you don't want any links but below is a link to the ACTUAL REPORT. What can we send you if it's not a link...mail you something through the US Postal Service? Now, you wouldn't want to kill a tree, would you???

Answer 4

Personally, when I see a poster quoting "research", "everyone" and the like, I give it no credence unless that person cites the source for his information. Many people on this forum just run off at the mouth with rumor, gossip and the like. To me, that shows that there are a lot of uninformed people here as well as a lot who are young and immature.

I am always open to new information but won't even finish reading it unless a source is shown.