Do you have a degree in a scientific field?

Question

If you have a degree in a science related field, can you please tell me:
-what degree(s) you have and in what field(s)
-what your stance on global warming (ie. unsure, it's a real problem, skeptical, etc)
-summarize what made you come to your conclusion

Thanks in advance for participating in my poll!

Answer 1

PhD, Chemistry

Real problem, mostly (not entirely) caused by us. We need to reduce our impact. Very dangerous to our modern society.

Vast amounts of data backing it up. Summarized here:

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

Strong consensus of scientists who think it's real. Proof here:

http://www.sciencemag.org/cgi/content/full/306/5702/1686

Lack of data supporting the skeptics. Clearly strained arguments of many skeptics. Large number of prominent moderates/conservatives who believe it's real.

Answer 2

We can look at different parts of the climate picture and figure out how they work independently, but global climate processes are too complex to predict, especially under conditions that may have never before existed. So even though we know the general effects of things like greenhouse gases, changes in polar ice caps, loss of ozone cover, and periodic variation in solar output, we don’t know how they work together as a planetary system.

Unfortunately, the popular press keeps talking about global warming, while scientists that study climate talk about climate change. The warming effect from greenhouse gases is only one of several climatic factors that we have affected at a global scale. There is mostly a consensus among scientists that CO2 from human activities has increased the retention of heat in the Earth’s atmosphere. What is still debated among scientists is what happens next as a result of increased CO2, along with natural variation and other atmospheric changes that can either offset the greenhouse effect, magnify the effect, or create entirely different types of shifts in things other than temperature.

It might take the ocean and atmosphere hundreds of years before all the effects of our past activities are actually seen. This is the reason climate change is scary - its not because warming is inevitable, its because we are tinkering at a global scale with factors that control the climate, and we have no idea what the outcome might be. Once we figure it out, the problem could be irreversible.

All of my views come from reading published research, and my own bias on how nature seems to work.

BS wildlife biology
MS evolutionary biology
PhD forest ecology

Answer 3

degree is in Chemical engineering.

Stance on global warming is that it is possible. very unsure about cause.

The temperatures of the earth vary due to many factors. Some years are warmer than others, some are colder. Is there a trend upward in general, I don't know. Is greenhouse gas emission responsible for that trend upward? I haven't even concluded that the trend is real much less what the cause is....

From a chemistry and from an engineering perspective, I would like to see data correlating atmospheric CO2 levels and temperature. And I would also like to see some controlled experiments performed that show an increase in CO2 causes energy to be trapped and temperature to rise. Then of course I would like a comparison between the two studies to determine if the effects are indeed similar. As to the source of CO2, well perhaps we could actually do an emissions study somewhere along the way.

By the way, a major source of heat for the earth is the radioactive decay of material in the crust. I am not sure of the relative contribution of solar energy to internal heat (such as radioactive decay). That would also be interesting study to pursue.

Answer 4

Good Evening.

I have a BS in Electrical Engineering and a Master's Degree in Business Administration.

What is my stance on global warming. First, I prefer the term "Global Climate Change". If the world warms, it is going to cause radid cooling as well. Alaska isn't going to necessarily turn into the next warm weather vacation spot. What will happen as global temeratures increase, ocean and air currents will be altered, changing weather patterns across the globe (both warming and cooling).

Is global climate change real? Yes it is. Is it man-made? The scientific data can not be refuted that massive global climate change existed prior to humans ability to cut down the forests and produce mass quantities of CO2 and oher pollutants. Massive changes to the globes climates have happened before and will happen again.

Do the humans have a hand in global climate change? I have no proof, but my gut feeling is yes. Why? The earth is a closed system. What is produced on earth stays in earth. Also, the earth has finite volume. Why are these two facts important? Lets look at pollution on a smaller scale. What happens if you run a car in a closed garage? Poisons accumulate in the closed area to the point it becomes toxic to humans. Expand it on a much bigger scale, humans are dumping millions of tons of pollutants into the earth's atmosphere. The pollutants are being produced faster than the earth can deal with them. The pollutants can't escape, they just continue to accumulate. As with the car in the garage, as the pollutants continue to accumulate, bad things are going to happen. Maybe one of the effects is global warming, maybe not. Either way, bad things are going to happen.

Answer 5

I have a Bachelors of Science Degree in Geology. My stance on Global Warming is that the Earth is moving back toward its natural operating temperature. In the course of my studies I found that the Earth's temperature is warmer than it was during the last 1.6 million years. The evidence of ice is rarely seen in Earth history, even at the polar regions. Geoscientists do not understand what caused this rare event in "Global Cooling", nor can they predict if another round of glaciation (there have been three periods of glaciation during the Pleistocene) is imminent. Global Warming, although accelerated since the Industrial Age, has been occurring since the Wisconsonian Stage of the Pleistocene, which ended 11,000 years ago. At that time there was 10,000 feet of ice on top of Wisconsin, and I don't think the citizens of Milwaukee want it back.

Answer 6

I have a BS in Nursing (RN), and I've been reading about global warming for years. I believe it is happening, and that it poses a real threat to our planet, if not in our lifetimes then at least to the future of our children. My decision has been influenced by the Discovery Channel and the movies THE DAY AFTER TOMORROW and AN INCONVENIENT TRUTH. Mr. Gore may seem like a fanatic, but he has devoted many years trying to bring everyone to their senses. His extensive research and arguments concerning global warming are sound, and we should thank him rather than heckle and ridicule him for his efforts. He's brave enough to stand up over and over again and present his ideas to people, so he surely believes in what he's telling us. I have chosen to listen to him. I think he is a great man, and I wish he would run for President. It's time we had someone who recognizes the fragility of the earth and the human species. I'm tired of war mongers and people who assault little boys and all the other c**p that has been going on in government. I would like to see someone that has his priorities straight holding our highest office.

I also read the book, STATE OF FEAR by Michael Crichton. In this fictitious story, a man battles a lunatic who is causing "natural" disasters, earthquakes, tsunamis and I think a volcano or something to further the mission (money) of his save the earth foundation. I think Mr. Crichton wrote this "mystery thriller" to share his doubt of global warming with his faithful readers. The book also contains an extensive bibliography of articles culled from scientific journals. These articles, he claims, dispute global warming. The question there is who provided the grants for the studies mentioned in these articles? Probably the big oil and gas companies! Mr. Crichton has also written about dinosaurs being cloned, time travel and women raping men (Disclosure). So his book is just a fantasy, and not a very good one. Don't be influenced by it, even though he states in his book that the powers-that-be seem to want to keep us in a constant state of agitation and fear. Mr. Crichton likes to sell books and have them made into movies. Everyone has an agenda, and we need to look for it before we make our decisions.

We all need to do some earnest soul searching. The earth belongs to us all--it is our home. Don't you want to take care of your home?

Answer 7

BS electric Engineering Masters electric Engineering, structures prognosis that's surely a challenge. we are able to proceed to talk the top significance of the effect, however the undeniable fact that that's taking place and that all of us comprehend precisely why is irrefutable. i comprehend adequate with regard to the constancy of climate and climate fashions to comprehend that the prospect of them being quite the ultimate option is amazingly stable. additionally, the data is overwhelming. 2500 scientists from 113 worldwide places met a little while in the past and desperate that worldwide warming substitute into now not a query, even though it substitute into "unequivocal". A consotium of oil companies have provided $25K funds rewards for any scientific paper that refutes or brings into query any factor of worldwide warming. Their product revenues are in risk and that they are struggling with it each way they comprehend how. Plus. whether it weren't as undesirable as maximum anticipate... does not it appear as if a powerful concept to guard potential, be greater eco-friendly, and deliver fewer money to the midsection east? we are hooked on oil (even Bush mentioned that). Time to kick the habit.