Is 'global warming' caused by man?

Question

The United States' leading hurricane forecaster on Friday called Al Gore "a gross alarmist" for making the Oscar-winning documentary about global warming.

"He's one of these guys that preaches the end-of-the-world type of things. I think he's doing a great disservice and he doesn't know what he's talking about," Dr. William Gray said in an interview with The Associated Press at the National Hurricane Conference, where he delivered the closing speech.

Get the full story here and please notice the Associated Press source:

http://www.iht.com/articles/ap/2007/04/06/america/NA-GEN-US-Hurricane-Conference.php

No, it's _not_ mis-categorized, global warming is only a political tool.

Answer 1

Anyone who says that global warming is caused by man needs to get some more facts and stop believing things just because it was in a movie and on TV.

I will add to this (based on the votes).

CO2 can only have a *limited* amount of effect on the atmosphere before reaching an equilibrium (this is the equivalent of the salination of water - water can only absorb so much salt before the rest just sinks to the bottom). That means that it doesn't matter how much CO2 we pump, once you reach equilibrium you can't do more damage with CO2 alone.

To the one who mentioned dogs: Methane emissions by cattle release more greenhouse gas every year than cars, boats, SUVs and whatnot combined. If there weren't people, there'd be more other animals all producing greenhouse gasses.

Did you know the temperature on Mars is increasing at a rate faster than earth? There are no people there, there are no SUVs, there are other factors contributing here. Other planets in the solar system are warming as well - some at rates faster than earth some slower. Unless GM started producing SUVs on Mars as well, then there's something else at play.

Humans have a "need" to be in control of our own destinies. When something happens that is outside of our control, we need to "blame" it on ourselves so that we can create the illusion that we can control it somehow.

If we stop releasing CO2 now, will we stop global warming? Absolutely not and anyone who says "yes" to that needs to take a basic science class. We can slow it by, at most, a few percent.

Think: CO2 comprises 0.04% of our atmosphere. That's how small of a piece we're manipulating. How much of that is man-made (x)? I can't find that number anywhere. Of the man-made portion, 14% is produced by transportation fuel consumption. In the absence of (x), it can be concluded that transportation fuel contributes *less than* (and probably much less than) 14% times 0.04% equals 0.0056% to our atmospheric content. This is basic math, folks. Even if (x) is 80% we're still talking less than 5/1000ths of 1 percent. That's how much of the atmosphere we cut if we were to stop burning all transportation fuels altogether. How much effect do we really think we're playing here?

** EDIT ** In response to the 1 gallon produces 19 pounds thing... JoeD is correct. Look at the source below for more information.

Answer 2

While the media is convinced man is the cause of global warming there is evidence that the earth goes thru cycles of heating and cooling. Most of the last million years ice covered much of the earth only warming up about 15000 years ago. From 800 to 1300 the climate was very warm and man thrived, even in the "dark ages". Starting in 1350 things cooled off rapidly for the next 500 years most of which were miserable. Food shortages caused famines, storms killed thousands. In 1850 the cooling was over and since then things have warmed up a bit and man has thrived again even surviving a flu pandemic in 1918 and 1919 that killed millions of people. It is a fact that the earth warms and cools and blaming it on mankind is not a certainty.

Answer 3

Yeah, right...uPirate is obviously looking at this issue with an objective eye and has a scientific background. First of all, what increase in earthquakes and tsunamis? Secondly, what possible connection could there be between global warming and earthquakes or tsunamis? Perhaps he means hurricanes. But no hurricanes touched land in the U.S. during the last hurricane season. Hmmmm...again, what increase?

Rants like those proffered by uPirate and, to a large extent, by Al Gore, have no place in this discussion. Science, not politics or vitriol, should determine how we deal with this issue.

That said, from what I've read of the actual science, I have to say no one has even come close to proving that man is affecting the environment.

Answer 4

Global warming has been happening since the dawn of the Earth.. the questions in todays world is are we accelerating it? Are we making it worse? There is strong evidence supporting that we are adding to the problem. Will it be the end of mankind? of course not.. we are a highly adaptive race.. but it might cause mass starvation in some areas (wouldn't be good for the US if our breadbasket went into a 20 year drought now would it) and it may bring new life to others.. the fact is.. if we get rid of, or slow down OUR contribution to the problem.. that just that much more time we have to prepare for what is going to happen.

Answer 5

Yes! Automobiles and factories are a contributing factor somewhat, but human existence is the main factor. That explains how global warming occurred in the past before automobiles or factories. Global warming occurs first then ice ages occur because of the global warming ironically. That proves that global warming occurred in the past. So if there were no automobiles or factories what could it have been?Humans and animals did, so to compensate we need more plants. This is a very political issue now rather than a threat. Al Gore is a tool and is only using this as a good political strategy.

Answer 6

I consider myself liberal, but I think the concept of global warming has been twisted into something political. There has not been a single global warming researcher who has said the results were ever definite. In fact, the results are extremely inconclusive, and there's no evidence to suggest that we're not simply in a warming trend as opposed to being on the highway to hell. In the seventies, there was a cooling trend, and people thought we were entering a new ice age, despite the scientists saying that we didn't know everything yet.

So yes, Al Gore is an alarmist in this situation, as are people who think global warming is a real threat. We do not know everything about it yet, so keep your pants on.

Answer 7

Unfortunately anybody with a "MESSage" can get an Oscar.
Evan Dayet comments on ALL the Best Picture Oscars at
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eaE98w1KZ-c

I have copies mentioned by very funny comic, Dennis Miller of PDF from Popular Mechanics Magazine 1970s about "Global Chilling" ...
This "Warming" caused by man is BRAVO SIERRA or B.S.
ONE volcano can cause more CHILLING by clouding the skies with smoke than a MILLION SUVs going 85 MPH!!!

Answer 8

Every once in a while, somebody raises the alarm about something scary that makes everybody want to run for the hills. Remember Y2K, the stock market scare, and killer bees? Maybe global warming is one of those.

Still, I think that man is adding to warming, and the world could benefit from developing technologies that don't rely on fossil fuels. It's a good idea for so many other reasons, from no longer depending on foreign fuel sources to cutting down on pollution. So why not embrace those technologies?

Gore's really going out on a limb, sounding the alarm like he is. I respect him for standing up for his beliefs. Nobody knows for sure whether man is adding to global warming. Only time will tell, I guess, and I'd rather err on the side of caution.

Answer 9

I think that 99% of people don't really know and either align themselves with those who love our world, or those who just think it's a tree-hugger plot.

Regardless of whether it's true or not, Gore did a great job of bringing this potentially bad situation to the forefront. Now that he's gotten our attention, let's resolve this issue scientifically. It's not about Al Gore; it's about the earth, our lives, and the lives of our descendants.

However, there is incontrovertible evidence that CO2 does absorb heat, and this heat is retained in the atmosphere. The question is, does man produce enough of it to increase the temp of the earth?

Answer 10

I agree. While it's important that we engage in active and responsible stewardship of the planet, to believe that we can actually halt the weather to our liking is simple arrogance. We might as well go down to the beach and command the tides to stop. Personally, I believe it's a fear of change that drives this issue. People like the idea that things should always be as they are, but it simply isn't true.

Many people here are confusing carbon monoxide for carbon dioxide. The former comes from the tailpipe of your car, the latter is what you exhale with every breath.

Answer 11

Only if man created the Sun.

Dr. Gray and tens of thousands of other scientists all say the same thing, there is warming, it is normal, and humans have nothing to do with the changes.

But the brain dead lemmings for the socialists lead in the chanting of Oh My God we are all going to die. and even if we bankrupt the world wouldn't it be worth it, you know just in case there is something there.

EDIT, JoeD, you have to be the most stupid person I have yet to run across on YA, a gallon of gasoline weighs how much and when it is burnt it turns into which gases, and it is somehow magically going to grow geometrically in weight, what a MORON.