Why do some people not understand global warming?

Question

Global warming is not a fade issue although Al Gore has made it one. Global warming or Climate Change has more to do with pollution then and destruction of our natural orld. It has little to do with Leo Dicaprio or Sheryl Crow, but it does exist. We are we getting more lung diseases, viruses, weird weather. Why do you think that is?
If you where to eat something bad or drink to much what would your body do? Pollution has been going on for decades, mostly since the industrial revolution. We are/ have made our world sick. What are we going to do about?

But Global Warming Climate Change and Pollution go hand in hand. The thing that concerns me is we have celebrities jumping on a band wagon and make this important issue a Fade.

Answer 1

Let's just say for theories sake we were suppose to go into an Ice Age, after all according to some scientist we are due. We are also over due for a pandemic but that hasn't happened yet why? Because we as mankind have changed the parameters. We have better , research, medicines and treatment than ever before so we have changed or postponed the outcome on some disease. Now getting back to the Ice Age scenario, 2/3 thirds of the population have recently joined the industrial revolution (China and India some Eastern European countries) using coal burning for electricity and more gas burning cars now than ever before. That is a 66% increase in air pollution alone. Now add to that all the solid waste that is generated and the land pollution that is created that eventually gets into the water.
Now what does common sense tell you? Pollution and Climate change/Global warming go together. We need to find cleaner alternative ways of generating power to run our privileged possessions. We don't have to live like cave people or pioneers we just have to find a better way, a cleaner way of living. Politics and partisan support aside and those that treat this as something that is just in vogue or don't believe it same on you. This is a real situation we have to open our own eyes and minds and ask what do we see? Nevermind what Al Gore says or George Bush says or any celebrity who is for or against this topic. What do your senses tell you?

Answer 2

Some are people who like to believe in conspiracies. Others are extreme conservatives. For them, if Al Gore or another environmentalist says it it must be wrong, regardless of how many scientists are saying the same thing.

People don't like change. Global warming is change and requires us to make changes to address it. They prefer to deny it.

About three things raised earlier in the thread:

The "swindle" movie is wrong. It is simply a political statement which distorts science.

"The science might be bunkum, the research discredited. But all that counts for Channel 4 is generating controversy."

http://environment.guardian.co.uk/climatechange/story/0,,2032572,00.html

Gore's movie may be a little over dramatic, but it has the basic science right. This movie does not.

Channel 4 itself undercuts the movie in a funny way. If you go to their website on the movie you find links to real global warming information. They also say "Confused now? Ask the Expert." The link for questions goes to a respected mainstream scientist who supports (mostly) human responsibility for global warming.

It's mostly not the sun, which is responsible for about 10%. Verified, peer reviewd data here:

http://www.globalwarmingart.com/wiki/Image:Climate_Change_Attribution.png

A more detailed analysis here:

http://solar-center.stanford.edu/sun-on-earth/FAQ2.html

How can people think that climatologists ignore the robust database of solar radiation? Or not include it in their analyses? That's ridiculous.

The "Oregon Petition" is a dubious document". Some of the signatures seem to be bogus. But, since the petition has nothing but the name of the signer, there's no real way to check. It was sent out basically as a scam (it tried to look like an official document from the National Academy of Sciences which issued a press release denying it had anything to do with it) by a political organization specifically to be used to oppose the Kyoto treaty. Checks have been unable to verify that many of the signatures are from scientists. More here:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oregon_Petition

Bottom line:

"I wasn’t convinced by a person or any interest group—it was the data that got me. I was utterly convinced of this connection between the burning of fossil fuels and climate change. And I was convinced that if we didn’t do something about this, we would be in deep trouble.”

Vice Admiral Richard H. Truly, USN (Ret.)
Former NASA Administrator, Shuttle Astronaut and the first Commander of the Naval Space Command

"There's a better scientific consensus on this [climate change] than on any issue I know - except maybe Newton's second law of dynamics. Global warming is almost a no-brainer at this point,You really can't find intelligent, quantitative arguments to make it go away."

Jerry Mahlman, NOAA

Answer 3

Global warming is a complex issue and people don't understand it because not even scientist have definite answers or anecdotal evidence (these are the things people respond to). You can talk to five different scientists and get five different outcomes - because there are an infinite number of factors that influence global warming models.

Since it would be an inconvenience for people to change their habits, consumption rate and luxuries they would rather deny the existence and let future generations deal with it.

Answer 4

guy-made worldwide warming is a upward push interior the advise temperature of the completed globe through greenhouse gasoline emissions. this would have many outcomes, no longer all of that are properly understood. as an occasion, it is achieveable that the Hadley cellular (convective transport of heat air from the tropics) will shift poleward. this suggests that the intense stress section widespread close to Bermuda will exchange place, and the jet stream and hurricane music alongside with it. this would advise that some places have hotter and drier winters than interior the previous, on an identical time as different places like Britain would have less warm and wetter winters. we are going to be conscious of greater as worldwide climate fashions strengthen and desktops get swifter, permitting greater decision climate fashions to be run. A winter or 2 is basically too short a term to be conscious of whether or no longer it is indicative of an prolonged-term style, however--that's why the fashions are mandatory.

Answer 5

Whatever you call it 's pollution that has contributed to climate change. For those that say the earth goes in cycles that's fine put that is mix of fact and theory. The real question is how many humans were around through this past climate change and what do you think happened to them? They probably died of starvation from drought or where flooded out or froze to death. So what are we going to do to survive?

Answer 6

I would agree with you if you would separate global warming from the issue of pollution. Obviously, we need to do as much as possible to keep our world clean and minimize pollution. We were taught as kids to clean up after ourselves and that life lesson is no less true now than it was then.

But when you tie pollution to global warming, then you start losing your supporters. Global warming has become politicized...even a religion for many. Dissension is heresy. When you stifle...even threaten questioners...you are no longer working in the realm of science.

PS: Watch the Glenn Beck special on tonight on CNN Headline News at 6:00, 8:00, and 11:00 PM (Central Time Zone). It promises to provide many counterpoints to global warming that you just don't hear in the media.

Answer 7

U need to get more worried as a large part of the world doesn't believe either.. We are a Small country compared to the world . The Chinese is just coming into the world market and with great acceleration to catch up . So their accelerated fossil fuel use could be 10 times ours . That is 1 billion people .Then there is India and they are trying to catch up more slowly but they will get well on there way in 10 years and will use fossil fuel about 5 times what we are using . that is another billion people. If your data on green house Gas wasn't so wrong u might have a chance . Oh yes and there are a billion Moslem's who want to kill U.

Answer 8

Ignorance I guess. Many people don't know that ice core samples from polar regions show that the Earth is usually in an ice-age like state that can lasts for millions and even billions of years interspersed with rare, small and warmer interglacial periods (~10^4 years) like the one we are in now.

Answer 9

I agree that we need to reduce pollution but I have yet to be convinced that it's causing a climate change. We are coming out and an ice age and the sun's output has been clearly measured as increasing. Read here;

http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2007/02/070228-mars-warming.html

http://www.space.com/scienceastronomy/sun_output_030320.html

Answer 10

The time period that measurements have been done is too short. The earth goes through a series of warming and cooling over centuries. It could be a natural warming trend.