What makes humans believe we need to cool the planet? What if this is a normal cycle?

Question

Al Gore and others are making huge dollars trying to cool the planet. What if we aren't responsible or what if the earth just needs to go through a warming period to regenerate itself? We are an arrogant species are we not?

Answer 1

I think you've been pulled into the debate like a lot of people, but in a way you should try to ignore (trust me, I was there too, and only recently took a more neutral side). There are two sides of this entire global warming debate that get the most attention: First, those who say that the Earth is getting really hot and that if we don't do something about it NOW, we're all going to die. Second are those guys who say that global warming is probably not even real, and if it is, it probably has very little to do with human activity.
I've done some research on the subject, and it definitely seems like the Earth is getting hotter, and, in my opinion, it also seems like humans are just making it worse (notice I said "my opinion," so don't crucify me for god's sake). However, I am not a climatologist and therefore am not entirely convinced (thus the neutrality I mentioned above).
Here's the major problem with the whole thing: Global warming aside, the Earth is polluted. Ask anybody who lives in a major American city if they know what causes smog, and I'm nearly 100% certain they'll say air pollution. Some of the more enlightened citizens may even go so far as to blame cars and/or industrial complexes. Regardless, most people know that we're polluting the planet.
So, what does that mean for global warming? Maybe it means humans are making the planet hotter, maybe it doesn't. Does it really matter, though?
I think we can all agree that pollution is a bad thing, and if we, as a species, can take steps to reduce or even eliminate pollution, shouldn't we?
Shouldn't we recycle, not because Al Gore tells us to, but because land fills can only take up a finite amount of space?
Shouldn't we develop cleaner energy and zero-emission cars, not because that's making the Earth hot, but to reduce the pollutants going up into the air or into the ground water?
I could go on and on. Needless to say, you may believe what you want about global warming. To me, that is not nearly as important as human beings getting together to clean up this place.
As a city dweller, I would love to see the day when "spare the air" days become a thing of the past.

Answer 2

I am an environmental consultant, geological engineer by training, and don't accept the conclusions that man is responsible for the recent warming to any significant degree. I certainly admit that there is far less I know than know about the subject but that is true of all experts. The problem is that too many pretend to know far more than they do and they do it to push an agenda. There are far more cold related deaths than warm related deaths especially if you consider the diseases that spread in closed buildings and homes in winter. If their minds weren't so warped by all the hype, I am pretty sure most people would realize that warmth is generally a good thing. If it is a couple degree warmer in the Artic, 42 below zero instead of 45 below zero, is it really going to cause the end of the world. I don't buy it. The fact is if you extend that graph to a million years, it is clear that we are in a very steady pattern of warm and cold periods. We are currently about 3/4 of the way up getting warmer. Be glad we are not getting colder. That would be far worse overall. With climate, there are always winners and losers. There is nothing man can do about that.

Answer 3

I don't think we are responsible for it. At least not in any amount approaching what nature is doing for global warming. There was a mini ice age about 600 years ago and Europe suffered from it somewhat. I am also reasonably sure there were no cars then nor were there factories or mass transit etc. and not even an industrial revolution.

I think it is cyclical and has been going on for hundreds and millions of years. We are basing the " latest crises" by the last hundred or so years.. In the history of modern man, using a 24 hour clock as a scale, would be like talking about the last minute of the day and describing the previous 23 hours and 59 minutes by it without any proof.

Destroying the planet is God's turf, not ours. He may let us destroy each other, but not his planet.

Answer 4

I think that most, if not all, scientific evidence points towards the fact that the earth is warming at an alarming rate.
If this is just a natural cycle, it's still going to kill lots of people and animals, and we would like to prevent that. The polar ice caps are going to completely melt, and raise sea level, and the heat will make the world almost uninhabitable. Not to mention it is a well known fact that we have depleted out ozone layer, contributing to global warming even more.

If arrogance=species preservation, then yes, we're arrogant.

Answer 5

Yes, very arrogant. I shall curtsy in your general direction.

In trying to "save" the planet, people fail to respect it. I am using the word respect in the sense of fear and awe. Humans never seem to learn/remember the full magnitude of the size of the earth and the power of the forces at play. We can't save the planet, how could we? We didn't fashion it in the first place. We might need saving from ourselves, but that's another question.

Answer 6

I will agree with 'arrogant', especially in view of the fact that the vastly increased asphalt and concrete structures in North America have resulted in the planet holding more heat during the nights than it used to.
I don't think the planet needs cooling. It just needs for people to quit heating it up more!

Answer 7

This is not a normal cycle. If you looked at the temperature charts and the carbon dioxide levels chart you will see that non of this has happened in the past hundred thousand years. Environmental scientist have no doubt that global warming is happening and is our fault. When they first found the hole in the ozone layer, people like you came out against fixing it too.