Can anyone Dispute or add to these "Facts" about earths climate(please give valid sources)?

Question

Fact 1.) The climate changes.
Fact 2.) The climate has been changing for billions of years.
Fact 3.) The tempurature varies by hundreds of degrees around the planet.
Fact 4.) The planet has been much hotter and much colder than it is now.
Fact 5.) The Ice sheets have been melting and refreezing for millions of years.
Fact 6.) Those who disagree with the "man-made global warming theory" Still believe that pollution should be kept to a minimum and completely stopped if ever possible.

Oops, number 3 should have said 100 degrees. not hundreds. I digress

Yes there is a link with CO2 and the temperature, but the CO2 levels rise after the heat not before.

Answer 1

The warmer it gets, the more water evaporates from the ocean (not too much fear of flooding from glaciers melting). This massive cloud cover reflects alot of heat radiation back into space, which allows the earth to start plummeting back into a baby "ice age". Fill a cup with ice, then fill it to the very brim with water, wait for the ice to melt, what happens? Nothing, Ice burgs melting will not raise the oceans...I'll list some sights arguing against anthropathogenic warming, not to say things are warming up a bit, but it is a trend and it is not due to mankind, one sight has a global temp chart for the past 450,000 years showing this trend happens. Global Warming as defined to the Kyoto pact is very untrue, this is not man, but the UN's plan of heavy taxation, that we the people will have to pay. The very last link I posted is a list of more than 17,000 scientist who are stating that Global Warming is not real. Most will tell you there is a "concensus of scientist" that says it is real. Science is based on facts, a concensus is saying that if a million people believed in a stupid idea than that idea is not stupid, but in facts and in reality, it is still a stupid idea, no matter how many believe it. If you want to solve the crime of the century, follow the trail of money! I LOVE HOW PEOPLE WILL GIVE ME A THUMBS DOWN WITHOUT TRYING THE ICE WATER EXPERIMENT OR EVEN GOING TO THE LINKS I PROVIDED! IGNORANCE AT BEST!

Answer 2

<< Fact 1.) The climate changes. >>
Yes it does, priomarily caused by variations in the way the Earth moves (Milankovitch Cycles) and the amount of heat received from the sun (Solar Variation)

< Fact 2.) The climate has been changing for billions of years. >>
Yes it has, a typical full cycle from ice age to interglacial and back again lasts about 100 million years. If it's not been warming then it''s been cooling but never constant.

<< Fact 3.) The tempurature varies by hundreds of degrees around the planet. >>
Difference between maximums and minimums exceeds 100 degrees C, difference between average daily highs and lows is about 80 degrees C.

<< Fact 4.) The planet has been much hotter and much colder than it is now. >>
There have been long periods when temps have been up to 20 degrees C higher than now most notably around 80 and 510 million years ago, there have been comparatively short periods when temps have been a few degrees colder, most notably around 440 million years ago.

Fact 5.) The Ice sheets have been melting and refreezing for millions of years.
During the 542 million years for which we have data there have been 4 occasions when the planet has been completely free of ice and 4 ice ages (we're in an ice age now).

Fact 6.) Those who disagree with the "man-made global warming theory" Still believe that pollution should be kept to a minimum and completely stopped if ever possible.
By and large I think they do but it's very much up to the individual.

These are just things I know because it's what I do - you'll find more info on Wikipedia and from the links other answerers have provided for you.

Answer 3

I don't disagree with any of them. I don't see why any of them are in any way connected with the current trend though. It doesn't follow that because the climate has changed naturally in the past humans aren't influencing it now. That sort of argument is non sequitur.

And while you were correct that some past changes have seen temperatures lead a rise in CO2, that certainly doesn't mean that CO2 doesn't influence the climate. Carbon dioxide acts as both a powerful climate forcing and a feedback mechanism- when temperatures begin to rise, as when Earth's orbit varies (it isn't doing so now), more CO2 is released from the oceans, which then reinforces the warming and forces the climate even further, which releases even more CO2 which drives temperatures even higher... and so on. This is a fairly basic and well understood feedback mechanism.

Answer 4

Yes the climate changes and has been changing for billions of years. however, the link between the amount of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere is directly linked with temperature around the globe. We have 160,000 years of records. Now compared to the age of the earth thats not a whole lot, but its a good enough sample of time to judge what the facts are. Also only one time period during that last 160,000 years has it been hotter than it is now. And only once during the last 600 million years hotter than it is now. Additionally, when the ice sheets melt, it usually leads to an ice age. Not many people know but global warming usually leads to an ice age.

Answer 5

I dont agree with point 5. Poles have not been melting and refreezing for millions of years since life exist on this planet. We know that they have changed it position along the last 650.000 years, but never disappered.

I also disagree somehow with point 3: "the tempurature varies by hundreds of degrees around the planet", true. i also disagree with point 4 "The planet has been much hotter and much colder than it is now", but you forgot to mention that is not true since human being and most mammals are on the earth. The planet has been much colder than it is now but never as hot as it is now along that period, at least, all data show the opposite.


But, 1) since recorded (last 150 years), the "global" average temperature has never been so hot. 2) GHG amount has never been so high in the last 650.000 years. 3) we dont have any evidence that temperature has been as high as it is now since the human being exists. 4) Most indirect measurement of temperatures proove that temperature has colder along the last 10 000 years (including the short middle age warming, that, interestingly, was followed by a decrease in european population)

If you dont agree, show one single scientific proof.

Please, don t hide data. You guys dont know how to convince people, using the whole truth, to do nothing.

But remember this: you are suffering climate change regardless of your opinions, and you will suffer more and more, regardless of your opinions, until we all stop this foulness

Answer 6

Well, it is true that the Earth goes through trends of warming and cooling. Right now, we're still warming up from the last ice age... (hence longer, hotter summers, and less snow in the winter as years go on.) My dad told me they used to get snow drifts high enough to jump off the roof into when he was a kid (50 years ago...) and now I wouldn't dream of doing that. So you can see how much we have warmed up in 50 years.

And maybe pollution plays a factor in warming, but nature has a way of cleaning everything up. Humans may produce a lot of pollutants, but once we're gone, it'll look like we were never here. Sure, we may be heating the Earth up a little faster than normal, but it's just going to end in another ice age, maybe even sooner than Earth had originally planned. I'm sorry I can't give you exact refrences and sources...this is just what I've read in various books over the years.

Answer 7

The theory than man is responsible for significant global warming ("anthropogenic warming"), that global warming of any kind is 'bad' as opposed to natural, and that humans must therefore spend incredible resources in the (vain) hope that we can change the climate is one of the most ignorant 'theories' I have ever had the amazement to examine in detail.

"Detail" is the key word here - posting a few paragraphs on a subject of this magnitude is useless - one must actually take the time to read the science available, as I have. I am highly recommending these sources, books that should be easily available from your local library unless it's hopelessly politically correct:

(1) Meltdown : the predictable distortion of global warming by scientists, politicians, and the media

Michaels, Patrick J.

Summary

Michaels (environmental studies, University of Virginia) argues that scientists, politicians, and the media too often exaggerate their claims about the environment, especially with regard to global warming. He documents hundreds of exaggerations, misstatements, and errors that have appeared in major peer-reviewed scientific journals and in top media outlets, and explains why the gap between perception and reality persists. A section of color graphics is included. Annotation #169;2004 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)

(2) Unstoppable global warming : every 1,500 years

Singer, S. Fred (Siegfried Fred), 1924-

Summary

Supported by in-depth scientific evidence, Singer and Avery present the compelling concept that global temperatures have been rising mostly or entirely because of a natural cycle. Unstoppable Global Warming explains why we're warming, why it's not very dangerous, and why we can't stop it anyway.


I would add to your list that far more people die each year from cold temperature extremes than hot weather extremes. Also, global warming of course reduces the temperature extremes between the poles and equator, which must lessen the amount of severe weather in totality we see, not increase it, because the storms are driven by the strength of the jet stream - which is exactly what has been happening. Just because a crisis-mongering know-nothing like Al Gore pops up and spews alarmist nonsense when a storm hits doesn't alter reality.

You have to keep in mind that the IPCC's original report in the mid 90's that's driven this pathetic hysteria was NOT the 'consensus of thousands of scientists' - those scientists agree there was no apparent impact on the climate by man, but the summary report decided on by UN bureaucrats with a political agenda changed that view completely. What a shock - a UN group who took only what they wanted from 200 scientists and then completely changed the interpretation.


Here's a link to a site that shows actual scientists who think this whole thing is BS:

http://epw.senate.gov/public/index.cfm?FuseAction=Minority.Blogs&ContentRecord_id=927b9303-802a-23ad-494b-dccb00b51a12

Answer 8

As requested, with sources. You have to take the time (it will take hours) to read them, though, you won't be convinced by my words. And the real proof is in the referenced scientific literature, not the summaries or the news articles. It's not a short process to change your mind, and this is not an easy subject, it's taken many years of hundreds of scientists doing research to get to the truth.

There have been natural climate changes in the past. But the scientific data clearly shows that this one is unnatural, and caused by us.

"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

Here are two summaries, with references, of the mountain of peer reviewed data that convinced Admiral Truly and the scientific community (for how the community is convinced, see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scientific_opinion_on_climate_change).

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

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

And the problem is our modern society, with massive coastal development and intensive agriculture, is very sensitive to climate change. In the past people could just migrate to a more hospitable place, now we'd get hurt very badly.

http://www.reuters.com/article/scienceNews/idUSL052735320070407

Good websites for more info:

http://profend.com/global-warming/

http://gristmill.grist.org/skeptics

http://www.realclimate.org

"climate science from climate scientists"

EDIT: I love how a skeptic focused on my one illustrative quote, and totally ignored the websites. It's as I said, words aren't convincing enough for many, but if you actually take the time (it's not a short process) to study the scientific basis in detail, as did Admiral Truly, it's a different thing.

Answer 9

Those facts are all true. And I might add that scientists do not know what causes those natural variations. There are various theories, but they really don't know. So I don't put much trust in projections for the next 100 years. If thy can't even explain the past, then that cannot be relied upon to forecast the future.

Sorry, no links, but you can just go to wikipedia or google and search things like "ice age" or "climate" and find many sources.

Answer 10

1) true
2) true, though not as rapidly as it is right now
3) true
4) true, but it hasn't been hotter for 120,000 years

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Ice_Age_Temperature.png

5) true, but the sea levels have also changed levels with the melting and freezing of ice sheets
6) certainly not true of everyone

7) only partially true. Carbon dioxide increase CAN follow a temperature increase (and amplify the warming), if something else initiated that increase. CO2 can also CAUSE the increase in temperature, which is likely the case right now.

Your facts don't lead to any conclusion about global warming, if that's what you were trying for.