If we are causing global warming how can it always be the hottest day on record since 1950?

Question

Why was it so hot back then with a fully functioning Ozone layer? Surely it would have been freezing? And could global warming not be caused by the sun getting closer to us every year??? I know that the sun is getting colder but it is also getting closer, could this be another cause of the hole in the ozone layer, could it be burning thru from that side? Arent the problems caused by the heat getting in thru the hole and not being able to get back out of the layer so why not destroy the layer completely and let the heat bounce back???? Just a thought lol

I sincerly apologise for being stupid and not know the scientific fact behind my question but if I knew the answer I would have asked it. Sorry to offend all you clever people,

Love
Jem (the non scientist)

Answer 1

True, it is now known that the sun is changing the temperature of the earth. All planets have global warming, including Pluto (which is no longer called a planet). Also, Mar's global warming is the same as the Earth's global warming according to scientists.

Also, temperatures fell while CO2 increased in several decades in the last century. And ancient ice core samples show that CO2 never drove temperature changes in the past.

Many are starting to think the "CO2 global warming theory" is a scam being promoted by many scientists. People think many scientists just want to get billions in free research dollars so they can keep their jobs. Also, buy new homes, new cars, etc..

What's The Fastest Way To Let People Know That CO2 Is Not Causing Global Warming?
http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index;_ylt=Auj7DJltcYNfjTjREz3Mw_nty6IX?qid=20070523190743AAVacnI

Is The CO2 Global Warming Theory Now A Religion?
http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index;_ylt=AtWzvAtQx.VQRfnPF7ijIjXsy6IX?qid=20070605152527AA3NdyX

Answer 2

The hottest day on record means HOTTER than back then. So it was warm in 1950 - a record means it's warmer now. The truth is that record temperatures aren't really important in the global warming debate anyway, but you're still on the wrong track. Keep in mind that records for daily temperature have only been kept for about 120 years. The more long-term trends, which are more important, are from other sources like fossil tree rings and ice cores and that sort of thing, and they measure overall seasonal temperatures, not daily ones.

The correlation between rising CO2 levels and rising temperatures is very very close, and both have gone way up in the last 50 years. The sun doesn't burn through the ozone layer - the ozone layer resists sunlight. And ozone loss isn't the main reason for the greenhouse effect, it's the increase in gases that retain heat, like CO2. Ozone doesn't retain the heat, those gases do.

I think it's great that you're thinking critically about these things. Just don't make the mistake that so many other people do of assuming that your questions prove something. They are questions, and someone can answer them.

Answer 3

I understand your confusion here, but you seen to have a few misonceptions. Firstly, you should understand the difference between the ozone layer and greenhouse gasses. Both are very different and the terms cannot be used interchangeably (I know, you only mentioned the onzone layer).

The ozone layer is a natural part of the earth's atmosphere that consititutes of relatively high concentrations of ozone, which is infact an allotrope of oxygen (it's made up of three adjoining atoms of oxygen) . It's main function is to absorb harmful UV radition emitted from the sun, and let others though. When the media refers to the 'hole' in the ozone layer, this is were people get confused. There is actually no 'hole' in the ozone layer, it's just that that area is comparitively less dense compared to the areas surrounding it. As that area is thinner, it will let more UV rays though, and thus allow more heat energy from the sun to penetrate the earth's atmosphere, many people are concerned that it is increasing the mean temprature of the earth (ie, tempratures are getting warmer). The heat of the sun can't actually burn a 'hole' in to the ozone layer, it has nothing to do with it. Infact, the main cause of the thinning of the ozone layer is due to the many products that humans use that contain the substance CFC, commonly found in products such as aerosols spray cans. When CFC is released into the atmosphere, it reacts with the ozone layer, causing it to thin.

Our main problem is to do with greenhouse gasses. Here is a link to a great tutoral here, I highly reccomend you go though it:

http://www2.wwnorton.com/college/chemistry/gilbert/tutorials/ch7.htm (choose section 7.1, the greenhouse effect),

I'll give you a summary here. Essentially, greenhouse gasses are good, as they keep the earth at a hospitable temprature. Our main concern is the fact that there is too much of it. When the sun shines the earth, it warms the surface. Some of this heat energy is released into our atmosphere as infared energy. What greenhouse gasses do is trap this infared energy, acting as an insulating blanket of heat. If there were no greenhouse gasses in our atmosphere, all the heat energy from the sun would simply bounce back off, and earth would be too cold to live on.

While I'm at it, you should also understand that the temprature and weather patterns of the earth iare not dependent on these factors alone. In simple words, the earth generally runs in temprature cycles. This means that one period of time will be hotter than another period of time, and that it would all be a natural phoenomenon.

To wrap things up, you could reasonably conclude that our current activities are making the phoenomenons of earth much more noticable. While human activites are not the sole reason why the earth is heating up, humans are definitely a significant contrbutor. By all means, still try and reduce your impact on the earth, as it will make a difference!

Hope this helps!

Answer 4

You're talking about one record hot day in one localized spot on the planet. Global warming is the increasing temperature averaged across the entire planet. This graph illustrates what I'm talking about:

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

The Earth is not getting closer to the Sun every year. We are in a stable elliptical orbit around the Sun, where we get closer in the summer and further in the winter, but overall stay at the same distance away.

The hole in the ozone layer was caused by human clorofluorocarbon (CFC) emissions, not the sun. We have basically stopped our use of CFCs (except for some developing countries) and thus the depletion of the ozone layer has almost stopped. It hasn't stopped entirely because a few countries still use CFCs and their lifetime in the atmosphere is 50-100 years, but the problem was essentially solved by the Montreal Protocol where all industrialized nations (including the US under Reagan) agreed to stop producing CFCs.

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

Global warming is mainly caused by greenhouse gases such as carbon dioxide trapping heat. There are also other factors, such as variations in the sun and volcanic emissions (which actually cause cooling), etc., but the primary cause right now is human greenhouse gas emissions, as you can see in this model:

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

Answer 5

<>
minor variations in weather isn't a focus of global climate change. nor is referencing one single region, which is what your data is referring to.

<>
water vapor helps regulate temperature, but if you increase the amount of greenhouse gases in water vapor, it traps far more heat.

<>
you do realize that the earth orbits around the sun, and not the other way around, right??

<>
like i said earlier, we orbit the sun, not the other way around.
and no, cooling of the troposhere slows the reactions that are responsible for the ozone layer, which causes the creation of atmospheric O3 to be slower which means it doesn't repair itself as fast.
it is a natural cycle for the ozone to be continuously destroyed and reformed. just like your skin dies, but continuously regrows. the ozone layer does something very similar but on a molecular level instead of cellular.

<>
no its caused by greenhouse gases in the lower troposphere acting as a barrier that traps heat in the stratosphere.
water traps the heat energy, turns to vapor and rises. this action is suppose to shuttle heat from the surface to the upper atmosphere where it can be released, similar to what happens when you sweat. it is happenig slower than it should.

Answer 6

You don't understand - the records are for a given day - - the hottest April 14th in 80 years or 75 years.

It doesn't matter if there have been 20 hotter April 20ths than this year's April 14th.

I mean there are only 80 April 14ths in the last 80 years. So every year you should be setting a half dozen or so new records.

It was warmer 1000 years ago, almost as warm 2000 years ago, and warmer 5000 years ago, for multi-century periods, all when CO2 levels were much lower.

There is no correlation on a multi-century scale.

Answer 7

I'm getting so bored of reading this question. One hot day does not equal global warming. Global warming is global not confined to Canada, it's not about one specific day or one specific year but about trends over 10's and hundreds of years. ----------- Edit: To Jim Z (below). You display the level of you intellect by thinking there is no explanation for the cooling trend in the middle of the 20th century - there is a perfectly rational one understood by all climate scientists - look up Sulphur Dioxide, Clean Air Acts, Global Dimming etc.

Answer 8

Two nice pictures explain things pretty well.

You have to look at the long term data on a global basis to see what's up. Here it is, with references:

http://www.globalwarmingart.com/wiki/Image:Instrumental_Temperature_Record_png

Scientists consider the sun, ozone, and volcanoes, of course, when studying global warming. This graph shows you what each has done, and when.

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

Good website for more information, well organized, easy to read.

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

Answer 9

Get off the ozone layer as it is good and the hole is at the poles and perfectly natural. The clods that thought it was the CFC didn't look at the weight of the CFC. If they had they would know that a very few gases would be light enough to get there.

Answer 10

Al gore... wonderful source of information.

He was the guy who didn't recognize the busts of the past presidents when given a tour of the White House.... As the new Vice President.

He's the guy who burns thousands of pounds of jet fuel to give a lecture about how SUV's waste fuel.

That makes him... an ignorant hypocrite at best.

The only truth involved in Al Gore's movie... is Al Gore wanted to make money and knew that idiots would pay to watch it.