Why are peope so concerned about Gobal Warming, So what!!?

Question

First off if the ice caps melt that would be a good thing because that would open more farm land in the inaccesible areas of Siberia and Canada. People in Coastal cities such as on the coast of California could move inland. Another benefit to that is Nancy Pelosi would lose her District in Congress because Sodom and Gamorrah (OPPS!! San Francisco) would be under water. Eventually petroleum will run out and we will return to earlier times when life was slower. If you check Geologic History and the fossil record you will see that many places that are now deserts or tops of mountains were underwater before. So what if things shift again. For those Evolutionist that don't believe in the Bible, do you not trust the fossil record to record the climatic changes in the earth?

First I appreciate all the answers. One thing I noticed is that some people say we will have drought; some flooding, etc. First off I noticed that recently there were floods and torrential rains in parts of the USA and now there are droughts. What happened to all that rain and snow that fell before? Over the winter there were high snow falls. What happened to all that water? Where did it go? As terrible as it might seem to abandon cities near coastal areas with high real estate values why would that cause the end of humanity on earth? Eventually we will run out of petroleum and after a while the earth will adjust to the new climatic realities and so will the people. The Eskimos will simply move south and adjust their life style. They will tell their grandchildren about the good old days when they froze on tundra. Many polar bears and other species will be saved @ live in wild animal parks under climate controlled conditions.I dont think we can stop petro use until its gone.

I'm unsure what answer to choose as best answer. Many people had very good and learned answers. With this series of questions on global warming I learned many new things. I will let this question go to voting and thanks to all of you for your great answers. Oh I'm not 7 but 18.

Answer 1

The ice caps melting is not a good thing, as it will severely affect many animal species. Or, do you only care about yourself? Also, global warming is very real. I live in Ohio, and we hardly get snow in the winter anymore. Last year was the hottest summer on record, and this summer is expected to be even worse. Drought affects our water supply (esp. in the west) and our crops. Pop-up natural disasters like Hurricane Katrina are expected to be more and more frequent. You should be worried - it concerns me to the point that I think it's irresponsible to put more children on this Earth that will one day have to suffer through it. People need to buck up and ackowledge the part that humans played in this. The effects we're experiencing aren't just the work of a normal warming trend. Anyone who believes otherwise is obviously in denial - optimism is nice, but sometimes we need to face reality, and deal with it.

Answer 2

People are concerned, because this time is different. Here is a paragraph from NASA, from an article describing how bad Global Warming is:


The most important result found by these researchers is that the warming in recent decades has brought global temperature to a level within about one degree Celsius (1.8° F) of the maximum temperature of the past million years. According to Hansen “That means that further global warming of 1 degree Celsius defines a critical level. If warming is kept less than that, effects of global warming may be relatively manageable. During the warmest interglacial periods the Earth was reasonably similar to today. But if further global warming reaches 2 or 3 degrees Celsius, we will likely see changes that make Earth a different planet than the one we know. The last time it was that warm was in the middle Pliocene, about three million years ago, when sea level was estimated to have been about 25 meters (80 feet) higher than today.”


People often think Al Gore is a lone voice, talking about something that other scientists disagree about. But that isn't the case. Scientists do agree that Global Warming is a serious concern. Only politicians and others without climate science background are arguing.

Global warming could cause millions of people to be displaced, and entire countries or states to disappear or to shrink so much they cannot support themselves anymore (like Holland, some island countries, and other low-lying areas like Florida). Who is going to pay for all that? They won't be able to pay themselves, since they will have to leave behind their homes and careers, and will not be able to sell their properties.

Various crops can only be grown in the areas that would have the worst impact from global warming. For instance, almost all of North America's citrus is grown in the parts of California and Florida that would no longer be able to support citrus growing with the severe global warming that will come if we don't change things. And if the central plains where most of the world's surplus grain is grown can't grow as much as it used to, the starvation will be felt in various places world wide.

Why are people so concerned about Global Warming? Because we care about humanity.
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Answer 3

Global warming is not a sure thing, but climate change will be... And I do agree with you, it will not be the first time that the planet geography will be redraw by climatic shifts. Also yes it will have implications on all countries, but it will be hard to predict anything, except the occurance of natural disaster that should increase over time. Those Hurricanes will becom stronger and more frequent... So it should affect most of northern countries in any way...
So if we can`t stop it, we should find a way to see things coming at least, so we could prepare for it before it happen...

Answer 4

I agree with you on a few things. I'm again the theory of Evolution and I believe in the Bible. I believe that there are fossil records to show that this is probably just another cycle of the Earth. However, just because there's a chance it isn't true doesn't mean we can't take care of the environment. I'm not too sure about Global Warming either, but I still realize that there's a world out there that I've been born into to take care of, and one of the ways to take care of it is by energy efficiency.

Answer 5

You know what'll happen? The whole world warms up and we lose a bunch of species, and the food chain falls apart and everything goes extinct. The world warms up and the waters rise, increasing precipitation, but there is also a chance of water shortages. The globe warms up, and the water warms up. The water warms up, and the great barrier reef dies. And it's not just the warming up part that matters. Global warming is caused by air pollution. This pollution is causing acid rain and sickness throughout the world because air pollution causes asthma and totally contaminates the air. We can't breathe this!!! Air pollution is bad for everything, which will kill everything. And the world warming up, well, that's just going to throw everything off balance. The world won't be healthy, it'll be a hot waste land that'll totally get destroyed because the people on earth are so stupid. The people in the past never thought about this. This air pollution is making a hole in the ozone, which is letting in dangerous rays of sun into the earth. The ozone is protecting the earth, and we're destroying our protection. Yes, global warming is always happening, no matter what, because everything emits CO2, but we're speeding it up and destroying the earth sooner than it's supposed to be destroyed. We're destroying God's creation because we're all so careless. The earth is going to be destroyed someday, and I think that Global Warming will cause it.

Answer 6

you forget on thing
that is kind of important
what will we drink if there is not enough `potable water ,and what will we eat ,if we cannot produce food ,1 degree rise in temperature means 10% crop loss,when all of the ice is melted ,this will be a lot more ,and the available water will be a lot less
before glaziers and mountain snows were keeping many river running .


the future wars will be for water ,
Already its running out
the bulk of the water on this planet was locked in ice and slowly reased into rivers and lakes ,or to the atmosphere ,
it is not running into the sea

great a smaller world ,more seas ,but not water for agriculture or our survival ,beause deforestation continues and is faster all the time .
mexico looses half a million hectares a year
and most of our drinking water comes from the rains created by the forests.

and dont say we drink beer because all drinks are made from water .
here is a distributiontable for your interest and it is already out of date

25% of the planets surface is land
75%of the surface is water and it is rising

------------------------------...

97%of the Earths water is salt

fresh water is only 3% of all the Earths water
most of it is beyond out reach

now much ice is melting and running into the seas fresh water lost for ever.

STORAGE or Location of % of the fresh water
ice and glaziers 74%
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groundwater 800 meters + 13.5 %
groundwater less than 800meters 11.o%
Lakes 0.3%
soils 0.006%
Atmospheric in circulation 0.0035%
rivers 0.03%


frozen land or permafrost is not included and represent an unavailable storage of 40%

so of the 3% about 11.6 ,is easily available to us ,in rivers, lakes and ground water surface aquifers,more and more of this is becoming contaminated

Answer 7

GLOBAL WARMING IS NOT AS SIMPLE AS THE ICE CAPS MELTING! First off, the melting of the ice caps would not neccessarily open up more farm land in the north. Low lying regions will get flooded, this includes coastal regions and areas along rivers and stream banks. It is not easy to relocate cities on low lying lands to higher grounds as can be seen in the Hurrican Katrina disaster. You need to understand that these are their homes and livelihoods, relocation will be met with some resistance. In addition, the melting of the ice caps can change ocean currents, affecting weather patterns globally. Ice caps are composed of cooler, freshwater, which, because of its difference in composition, will not mix with ocean water and can disrupt the ocean converyor belt that is responsible for circulating warmer water to the northern hemisphere and cooler water to the southern hemisphere. Finally, just because its warming doesn't mean that all places will warm equally. Other regions, especially rain-shadow regions, of the earth can suffer from droughts. Global warming will also cause more intense storms and flooding and increases evaporation of water from the soil and from water bodies. IF farmland is exposed, how do you propse we grow crops in these conditions?

Answer 8

Why must conservatives always find a way to blame their hated liberals for global warming...and vice-versa? This has nothing to do with conservative or liberal politics; it has everything to do with how WE - men and women - have, in a short 150 years since the industrial revolution began, done irreparable damage to the Earth's cyclical pattern of global warming and cooling.
Because WE (and, sadly, mostly Americans) have chosen to allow smoke-belching factories to pollute our air and have chosen to drive around in $60,000 gas-guzzling SUVs that spew tons of vehicle emissions into the atmosphere.
Because WE don't seem to give a tinker's damn about the polar ice caps melting which will render polar bears and remote Eskimo tribes extinct (and who cares about them. anyway?). Because WE have failed, as stewards of this good Earth, to preserve and protect the fragile ecological balance between all men, plants and animals so necessary for our continued survival on this Earth.
Because WE has disrupted the natural cycle of things, not allowing for nature to take its course and adapt over tens of thousands of years.
Because WE Americans, who are only 5% of the world's population, squander 55% of the global resources without regard for conservation.
So tell me, Rebecca, when your beautiful grandchildren or great-grandchildren crawl up on you rlap and ask, "WHY, Grandma Rebecca? WHY did you KNOW about the bad effects of global warming and still NOT do anything to try and prevent it or delay it??" When your wonderful grandchildren are wearing gas masks so that they can breathe fresh air, or when they can't find sufficient clean water to drink, HOW do you intend to answer them, Grandma Rebecca? What will you answer be?

"It's all the fault of the liberals.., darling. I'm not to blame."
Is that how you'll answer your grandchildren? -RKO- 06/10/07

Answer 9

listen because of global warming the polar ice caps will melt killing off polar bears next Greenland will melt and stop ocean currents making Europe to go into a mini ice age.Next most people get there water from the mountains if all that water goes wasted many many people will die of dehydration and that is the least of our problems fights will break out for water. maybe even war and in your mind you are probaly saying but earth is covered by 70% of water well even if we could build desalination plants accross the coast well it could take days to pump water to inland areas well let me leave you with this thought you won't suffer that much but wait you sound ignorant so you must be young you may suffer and if you don't your children will and your children's children

this will not happen in 300 years this will happen i the next 50 years

Answer 10

global warming is nothing more than a natural cycle. era of the vikings was a warm era, warmer than now. then from 1200ish to 1850ish was a time called the little ice age, a time that was much colder than now, cold enough to change the culture of much of northern europe. since them we have been in a worming cycle. i have no idea if we've peaked or not.