whats up with global warming? are we at risk?

Question

i am terrified of what the world will come to....is it all true?? Is the world really going to come to an end in 50 years............................all you ppl out there who smoke plz plz stop!!

Answer 1

I'm sorry that people have filled your mind with fear. There are many things we have done to hurt the environment. Some people exaggerate this destruction because they want you to stop - they don't trust you with the ability to think for yourself.

The most important tool to ensure your survival and your ability to help others and the environment is the ability to think for yourself. Many people hide behind a crowd, seeking safety in numbers, afraid to think for themselves. But that is not how we solve the big problems of this world and its many people...we do this through the contribution of many ideas.

This forum is not always the best place to have a different way of looking at things. I hope that doesn't discourage you.

Answer 2

I'm sorry that you've been frightened by some of the more extreme reporting about global warming - the media sometimes take things out of context and present a far more sensationalistic picture than the reality of the situation.

As a qualified climatologist who has studied global warming and climate change extensively, please allow me to present a more realistic picture.

Yes global warming is happening, it's always happened through natural causes but in recent times we've accelerated it. The planet is warming up much faster than it should be doing but all the same, it would have warmed up this much anyway, it's just that it would have taken longer.

The primary consequence of global warming is climate change (they're two different things) and the effects of climate change are wide ranging, they're not always bad.

Even if we look at the very worst case scenario, there is no possibility of the world ending in 50 years time or even in thousands of years time. Life for many people will change and populations will have to adapt but there is no doomsday scenario.

Let's wind the clock forward 50 years and see what the world will be like. The first thing you'd notice is that everything is pretty much the same. Most of the plants, animals and people are still here and the weather doesn't seem to have changed much either. It'll probably be 2 or 3°F warmer than it is now but to you or me this is negligible, temperatures often change this much on an hour by hour basis. In fact, acorss America and Europe life will be more of less the same. You may notice that food prices have been driven up by crop failures but there's no food shortages, some items may be harder to come by, others easier.

You may well notice many more people of African and Asian origin, these are the continents that are going to be hardest hit and huge numbers of people are going to be forced to emigrate to avoid floods, droughts, famines, desertification, insect infestation, sea level rises etc.

There will be a great many consequences of climate change, many of which we, in the Western World, will be able to adapt to or compensate for because we have the finances and resources to do so.

If you'd like more details about how climate change will impact the world in the future you may wish to read this summary of a report I wrote which has been 'dejargonised' and put on a website - http://profend.com/global-warming/pages/future.html

Here's a page detailing the more short term and immediate effects http://profend.com/global-warming/pages/effects.html and here's a page looking at some of the ways we can combat climate change http://profend.com/global-warming/pages/combat.html

The good news is that the world won't end in 50 years time and we have an opportunity now to do something to prevent the worst effects of climate change.

By the way, smoking has an almost negligible effect on climate change. Some of the chemicals produced from smoking do contribute to global warming but I would guess that the excess contribution one smoker makes each year would be the equivalent of eating a couple of beefburgers or leaving a light on for a few hours.

Answer 3

Relax. The world will not end in 50 years. Global warming is a very subtle environmental problem, and despite what the radical environmentalists say, the effects will be subtle too. You probably won't notice the difference in 50 years. There may be more coastal flooding, but there is some now. The difference will not be dramatic. The problem is not a short term one. It will take WAY longer than 50 years to have a big effect. And even then, the effect will not be life threatening. It may cost us a lot of money to cope with it, but it will not kill people.

Answer 4

Smoking does not contribute too much to pollution. The main culprits are the vehicles, industries etc,.

Without these we cannot have progress. With these we will have global warming. It is a tradeoff. What we can do is go for bicycles instead of cars and buses. industries cannot be stopped but we can try to reduce pollution by technological advancements. I still feel it is too late already. Do not worry, I am there to come to your rescue. I am making a boat these days. i will take you with me in that boat, my family is also joining. You can get your family too.

This is gonna be the modern Noah's Ark

I am there to save you. I promise

Answer 5

well it's not gonna come to a end in 50 yrs no one knows when it will and smoking is not one of the main reasons for global warming

Answer 6

Global warming is just a scare tactic started by Al Gore and perpetuated by greedy scientists out to finance the rest of their lives on a problem which can not be proven to exist.

Answer 7

Yes, we are going to die unless Al Gore can save the planet, he will fly around and uplug appliances (except at his house) and your A/C, he will stop you from flying in airplanes all your cars from driving, and he will fly around in his plane with the A/C on while watching The View on his 80" plasma and smoking a cigar, preaching about how you are destroying the environment.

Answer 8

It's not coming to an end. The climate transition will be tough and very troublesome for many species. Humans will most likly have to adapt to many events (and we all know how well we managed one comparable weather catastrophy when Katrina struck.). Hopefully will new technology be able to stop it, or reduce its effects. :)

Answer 9

i definitely think we're at risk. the ozone layer is thinning out every second we're talkin' baby ... i won't be surprised if existence ends in less than 50 years.... and it's not so much the smokers who are putting us at more of a risk... it's the gas are cars emitt, the air conditioners we use... wow... can't wait till the day comes...

Answer 10

That's exactlly what Al Gore intened to do. He hasn't proven anything. He has cherry picked his information to fit his cause. I am 56 years old and I haven't seen any sign of climate change. It's bogus..Do yourself a favor and don't worry about it