Global warming is a choice. Are you going to do the following to prevent it?

Question

Global warming is a serious problem. If we don't stop it now it's going to get worse and worse. This is what can happen. Polluting cars will cause the earth to warm up, making the glaciers melt. Causing the glaciers to melt makes an unbalance of salt and freshwater in the sea. Causing that makes them change currents. Causing that will make them create storms, and tornados and such. All this is another ice age which can probably happen in 20 years or so. So what's needed to get is energy efficent lightbulbs. If you change 5 regular un-energy efficent ones thats like taking 400,000 cars off the road. Don't drive around a lot. If the store is 20 minutes away it won't hurt to walk there. Plus its healthy. So what are you going to do to prevent global warming?

Answer 1

Don't some people talk absolute garbage. The very first line of the first response - global warming was invented in 1988, I must have at least 100 books, 1000 reports and numerous videos which all predate 1988. I was at university studying global warming prior to 1988.

Sorry, I digress but the garbage that the uninformed attempt to pass off as fact is sometimes so ridiculous that the only thing you can do is laugh at it.

I hope you'll allow me to respond to some of the comments you made...

By and large what you said is correct but it's not just polluting cars that are the cause of global warming. Cars by themselves contribute about 5% of the global warming total, all other road transport is approx 5% more and all other forms of transport (trains, boats, planes etc) add a further 5%.

The truth is that we don't know what will happen to the ocean currents if there is substantial melting of the polar ice. There will effectively be a conflict between the meltwater and ocean currents, most notably the North Atlantic Conveyor or Gulf Stream, this conflict is unpredictable because the melt water has two opposing properties - it may be forced under, over or head-on into the ocean currents. What the outcome may be remains to be seen.

In the worst case scenario the North Atlantic Conveyor will shut down completely, this will warm the Equatorial waters around the Carribean, with the most probable outcome being an increase in the number of storms spawned in the area. At the same time temperatures in Northern Europe will fall, not so much that there will be an ice age but enough to ensure that this part of the world has a climate more akin to that of other locations at the same latitide. The climate of London for example would become more like that of New York or Moscow. Semi permenant glaciers could return to Scotland and ice would extend further across some parts of Scandinavia.

Just for clarity, I think what you're saying about lightbulbs and cars is that if everyone changed 5 lightbulbs it would be the equivalent of removing 400,000 cars from the road not that one person changing their lightbulbs would have this effect.

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Global warming is a problem and it's one that can't easily be stopped although we can all help to slow it down by replacing lightbulbs, walking instead of driving etc. This will buy us more time, it may give us the time that we need to find other ways of tacking the problem. There's a point known as the 'tipping point', once crossed the damage to our planet becomes ireperable. The more we can delay reaching this point the greater our chances of finding ways to prevent us from ever reaching it.

If each person followed your example it would make a significant difference. Not only is it good for global warming but for the environment as a whole, plus it's healthy and saves money too. Can't argue with that.

Answer 2

Global warming is one-half of the climatic cycle of warming and cooling.
The earth's mean temperature cycles around the freezing point of water.
This is a completely natural phenomenon which has been going on since there has been water on this planet. It is driven by the sun.
Our planet is currently emerging from a 'mini ice age', so is becoming warmer and may return to the point at which Greenland is again usable as farmland (as it has been in recorded history).
As the polar ice caps decrease, the amount of fresh water mixing with oceanic water will slow and perhaps stop the thermohaline cycle (the oceanic heat 'conveyor' which, among other things, keeps the U.S. east coast warm).
When this cycle slows/stops, the planet will cool again and begin to enter another ice age.
It's been happening for millions of years.
Humans did not cause it.
Humans cannot stop it.

Answer 3

I am just going to evaluate your claim that changing 5 lightbulbs = 400,000 cars because you are deluded.

400,000 cars travel an average of 10,000miles per year (which is a little low because I will error on the side that makes your number closer to reality).

So we have 4,000,000,000 miles travelled per year. Let's say the average mpg on a car is 40mpg (which is really high, again erring on your side). That is 100,000,000 gallons of oil burned by those vehicles per YEAR.

That is over 3 BILLION KW-hrs of energy used by those 400,000 cars per year.

I change 5 100W lightbulbs to 20W flourescent lightbulbs. Better yet, I'll just assume I have removed 5 lights from use, it will make the math easier.

So I save 100W, times the 5 lightbulbs and the 8760 hours per year, that is only 4 MILLION KW-hrs per year. Now we get 20% of the energy in the US from nuclear power, so we'd have to reduce this amount, but we get some from coal, so that would increase the amount of GHGs, but overall, nothing is going to make your claim true.

You are like the person that claimed getting 1 better A/C unit for your house was the equivalent of taking 100,000 cars off the road. I use more energy in my car than my A/C unit. I could turn off my A/C and it wouldn't even offset my ONE car.

Answer 4

The quote about 400,000 cars was if all bulbs in California were replaced, not just 5. 400,000 cars put out 1.8 million metric tons per year of co2. Are you saying that the energy to power 5 light bulbs puts out 1.8 million metric tons per year? Stop mis-informing people into thinking that everyone can do a few simple things to reverse co2 output. Even taking 400,000 cars off the road wouldn't even put a dent in the emissions. If we are serious about reducing emissions enough to make a difference, it will take a massive change of lifestyle for all people on the planet.

Answer 5

You do know the same thing happened long before we had cars? I suggest you read "The Little Ice Age: How Climate Made History" by Brian Fagan. Then tell me how humans caused that.

And people have always know that driving causes pollution and that walking is healthy for you. They're just lazy. They also know that eating bacon everyday causes heart attacks but they don't do anything about it. I admire your spirit but people just don't give a darn, sad as it is.

Answer 6

What HOGWASH!

Changing 5 light bulbs to energy efficient types is NOT like taking 400,000 cars off the road. Not even like taking 1 car off the road. More like 1/1000 of a car off the road.

If the store is 20 minutes DRIVING TIME away, it would take you ALL DAY to walk there.

Wake UP and GET REAL!

Answer 7

?Nope not going to do a thing, I will drive the car, what ever car I want. I will cut my trees what ever trees I want I will leave every light I chose on if I want, I will burn my garbage, and send to the landfill any and ever thing I want. Why? because I know It ticks off people like gore and you. Quite shoving your religion in my face.

Answer 8

According to the best estimates to stop Global Warming requires that we reduce carbon dioxide emissions to less than one tenth of what they are now world wide.

To get a reduction that large we would have to ban the use of all forms of motorized transportation world wide.

That means we would have to ban the use of all automobiles, motor scooters, motorcycles, buses, trains, planes and shipping world wide.

Next we would have to ban all manufacturing, steel making and cement making world wide.

Next we would have to ban the heating and air conditioning of all homes, factories and offices, again world wide.

Next we would have to ban the use of fossil fuels to generate electricity.

Next we would have to ban the heating of all water for washing and bathing.

Essentially we would have to learn to bathe in cold water.

We would have to get cooperation on this world wide.

We cannot get that cooperation voluntarily. The People's Republic of china has already stated that they will not reduce their emissions of carbon dioxide. In fact The People's Republic of China plans to increase its use of fossil fuels and attendant production of carbon dioxide.

The People''s Republic of China alone has carbon dioxide emissions of sufficient amount to cause Global Warming by itself even if every other country on this planet reduced its carbon dioxide emissions to zero.

The People's Republic of China has stated that they will not reduce their use of fossil fuels and in fact they plan to increase their use of fossil fuels dramatically.

Replacing incandescent light bulbs with compact fluorescent light bulbs, buying hybrid cars and walking to the store will not get you anywhere the reductions that you will need to stop Global Warming.

We must accept the fact that Global Warming is a necessary consequence of human existence. We cannot stop Global Warming, but we can mitigate the effects of Global Warming.

The sea levels will rise. Fortunately most coastal areas can be protected from flooding with dike systems similar to those in Holland.

Hurricanes will become stronger and more frequent. We will need to upgrade the disaster preparedness systems of the countries affected by hurricanes.

Droughts will become more frequent. We will need to help the affected areas with supplemental water supplies and desalination plants.

We cannot stop Global Warming, but we can mitigate the effects of Global Warming if we start now.

Answer 9

everything i can. but where is the 20 years another ice age coming from. Doesnt seem to follow logically.

Answer 10

Every time you hear the phrase "man made global warming" hold on to your wallet.

"Global warming" is only as real as you choose to believe. I don't believe man has any ability to change something as massive as the climate.