Global Warming?

Question

Whats exactly is Global Warming? Last year was my last year of high school, and my science teacher said that due to Global Warming, the Earth and everyone in it will be dead in about 20 to 30 years. is that true? can scientists predict when Global Warming will kill us? Is there any way to get rid of the Global Warming, or at least slow it down?

Answer 1

Some gases ("greenhouse gases") let sunlight in, which warms the Earth, and then block that heat from leaving. That's the "greenhouse effect", and it's a natural thing, mostly caused by water vapor.

Man is making excessive amounts of greenhouse gases, mostly by burning fossil fuels. That causes the delicate natural balance to go out of whack and the Earth warms. That's global warming.

It won't be a Hollywood style disaster. It won't kill us all. Gradually coastal areas will flood and agriculture will be damaged. But it will be very bad. Rich countries will cope, but it will take huge amounts of money. In poor countries many people will die of starvation, but not all of them.

Most scientists say, in 20-50 years. But we need to start right now to reduce it, reducing it will take even longer than that. Here's a practical plan, developed by hundreds of scientists working together:

http://www.reuters.com/article/scienceNews/idUSL052735320070407
http://www.ipcc.ch/SPM6avr07.pdf

More information here:

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

Lots of numerical scientific data proving it real here:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Climate_Change_Attribution.png
http://www.ipcc.ch/SPM2feb07.pdf

Answer 2

Global Warming is the idea that light loses energy passing through the atmosphere on its way from the sun, and becomes trapped within our ecosphere. Normally enough sunlight is reflected back into space, so conditions on earth stay stable. Adding certain gases to the atmosphere increases the amount of the sun's energy that is trapped, warming things up. This has been tracked for about a century, as factories, cars, etc produce a lot of those gases. Current projections by the scientific community are that this will reach a catastrophic level soon, much sooner than predicted. That is believed to be because production of those gases has increased more than predicted, and less has been done about the problem than predicted.

Carbon dioxide is the main problem. Doubling the level of CO2 would increase the earth's temperature by about 7 degrees. That has only happened once in the earth's history, and it killed off everything except the algae. Scientists are monitoring the level of CO2 as it rises.

When I was in high school (1960's) it was estimated that some changes would take 500 years to begin, many of which have already happened. I would disagree with your teacher, although he certainly may be correct. My estimate would be about twice his. However, if the current increase in new industrial countries and the current inaction by the politicians continues much longer, his estimate is probably more realistic.

Answer 3

So far i havent read 1 good answer. Bob kinda had it but not exactly. Greenhouse gases are caused by fossil fuels they make the atmasphere thicker so when the light enters it cant leave. and we CAN see the future in things like this, its called scientific modles. There are a few possiblilities. 1: 20 - el nino. El nino is a cycle where rapid changes accure there is a 1 in 6 chance that this will happen and destroy the rainforests and killing us (not for a few hundred years though). 2:20 - There is a two in twenty chance that something the model cant predict. and there is a 17:20 chance that we'll be fine. This is somewhat against some scientists belief (SOME scientists) but my theory is well thought out and there are good reasons why the earth will stay the same. if you want to know the reasons or know more my email is [e-mail]

Answer 4

Basically global warming is the fact that the entire planet is getting warmer, mainly due to things that humans are doing, such as burning fossil fuels and cutting down forests. These fossil fuels release carbon dioxide (plus other greenhouse gases) into the atmosphere, causing more and more heat to be trapped inside the atmosphere instead of being released back into space. This obviously makes it hotter here.

I doubt that we'll all be dead in 20-30 years from global warming. I think your professor was just trying to scare you guys a little bit! What I could see happening in that time frame is the N. and S. poles losing a considerable amount of ice, oceans warming, maybe a few more intense hurricanes, but probably not as bad as some predict. I think the worst thing about all of this is the possibility of major droughts happening all over the world. Countries with little resources (ie. poor countries) will face major food shortage issues, while rich countries will do everything they can to maintain their standard of living. I could see major wars breaking out all over the world for things like access to fertil land and water supplies. Plus the price of oil will skyrocket as it becomes more and more difficult to find new supplies. This could also cause major economic recessions.

I don't think we can get rid of global warming, but we could certainly slow down the pace by reducing our use of fossil fuels. If you're just getting out of hs and having bought your first car yet, consider getting something that gets at least 30 miles/gallon instead of some big SUV. You'll save lots and lots of gas over the lifetime of this vehicle. Also you can try using less electricity at home. Why less electricity? Well chances are good that your local power company generates its power with coal, which is the worst polluting fossil fuel of all of them! If you could turn off lights when not in use, or perhaps replace a few light bulbs with more efficient compact florescent bulbs, this would be a start. Also try turning off TVs, computers, things like that when they're not being used.....every little bit helps!

And now that you're old enough to vote, go and vote for candidates that take this issue seriously! Don't vote for some idiot with ties to the oil industry just because he/she says they're going to lower your taxes!

Answer 5

hey
global warming is when the earth get to warm ( cuz the sun will be too close from our globe ) so everyone in the earth will be dead after 20 or 30 years ! yes it`s true !that why u maybe have seen singers singing concerts for global warming in live earth
i think maybe the pollution is a fact for gloabal warming
so if the pollution is not so big it may slow down ( i am not sure )

Answer 6

Global Warming is the Earth Heating up due to our using to much coal, oil, and gas for cars, electric power, and industry according to Al Gore and Oprah.

I guess your teacher is right. Oprah and Al Gore said that if something isn't done in ten years, it is to late for us, so it must be true. According to Al and Oprah, it is all our fault. Al said he tried to tell us but we wouldn't listen. They said don't listen to any opposing viewpoints because any of them are just working for coal and oil companies. Manhatten and a lot of Florida will be under water soon. Millions and millions will die. The north and south pole ice is melting for the first time ever. It is the end of the world as we know it.

I doubt we can get all the countries in the world to make all the major changes needed in 10 years so it is all over but the crying. Of Course Al and Oprah said it is all because of us. The horrible Americans.

After all that doom and gloom prediction, here is the list of recommendations Al and Oprah made for us to do(Their actual list):
Buy his book and CD
Use CFE Bulbs
Use Solar patio and walk lights
Use programmable thermostats
Change Air Filters
Get a Hot water heater Blanket
Get new Energy Star Appliances
Purchase Carbon Offsets and get Carbon Neutral

How Lame. Not one mention of getting small cars, small houses, Nuclear, Wind, or Solar Power for electric production that will reduce pollution much more than their list. I guess they figure it is all over anyway, so why worry about details.

Answer 7

HEY, YOU ALL NEED TO WAKE UP!! GLobal warming is not what we need to worry about. The real problem is GLOBAL SLOWING!!! Since evil countries like America, Western Europe and South Korea have been planting trees like mad for the last fifty years, there are more forests than there were in the 1950's. These trees are creating friction and SLOWING DOWN THE EARTH!!!! You need to immediately buy Rotation Credits from me, or buy Global Crustal Friction Offsets also from me or we will all die when the Earth's rotation slams to a sudden halt and everybody and everything piles up at the front of the...err.......planet.
SEND ME MONEY NOW OR WE ARE ALL DOOMED!!


(for each Rotation Credit my company will go in behind the Carbon Credit people and cut down all the trees they have planted and pave everything over to reduce friction. Problem is, we cant find any of these carbon credit people doing anything at all, except collecting money.)

Answer 8

Global warming is a religious cult. You have nothing to worry about, some people need the fear of pending doom to get some excitement into their lives.

If you remember the panic before the Y2K bug, people were predicting planes would fall out of the sky, yadda....

No one can predict the future. For all anyone knows in 10 years we'll be fighting advancing glaciers.

Still others see global warming as a way for nerdy scientist to get laid. "Hey, baby, we'll all be dead in 20 years from "global warming", so you want to 'Do it'?" works for some.

Answer 9

It's the earth heating up

Answer 10

Another example of playing on our fears to further an agenda.
In this case,fear the messenger(UN), not the message.