global warming....reverse...r we really causing it to cool not warm?

Question

can some one get me some trustable sights about global warming that thinks human kind is actually causing it to cool in the distant* future?

*-not sure how long into the future

Answer 1

It's complicated to explain so I'll refrain from doing so, instead I'll just tell you the basics (f you'd like detailed explanations just ask).

It's physically impossible for the planet to cool down in the short term unless humans intentionally or unintentionally cause massive global cooling. Cooling can only occur when heat loss exceeds heat gain, the physical composition of the planet means we will continue to gain more heat than is being lost.

The natural cycles that the planet goes through puts us in a long term warming phase, a very slow one but warming all the same. If all humans disappeared off the face of the planet it would continue warming of it's own accord for thousands of years.

The talk about the possibility of the planet cooling seems to originate from the notion that we may be causing another ice age as a consequence of global warming. This notion has no scientific backing and seems to be the product of an over-imaginative media more than anything.

One possible consequnece is that global warming could lead to localised cooling in some parts of the world. This is not global cooling but merely a redistribution of heat. For every bit of cooling there will be an equal amount of warming elsewhere.

This scenario is a little understood possibility that could happen (it's unlikely but possible) . With the melting of the polar ice caps comes the introduction of cold, fresh water into the seas and oceans. This additional burden could interupt the more vulnerable parts of the oceans circulatory system. Most at risk is the Gulf Stream which carries warm water to the shores of northwestern Europe.

If the Gulf Stream were to shut down, diverge, truncate or divert then countries such as Iceland, Ireland, the UK and parts of Scandinavia would cool down by up to 7°C. The rest of the world would be pretty much unaffected whilst over the course of thousands of years glaciers would readvance into the parts of Europe that had cooled significantly.

This is only a possibility and isn't clearly understood. The more time that passes the less chance there is of it happening. Meltwater is already pouring into the North Atlantic and so far it's had no effect on the Gulf Stream.

As I mentioned, if you'd like any of the above points explaining in detail please let me know.

Answer 2

This clip from the History channel is a good place to start...it summarizes it pretty simply (skip to 3:50 into it - that's where it begins to talk about global warming): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GwMY8GYaOnc

And here is the clip that illustrates the scenario described in the Schwartz and Randall report for the Pentagon: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2xR7hQJUUTo

And here you can read the PDF of the report in its entirety: http://www.gbn.com/ArticleDisplayServlet.srv?aid=26231

Basically, the warming leading to cooling scenario involves the shutdown of the thermohaline conveyor due to the amount of freshwater being dumped into the ocean from melting glaciers - many believe that this is what caused the "little ice age."

Answer 3

We're not going to cause global cooling. The best we can do is to cut our emissions enough to slow global warming such that the average global temperature only increases by another 1.5-2°C, and even this will require major greenhouse gas emissions reductions. Here are some projections of the warming over the next century:

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

And here are some useful sites regarding global warming:

http://green.yahoo.com/index.php?q=node/14
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/6290228.stm
http://gristmill.grist.org/skeptics
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Global_warming
http://ipcc-wg1.ucar.edu/wg1/Report/AR4WG1_Print_SPM.pdf
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Climate_Change_Attribution.png

Answer 4

There are just as many reliable sites that disprove global warming

Answer 5

Only if you can time-travel back to the '70s, back then, people really did think the globe was cooling.

You might also want to research inter-glacial periods and the holocene era - there are some who believe that our current era is really just an inter-glacial period from the ice age - which is still occuring, and that it is about to end (most interglacials last for about 10,000, and our last ice age "ended" 10,000 years ago.

Answer 6

Why do you need the buy in?
What does it hurt to make an effort. The results can only ever be good.

Answer 7

What? Who is saying it's cooling?