Any skeptics of global warming out there?

Question

I was on the wagon for a long time (even done public arts projects about it in Chicago), but I am becoming more skeptical. I should preface that I don't doubt climate change, but do question the degree to which human activity has drastically effected this change (called anthropogenic).

Interesting thoughts?

Answer 1

I've heard some good arguments from both sides. My stance on the issue is I don't know, but even if global warming didn't exist or it occurs without human intervention, you shouldn't use that as an excuse to pump more crap into the atmosphere.

Answer 2

I don't doubt it a bit.

The earth is a big ecosystem. You can't change a variable and expect everything to stay the same.

We've decimated the forests, we are burning tons of **** every day. If the earth was an apple, the atmosphere would be about the thickness of the skin. We act as though it is too huge for us to effect.

The Great Smog of 1952 in London is an example of the danger of that assumption.

I think that is obvious that the atmosphere is pretty easy to mess up.
Several volcanic eruptions during the past century have caused a decline in the average temperature at the Earth's surface of up to half a degree (Fahrenheit scale) for periods of one to three years. The 1815 eruption of Tambora in Indonesia blanketed the atmosphere with ash; the following year, 1816, came to be known as the Year Without A Summer, when frost and snow were reported in June and July in both New England and Northern Europe. These are single volcanoes. To assume that our constant spewing of carbon into the air cannot possibly have an effect strikes me as a little idiotic.

Have you ever been in a forest? Have you ever been in the middle of a sunny parking lot? If we are cutting down forests and paving over them, you can't expect the temperature to stay the same.

So no, I don't doubt it at all. Not one little bit. Certainly, some peoples shpiels about it cannot be trusted, but I think that the general concept is obviously correct.

Even if the emmissions aren't affecting the atmosphere much, they obviously aren't helping.
Our actions are obviously f*cking up the planet. There is no denying THAT.

Answer 3

As a history student, i'd like to point out that during the late Medieval ages, it was warmer then than it is now. I mean, there's records of people growing grapes in England! There was also a mini "ice age" that killed off the vikings in Greenland, as well as another mini "ice age" that helped dissipate the populations of Ancient Roman cities.

Earth's history is a cycle of continual warming and cooling. Modern man's mistake is that he thinks all climate should be the same, or else something's wrong. Who are we kidding? If the climate stayed the same, that'd be disastrous! Earth needs these cycles to maintain a balance. There are many factors contributing to it, the distance of the earth from the sun and the activities of the sun being two of the biggies, but there's more than that and probably some factors we don't even know about.

I am always skeptical of "eco-disaster" arguments because they are always full of hysteria. The sky is falling! It's the apocolypse! For example, there were those who said that in the 70s & 80s we were going to run out of gas. Well, we're still chugging along in SUVs. True, there's an ozone hole, but its over Antartica and it grows and contracts from year to year. Some are worried about overpopulation, but the entire world's population can fit into the state of Texas (rather comfortably, too). Some people say that when the ice melts, water levels will rise 20 feet!

Never believe any of this hype. Always verify, that's all i can say. You can calculate the world's population into Texas by finding online the square feet of Texas and divide that by the world's population. And you can find the rise of the sea level by using the volume of ice in the world and the surface area of the oceans. My father (an engineer) did these both and went away laughing at the eco-alarmists.

This doesn't mean that some things aren't caused by people. For example, we shouldn't dump nuclear waste and expect everything to be fine. But it does mean that when someone shrieks, "its the end of the world (or close to it!)," then i say "prove it."

Answer 4

If you look at the whole scope of things the Earth has been constantly changing since its birth. By no means is the earth "stable". The mean global temperature change was 1 degree over the last century. Thats not something that i loose sleep over at night. We're still coming out of an ice age. A meer 10 thousand years ago half of north american was covered in ice. The planet will continue to change in temperature through out its life. Do i believe humans contribute nothing to the warmth of our planet? No. But the roll we do play is minute at best. Global warming is not something thats preventable. Im sure somehow well adapt in the next thousand years or so to survive in this warmer climate.

Answer 5

I too didn't like it for a long time. The idea that our puny output could compete with the stupendous belchings of volcanoes seemed ridiculous.

But the scientific consensus in the world is pretty overwhelming now, and I reluctantly accept them.

Happily, I don't have to do anything about it! I've done more by not reproducing that I could achieve by a lifetime of recycling and abstention.

Furthermore, I didn't cause it, and I have no investment in the future. So I'll continue to drive my 5-liter monstervehicle, and leave it to the rest of you to avoid boiling if you can.

I should say that I'm pretty confident that a technological problem like this will have a technological solution. Once the tree-huggers stop trying to make everyone walk everywhere in sandals, large-scale carbon sequestration will fix the actual problem.

CD

Answer 6

Living in a country practically carved out by the last ice age, I've certainly notice changes in the climate. I remember winters only 10-15 years ago with more snow in one season then what we can get in 5 years total nowadays. I went skiing in California some years ago, and talked with the locals at the ski resort we was at and they was experiencing the same problems. There is very little doubt in my mind that this is related to negative human activity.We are responsible for a wreck less abuse on nature Daily. Not one single individual is innocent, and nobody is perfect.

Answer 7

I agree. I was the same way. I just followed what everyone told me because the environmentalist scare-mongers had the loudest voice. I had the courage to challenge my beliefs by looking at what the other side had to say and they have a very good argument.

Basically, unless it can be proven that other natural causes that have caused global warming in the past are NOT causing this one, there is really no way to prove that it is humans doing it now. Personally, I think the whole hype is being used to fleece american citizens into buying into the "green industry" garbage, Al Gore's "documentaries" and crappy concerts, and to make sure that scientists and foundations backing this theory bolster their reputation and $$$. Never assume that only right-wingers and oil companies are out to make money on global warming - liberals and environmentalists can be just as big of greedy, materialistic, unethical scumbags as anyone else.

Answer 8

I'm a skeptic in the sense I don't believe warming that's happening planet-wide is necessarily the result of men. Certainly some of the localized ice cap melting is the result of deforestation. And certainly in urban areas pavement and rooftops are responsible for localized warming.

But I don't believe the evidence is convincing that man is responsible for the general condition. I also doubt that if man is responsible, it will be influenced by anything less than profound reductions in the number of humans on the planet, or profound changes in lifestyle and reproduction by the ones alive today.

Answer 9

I've studied a lot on the issue of anthropogenic global warming, and while it is a problem, it is not nearly at the levels you would believe from watching An Inconvenient Truth or The 11th Hour. And I'm tired of both political parties blatently lying about it to pursue their own interests. Also, what does this have to do with Religion & Spirituality?

Answer 10

We are still much cooler now than at times before several of the previous ice ages, so global warming seems to be (irregularly) cyclical. The human element is in the current rate of climate change, which is destroying habitats/species that otherwise would have a chance to adapt. Look at the changes in elk population in Alaska, for instance.

Answer 11

I must admit, I don't know the full facts about it all - I've watched all the must see documentaries including Penn&Tellers ********. I know that recycling is an utter waste of time for the most part (that should be the suppliers responsibility to not give us so much bloomin' packaging)
I'm pretty convinced that the world has temperature changes that we cant do anything about. I'd be a willing audience for any unbiased facts but everyone seems to have an agenda because the green fashion brings in millions to governments and companies alike.
I think its a fad.