what is global warming and how can we prevent global warming?

Answer 1

"Global Warming" is mass hysteria that sells news, magazines, papers, books, and movies. It also keeps unemployable "scientist" employed with a government job, and helps get politicians elected.

It has absolutely nothing to do with the climate.

Answer 2

The earth has been through several warming and cooling periods - in cycles of millions of years, of hundreds of thousands of years, and in hundreds of years. The hundreds-of-thousands-of-years cycles show a correlation to atmospheric CO2 levels - but the temperature increase comes first. CO2 does trap heat ("greenhouse gas") and it makes up a tiny fraction of our atmosphere - but there are countless other factors and we do not have much of an understanding of how they all come into play.

Since the last Ice Age there have been several multi-century climate oscillations only a few of which are partially understood. There was a long warm period called the Holocene Maximum. There was a warm period during the Roman era, then a modest cooling, then a warming in the late 800s lasting well into the 13th century, then a profound cool period known as the "Little Ice Age," which ended around 1850 giving way to the present period in which it warmed - at least, technically, until 1998.

The evidence of these prior oscillations is worldwide and is quite clear - what plants and animals grew/lived when and where, what waterways were iced over for what period, what mountain passes were blocked by glaciers, how high the tree lines were. For example the Alps have had much higher tree lines during three warm periods and have been ice free for certain periods since the last Ice Age - - scientists project that this may be the case again 100 years from now.

So, whatever the cause, we still have a ways to go before we hit "uncharted territory" climate-wise.

Many scientists contend that man is exacerbating the present warming by emitting billions of tons of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere. Note, the total tonnage over the last 200 years though is 1/11,000th of the total atmosphere. Other greenhouse gases include water vapor and methane, both of which are much stronger than CO2 in terms of heat-trapping capacity. And of water vapor entering the atmosphere, humans are responsible for under 3%.

Thus, on some level we must be contributing, but there is not proof that such contribution is material. Clearly there would have been warming without us. Many activists, including some who are scientists, try to downplay the prior warming periods or write them out of the climate history altogether but the evidence keeps getting in their way, and those efforts only damage their credibility.

And there is significant political pressure among scientist-activist groups - - - there are plenty of scientists who downplay our involvement or consider it likely to be immaterial - and as soon as you suggest the possibility of this, you're booted from the UN- or state-funded climate research groups. Group-think has taken over and independent analysis and thought, which is what makes a scientist a scientist, has gone by the wayside.

We cannot reverse the clock - even the UN IPCC concedes that at least some and possibly most of the warming over the last 120 years is natural.

Thus the two questions are (1) can a cost-benefit test possibly favor action when the "benefit" is at most a fraction of a degree centigrade, and (2) given that such 'action' would mean the state limiting sharply the freedom of individual citizens (by dramatically raising their energy bills), what level of proof of your justification for doing this do you need if we are to continue to call ours a free society?

The AGW movement has not answered these questions. When one asks them, the AGW crowd simply responds "you hate science" or "go suck a tailpipe." They sound like 2nd graders with this "Emperor's New Clothes" intimidation tactic, yet they want us to hand over to them the control over large portions of the economy.

Answer 3

Global warming was a period in which the earth warmed by 1 degree over the last century, but since 2003 has shown a general cooling phase. Some very dissapointed alarmists are predicting that it will return in 2009. I hope it does, I do not like the cold.

http://www.ssmi.com/rss_research/climate_change_plot.html
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Answer 4

Global warming is the increase of average temperature in the air and water (rivers, oceans, lakes etc.) all over the world. It also can cause unusual patterns in the weather and sea level.

To prevent Global warming take the bus, walk, carpool or ride a bike. Recycle and try not to use Styrofoam.

Answer 5

Global warming is part of the constant climate change cycle the planet goes through. It's been happening since the planet was formed and there is nothing we can do to stop it.

Answer 6

global warming means the earth is getting warmer. Their is nothing we can do to prevent it because it is a natural cycle and it is not caused by man.

Answer 7

global warming is the warming of the earth (obviously) and the melting of polar ice caps, which raises sea level. you can prevent it mainly by carpooling and just not driving as much, because its pollution that is thinning the atmosphere and letting the suns harmful rays through.

Answer 8

don't worry about it - global cooling will take care of it

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Global_cooling

we are still coming out of the ice age, the earth is getting hotter.

weathermen can't get it right a week from now, why should we believe they know what will happen 100 years from now?

Answer 9

Stop feeding the lazy breeding class that is causing over population. Let them starve and the reduction in people will reduce the rape of our planet.

Answer 10

we prevent the global warning by using a recycling method.. for example instead of using plastic we use paper materials.. avoid cutting trees.