Global Warming?

Question

I'm conflicted. I'm not sure who to believe. There seems to be great facts from both sides of the argument concerning Global Warming. Some say yes there is Global Warming and the other is No there isn't. I'm thinking it might be somewhere in between. What do you guys think.

Answer 1

This is the state of knowledge:

http://www.epa.gov/climatechange/science/stateofknowledge.html

If you see info that conflicts with the "what's known" paragraph: this info is propaganda

If you see info that conflicts with the "what's very likely" paragraph: this info is very likely propaganda

If you see info that conflicts with the "what's not certain" paragraph: this info is legitimate scientific debate

Answer 2

“The concentrations of greenhouse gases produced by man has risen significantly during the historical record and it is absolutely known (by reproducible, verifiable lab experiments on the physical properties of these gases) that these gases cause warming by absorbing the outgoing radiation from the earth. The skeptics have not produced any evidence that this rise in the greenhouse gas concentrations occurred by some natural process and they have also failed to explain how all the industrial emissions could have been absorbed by some natural process during the recent historical period. There is no way to explain the observed greenhouse gas concentrations without human interference, and there is no credible way to claim that the increase in greenhouse gas concentrations has not caused a warming of the Earth’s surface. While there are other natural processes at work and while the climate system is highly complex, trying to discount the role of human involvement in recent climate change is speculation and opinion, not science.” - Asher Siebert.

Answer 3

Do some research and I think you'll see the data and the scientists mostly all support the fact that global warming is real and mostly caused by us.

Here's some places to start, with a bit of explanation. But you have to spend some time on this, you'll never get the answer by just listening to opinions, mostly uneducated, on Yahoo answers.

Patrick's link is also good.

This is science and what counts is the data.

"I wasn’t convinced by a person or any interest group—it was the data that got me. I was utterly convinced of this connection between the burning of fossil fuels and climate change. And I was convinced that if we didn’t do something about this, we would be in deep trouble.”

Vice Admiral Richard H. Truly, USN (Ret.)
Former NASA Administrator, Shuttle Astronaut and the first Commander of the Naval Space Command

Here are two summaries of the mountain of peer reviewed data that convinced Admiral Truly and the vast majority of the scientific community, short and long.

http://www.globalwarmingart.com/wiki/Image:Climate_Change_Attribution.png
http://www.ipcc.ch/SPM2feb07.pdf

It's (mostly) not the sun:

http://solar-center.stanford.edu/sun-on-earth/FAQ2.html

There's a large number of people who agree that it is real and mostly caused by us, who are not liberals, environmentalists, stupid, or conceivably part of a "conspiracy". Just two examples of many:

"Global warming is real, now, and it must be addressed."

Lee Scott, CEO, Wal-Mart

“DuPont believes that action is warranted, not further debate."

Charles O. Holliday, Jr., CEO, DuPont

There's a lot less controversy about this is the real world than there is on Yahoo answers:

http://www.worldpublicopinion.org/pipa/articles/home_page/329.php?nid=&id=&pnt=329&lb=hmpg1

And vastly less controversy in the scientific community than you might guess from the few skeptics talked about here:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scientific_opinion_on_climate_change
http://www.sciencemag.org/cgi/content/full/306/5702/1686

"There's a better scientific consensus on this [climate change] than on any issue I know... Global warming is almost a no-brainer at this point. You really can't find intelligent, quantitative arguments to make it go away."

Dr. Jerry Mahlman, NOAA

Good websites for more info:

http://profend.com/global-warming/
http://environment.newscientist.com/channel/earth/dn11462
http://www.ucsusa.org/global_warming/science/
http://www.realclimate.org
"climate science from climate scientists"

EDIT Note some of the sources listed below opposing global warming "allthingsconservative", etc. By all means look at them and see how biased they are.

Global warming science is not political. Many conservatives accept it:

"Former Republican House Speaker Newt Gingrich challenged fellow conservatives to stop resisting scientific evidence of global warming"

"Pat Robertson (very conservative Christian leader) 'It is getting hotter and the ice caps are melting and there is a build up of carbon dioxide in the air. We really need to do something on fossil fuels.”

Global warming denial IS political, not scientific.

Answer 4

Find someone who doesn't have an axe to grind and ask them, provided of course they aren't being funded by certain groups or under undue influences.
Believe what YOU think is true, based upon YOUR own research.
That'll be the right answer to the question of global warming.
It will be as valid as anyone elses.

Answer 5

Global warming is FOR REAL. Thats not the question. The question IS whats causing it?

You see, skeptics say the global warming doesnt "exist", just so they dont have to spend money on trying to fix the problem.

Global Warming has always been happening, and it always will exist as an issue. All we can do is try to slow it down.

Answer 6

The warming observed from 1900 until 2003 can be explained by mainly increased solar activity and to a lesser degree, increased CO2 in the atmosphere. Throughout the 500 million year history of climate and CO2 there is absolutely no evidence to suggest that climate is being controlled by atmospheric CO2 levels. The only data that supports the gloom and doom projections by AGW alarmists are the results of computer simulations. And the vast majority of scientists that support the AGW theory could not even begin to understand just one page of source code from a climate simulation program.

☼

Answer 7

I think you should do your own research. You are confused because you are asking people who cite more opinion than actual facts and evidence. I'll give you a hint. If you do your own research you will find that only one side is actually supported by science and fact. I won't tell you which one because I will immediately be attacked by the opinions from the other side.

Answer 8

Here's the great thing about science. Science does not depend on what people think, as science is knowledge.

It doesn't matter how many scientist, how many ceo's, how many educated people believe in anything. It is only true if it is.

Global warming is occurring. Some people think man is to blame. They claim they are right, but they can't prove it beyond saying "more people believe" they're right then "believe" your right. However that isn't proof.

Most scientist believe the Sun is the cause of global warming and are willing to wait to see if they are right.

People that think man is the cause are willing to try something to "fix" the problem based only that they think they have the best action. That's the shotgun approach, throwing everything at the problem to see if something works. If they know the problem, they would also know the solution.

Answer 9

I'm thinking exactly the same as you. Never going to know for sure because thers two much proof from both sides, so i'm just going with a bit of both. However, im swaying towards the conspiracy side so that i dont feel so guilty when i leave the TV running all night :-P

Answer 10

It is happening, and it sucks that there isn't much we can or will do to stop it.
It would take a massive global effort that not everyone is willing to participate in.

Answer 11

Definitly for real - besides, even if you are in doubt, its always better to be safe than sorry! There is nothing drastically wrong with adjusting our lifestyle to suit our environment. Besides, WE will be the ones reaping the consequences. So even if you are doubtful, its better to use less energy and conserve - we're only helping our Earth by doing so. :)