globl warming?

Question

is it true, a myth or somewhere in between? what should be done about it

Answer 1

watch the al gore movie presentation about global warming.....

Answer 2

It is true that global warming is happening, caused by man and nature. There are many things that can be done about it. If you can't help them, please don't hurt them.

There is a natural cycle of warming and cooling that the earth has experienced over thousands and millions of years. In humanity's relatively brief existence, humans have obviously been a catylist for global warming, so therefore, the theory is that humans can also be a catylist for global cooling and eventually, global stabilization. It's seems amazing that humans, small as we are in comparison to the planet, can have such an effect, however, our activities and our changing of the surface of the planet is obviously having a major effect. We just need to do what is right and what is necessary to effect positive change and to see if that is indeed possible.

Answer 3

Anyone who says there is no such thing hasn't read up on the subject or has a financial reason to dispute the facts. There are virtually no reputable unbiased scientists who beleive that global warming is not for real. It is caused by man-made "greenhouse gases"(GHG), mostly cabon dioxide, that are accumulating in the atmosphere. CO2 is made by burning fuel, especially coal, but also natural gas, gasoline, and diesel. The effect of global warming is easily seen in the record loss of Arctic ice cover, the crumbled Larsen B ice shelf in Antarctica, rising sea levels and record high temperatures across the globe.
It is, in a sense, too late to prevent a lot of what is going to happen in the next century. We need to minimize burning of fossil fuels (especially coal) by taxing and regulating (hold your nose you republicans) industries dumping CO2 into our atmosphere.
Think of it this way- the atmosphere is your local park, and there are a few people leaving their garbage on the ground, but it is everybody's park! Obviously you tell the people making the mess to stop and clean up. The problem with global warming is you cannot see CO2, and it can be hard to pin down certain countries to stop dumping their garbage (CO2) in our atmosphere (i.e. China). It is the classic tragedy of the commons. The biggest polluters will listen only if it hurts them financially, and the atmosphere doesn't care if you are a liberal or a conservative. This issue is apolitical.
But we can all contribute- buy a hybrid, drive less, change to CF lights, unplug your electronics, eat less meat (cows produce lots of GHG), buy energy efficient appliances, use wind, solar and (gasp!) nuclear energy. We desperately need technology that can cost- effectively remove CO2 from the atmosphere. Push your local politicians to take action, your children and their children will be the ones that suffer from our legacy.

Answer 4

Contrary to Spoiler's answer, there are a large number of scientists - including climate scientists - who do not think global warming is going to be a manmade catastrophe. People who make these kinds of statements simply have not bothered to learn the facts.

The theory of global warming is somewhere between a myth and truth. For example, no reputable scientist disputes the fact increased atmospheric CO2 can make the planet warmer. But a great many reputable scientists do not believe the warming with be catastrophic. These scientists sometimes refer to themselves as "luke warmers."

Why is global warming not going to be catastrophic?
1. Much of the observed warming in the last century was not real but an artifact of poorly sited weather stations that introduced a warming bias. When a weather station is located on top of a parking lot, the parking lot asphalt absorbs the heat and radiates it back onto the weather station. As this happens to one station and then another, it causes a step wise warming bias. Anthony Watts is leading an all volunteer effort to photograph weather stations so they can be rated. Check out his website at http://surfacestations.org

2. Since the warming is not as great as was thought, the climate sensitivity to increasing CO2 is not as great as thought. Stephen Schwartz of Brookhaven National Laboratory estimated climate sensitivity based on ocean heat content instead of just surface temperature and his calculations, if accurate, indicate global warming will not cause any catastrophes. See http://www.ecd.bnl.gov/steve/pubs/HeatCapacity.pdf

3. Roy Spencer of University of Alabama in Huntsville found a negative feedback recently that was hypothesized by Richard Lindzen of MIT. This negative feedback is not reflected in any of the computer models, but may explain why temperatures have not risen as much as expected. See http://blog.acton.org/uploads/Spencer_07GRL.pdf

4. Roger A Pielke is probably the most prolific climate scientist on the planet. He is well respected by scientists on both sides of the debate. He has recently become a more outspoken critic of global warming theory. You should read his website. He recently stopped writing it, but it is still available for you to read.
http://climatesci.colorado.edu/

5. Stephen McIntyre became famous for discrediting the claim that temperatures now are warmer than they have been for a thousand years. He also found an error in the temperature record kept by NASA. When the error was fixed, the warmest year in the US was 1934 and 1998 was in second place. Check out his website at http://climateaudit.org

Within the last year, the science has begun to favor the view that global warming will not be catastrophic.

Answer 5

Scientists are generally in agreement that global warming is happening, and that human activities contribute to it. There are several things you can do to combat it:
-Buy energy-saving lightbulbs, appliances, etc.
-Conserve energy: use cold water instead of hot when you can, turn off lights and electronics when you're not using them, walk or ride your bike if you're going somewhere that's only a few blocks away
-Plant a tree! Trees absorb carbon dioxide, a greenhouse gas.
-Reduce, reuse, recycle. Making new products (especially petroleum products like certain kinds of plastics) uses fuel, which speeds up global warming. Recycle cans, paper, and plastic, choose products that don't have a lot of excess packaging if you can, reuse things like water bottles and containers.
-Don't ignore the little things. If you turn off your lights for an extra hour a day, that may not feel like much. But if EVERYONE in the U.S. turned off their lights for a day, how many millions of hours is that? It's serious business.

I'm sure a simple Google search for "reduce carbon footprint" can give you even more good tips.

Answer 6

It is somewhere in between is what can best be said. Yes the planet is warming you can not deny that part of global warming. What is the myth is that man is responable for global warming. Global warming is just a way of saying that the earth's cycle of temperature change is in an upward trend.

Answer 7

Real, mostly caused by us.

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://ipcc-wg1.ucar.edu/wg1/wg1-report.html
summarized at:
http://www.ipcc.ch/SPM2feb07.pdf

It's (mostly) not the sun:

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

And the first graph above shows that the sun is responsible for about 10% of it. When someone says it's the sun they're saying that thousands of climatologists are stupid and don't look at the solar data. That's ridiculous.

Science is quite good about exposing bad science or hoaxes:

http://www.cs.cmu.edu/~dst/ATG/polywater.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 three examples of many:

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

Lee Scott, CEO, Wal-Mart

"Our nation has both an obligation and self-interest in facing head-on the serious environmental, economic and national security threat posed by global warming."

Senator John McCain, Republican, Arizona

“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"

Answer 8

It's all a myth. Just something Al Gore has put together to make money since he can't succeed in politics. He holds a Global concert and there is no telling how much energy that used. He also flies around in a private jumbo jet and most of what is said in his movie is exaggerated or untrue. Time magazine even had an article on Global Cooling back in the 70's. I don't buy it. I believe we should, however, take care of our planet and do our best to reduce and reuse.

Answer 9

Well its better refered to as Global Climate Change, but yes it is true. See An Inconvient Truth, its a really good movie!

Answer 10

Global warming is an inescapable fact. There are certain things that are going to happen, like the reconfiguration of the coastlines due to the melting of polar ice, no matter what we do now to intervene. There is no way to stop it now. But that isn't to say that every single person on earth shouldn't do his or her part to stop future damages and protect the world for our offspring.

Answer 11

Natural climate change is happening and all ways has. Look to adapt to survive .