If I don't believe in global warming, but agree with recycling etc, shall I just go along with the concensus

Question

I do approve of recycling and improving our treatment of the environment and how we live. I think fear of a vengefull 'Earth God' that we have to sacrifice our carbon offsets and 'not anger lest he smite us' is a good incentive for us all to 'straighten up and fly right' literally.
But the solar activity evidence, and the lack of heating of the troposphere, the fact that they used to grow grapes in greenland in the middle ages, make me feel uncertain about the links with manmade global warming.

Should I just go along with it? at least we will get a better planet in the short term out of it, even if we aren't REALLY saving the planet by driving less right?

Answer 1

There is no harm done by going with the "global warming" belief. If they are wrong - you helped to make th earth last longer due to saving energy and keeping it green and clean.
On the other hand, if they are right, it may already be too late to do much about it. But I would still do my best to shrink my carbon footprint.
The earth is an amazing place and we should respect it as such. I drive my family nuts by checking their trash for recycables
We can do a whole lot better - europe and japan are already decades ahead of us in terms of energy efficiency.
escalators don't run if no one is on them. you pay for grocery bags but most people have reusble bags. Cars have 1 liter engines
and people have mass transit - suitable for them since thei don't hav spread out suburbs. Once gas costs $6/gallon here people will finally start thinking of what they are wasting.

Answer 2

There is no point just going along with the consencus, that is dishonest, hypocritical and not something you want to do. There is a point to driving less; you'll save gas and money.

There is no 'angry earth god' or anything, no more than there is a god, period. The earth however is not an indestructible and infinite source of all the resouces we need to make life comfortable.

Here's a fact for you: The atmosphere is made of gases which when condensed is 1/500th (or is that 300) the volume of the oceans. In other words; It's not an invincible blue halo, it is a small mass of gases which controls, and is, all the weather on our planet.

We don't fully understand it. but who can deny we are changing it.

Answer 3

Grapes growing in Greenland (say that 10 times fast) isn't the only valid argument against global warming. There are a slew of them.
Just because you don't go along with it doesn't mean you can't be conscientious about the earth.
You can be green and not believe the hype. The earth has gone through cooling and warming trends for millions of years. I think we're being arrogant, frankly, to believe we're causing significant climate change.

Answer 4

Global warming is so politically charged, it's hard to find good, objective, unbiased science. Moving us away from fossil fuels is a very good thing. Reducing our flagrantly wasteful use of energy is a very good thing. The 'Geritol Solution' being implemented by Planktos (planktos.com) is a very cheap way to hedge our bets in case global warming is real. But stop short of drastic measures which destroy economies and snare us into world government.

Answer 5

Helping with recycling and keeping our planet clean is for our generation and those to come. I don't believe in global warming but a pretty clean planet would be nice.

Answer 6

recycling and making less waste makes a lot of sense regardless of whether you think global waming is happening. In fact, come to think of it, it's irrelevant, surely? As a society we create too much waste and are too greedy - the warming thing doesn't come into it.