Why do people fall for Al Gore's THEORY about global warming?

Question

One fact that we never hear is that Mars' polar ice caps are melting at the same rate Earths are. I wounder if the sun just MIGHT have something to do with it! And what about the fact that a single volcano can spew more greenhouse gasses into the air during one eruption than the history of all humanity combined.

They are the same people that told us 20 years ago that we were heading for another ice age.

Answer 1

Because they are weak minded liberals.

Answer 2

It's not Al Gores Theory, it's a theory built upon 183 years of science. Few people realise that the science of global warming is very firmly established and goes as far back as 1824 to when the Greenhouse Effect was first being investigated. By 1893 it was a proven scientific fact.

It's worth keeping Mars in context - one polar ice cap (southern) is melting but the other is expanding, the melting is not at the same rate, the Martian atmopshere is incomparable with that of Earth (it's like comparing apples and oranges).

Mars is one of eight solar bodies upon which warming has been observed.and in each case it's because of circumstances unique to that body. There are more planets and moons that are cooling than are warming, most are stable showing neither a warming or a cooling trend.

Total solar irradiance (heat from the Sun) has declined very slightly over the past 3 decades, if the Sun were the only factor then the solar system should be cooling just a touch.

There are many other reasons that preclude the Sun as being responsible but I won't go into them here, other than to say that we have been measuring solar activity for quite some time using sophisticated land based instruments and satellites - we know what the Sun is doing.

You're also mistaken about volcanoes. The primary gas emitted by volcanoes that affects our climate is sulphur dioxide and this doesn't warm the planet but cools it (it's reflective property prevents incoming solar radiation from reaching us). The notion that volcanoes are to blame again falls flat when you consider that there have been very few volcanoes of late yet the temperature is rising faster than has ever before been known.

In attempting to blame volcanoes due to the emission of greenhouse gases you are confirming that you accept greenhouse gases cause climate change. Each year we put 42 billion tons of them into the atmopshere, in the last 200 years we have increased overall atmopsheric concentrations of greenhouse gases by 40%.

Since you accept greenhouse gases have a role to play then you must surely accept that a 40% increase in their concentration is bound to affect the climate.

Also, do the math. 42 billion tons of GHG's a year, let's say that in the history of humanity the total we have emited is just 50 times this - call it 2 trillion tons. Lets assume that the volcanic gases are amongst the heavier of the greenhouse gases (2kg per cubic metre) then what you're saying is that each volcano emits one quadrillion cubic metres of greenhous gases (2 million cubic kilometres).

I'm not sure where you're getting your information from but it's certainly not remotely reliable.

Answer 3

First, It is not Al Gore's theory. I think it started in the late 70's by James Hansen (name may not be right), but the relationship between keeping the planet habitable an green house gases may been around my longer. Hansen noticed the correlation between temperatures and CO2 concentrations. Scientist have been working since then to establish a causal relationship.

Since observational studies on the scale needed are impossible, scientist opted to develop models that predict the climate based on the laws of physics. They also coupled such models with ocean models and consider feedback mechanisms. They calibrate the models the best they can using historical data and until they accurately predict the current average temperatures.Then they develop scenarios about some of the inputs (CO2 concentrations and solar activity for instance) and run it out to the future to see what average changes may be. These models are useless for predicting whether we will have snow on Christmas day in 2048, but they are useful when looking at the aggregated results to predict if the average temperature in 2048 will be higher than in 1990 and by approximately how much (has a range of certainty). They can parse the changes out due to natural factors and anthropogenic factors.

What should really scare the hell out of you is many of the things that were predicted to occur by now 20 years ago have happened and even faster than was predicted. It really looks like cause and effect have been established. Al Gore is just a good talker trying to raise an alarm. Look at the latest IPCC assessment (#4).

Answer 4

the snow on the polar caps reflect the sun, the snow is melting it is getting warmer. the warmer water slows the natural current heating up the water causing the hurricane to increase in magnitude. One thing leads to another causing a chain reaction. Recycling is not the best answer because alot of the recycled product takes more energy, causes more pollution etc. For example the paper companies have to scap fresh paper because the fiber has to be a certain lenght to use. So they can abide by government regulation so people can feel good about them selves. the best is to reuse, and cut down on use.

Answer 5

Even if Mars, Pluto or any other planets have warmed in recent years, it is not due to changes in solar activity. The Sun's energy output has not increased since direct measurements began in 1978. If increased solar output really was responsible, we should be seeing warming on all the planets and their moons, not just Mars and Pluto.

Our solar system has eight planets, three dwarf planets and quite a few moons with at least a rudimentary atmosphere, and thus a climate of sorts. Their climates will be affected by local factors such as orbital variations, changes in reflectance (albedo) and even volcanic eruptions, so it would not be surprising if several planets and moons turn out to be warming at any one time.

In our case, volcanoes actually help cool the earth, not heat it. Although volcanoes release harmful gases into the atmosphere, they do not cause global warming.

The atmospheric gases originate from the interior of the earth. Most of the material that comes out when the volcano erupts is water vapor, but the rest are gases.

Answer 6

Oh man are you kidding me?

First of all, it's not Al Gore's theory. It's a scientific theory constructed by climate scientists. Al Gore just presented it in a format accessible to the public.

Secondly, we hear about Mars all the freaking time! Do a Yahoo Answers search for christ sakes before making a claim like that.

Thirdly, your information on Mars is wrong. Direct from NASA:

Like Earth, Mars has seasons that cause its polar caps to wax and wane. "It's late spring at the south pole of Mars," says planetary scientist Dave Smith of the Goddard Space Flight Center. "The polar cap is receding because the springtime sun is shining on it."

"Remember, though," adds Smith, "there are two polar caps on Mars--north and south. While the south polar cap is vaporizing the north polar cap is growing. It's a balancing act.

http://science.nasa.gov/headlines/y2003/07aug_southpole.htm

Overall, Mars is warming for entirely different reasons than the Earth - namely dust storms darkening its surface:

http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2007/04/070404-mars-warming.html

Fourthly, your information on volcanoes is also (very, very) wrong.

"Present-day carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions from subaerial and submarine volcanoes are uncertain at the present time. Gerlach (1991) estimated a total global release of 3-4 x 10E12 mol/yr from volcanoes. This is a conservative estimate. Man-made (anthropogenic) CO2 emissions overwhelm this estimate by at least 150 times."

http://volcano.und.edu/vwdocs/Gases/man.html

You should really fact check your sources before accepting information, especially when you're mocking a valid scientific theory.

Answer 7

The global warming theory DOES NOT BELONG TO AL GORE:

1826: Joseph Fourier discovers the greenhouse effect
1896: Svante Arrhenius investigates quantitavely the greenhouse effect. He states that doubling the CO2 concentrations would increase the temperature by 5-6°C.
At 1896 rates, it would have taken 3000 years for our forecasted GW to happen.

PS: your assumption for volcanoes is absurd. A large volcanic eruption relases 20 to 100 Mt CO2. The mankind presently emitts close to 30,000 Mt per year. Get your facts straight and don´t believe things for which you do not have figures.

Answer 8

It's not his theory. It's the theory of most of the scientists in the world. He just talks about their work.

http://www.globalwarmingart.com/wiki/Image:Climate_Change_Attribution.png

NASA says the warming on Mars is due to giant dust storms, unique to Mars.

http://www.nasa.gov/centers/ames/research/2007/marswarming.html

It's not the Sun, which is actually cooling down.

"'No Sun link' to climate change"

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/6290228.stm

Your "fact" about volcanoes is dead wrong.Volcanoes emit less than 1% of the greenhouse gases than Man. Mostly they cool things down a little bit by their dust.

http://www.geology.sdsu.edu/how_volcanoes_work/climate_effects.html

"T.M.Gerlach (1991, American Geophysical Union) notes that human-made CO2 are dwarfed the estamated global release of CO2 from volcanoes by at least 150 times."

Good websites for more info:

http://profend.com/global-warming/
http://environment.newscientist.com/channel/earth/dn11462
http://www.ucsusa.org/global_warming/science/

Answer 9

We should be concerned with where we humans are living and not about Mars, unless you may have loved ones there. It's also important to note that it is more likely that our every day gas production is more likely than a single large volcano. I know that when I drive my car, put my refuse in the garbage or forget to recyle, I am directly impacting the environment. And that's one environment for all of us.

Answer 10

Well, many of the scientist know where their bread is buttered. The longer they continue the hype, the more money is pumped into their business.

As for others, pure politics. They have discovered a way to tax the USA and redistribute the wealth to others. Deep down, I think this is being led by the socialist party, who continually try to redistribute other peoples money.

Answer 11

People fall for Al Gore because they are liberal simpletons who believe in blaming the world for their problems. You would think with the tax and spend ideology of liberals, all, if not most of the problems in the world would be solved by now. Nope. All of that loot is lining the pockets of those liberals. Demoncans AND Republicrats alike.