Global Warming - Fact or Fiction?

[fullertongreek]

I had dinner with some people last night and the topic of global warming came up and some of the people at the table are firm believers that global warming is nothing but a bunch of BS. This was the first time I ever came across people who have a hard time believing that something is awry with our weather. Anyway, it got me wonderin what everyone else thinks of the situation. So what do you think? Are we experiencing global warming or do you think the theory is just some fad?

[RU OX Alum]

global warming is real....that is why last week it was 73 degrees, La Nina didn't do that by herself

[_Lisa_]

Originally Posted by RU OX Alum

global warming is real....that is why last week it was 73 degrees, La Nina didn't do that by herself

A few weeks ago some guy on the Today show said that it could just be patterns in the weather. Some 70 years ago (or something like that) the weather was in a similar pattern as it has been this year. I don't know if he is offering his theory to oppose global warming or just something new to consider.

[Tom Earp]

Of course it is!

Ask people in Co., Ca., NC., Fl., and Ks, Mo. Ok., Ak., ETC!

Yepper, heck we never heard about El Nino untill a few years ago.

Oh Well!

[macallan25]

Originally Posted by RU OX Alum

global warming is real....that is why last week it was 73 degrees, La Nina didn't do that by herself

That could simply be attributed to natural climate changes and weather patterns. And actually, both El Nino and La Nina can cause definite climate changes and weather patterns in North America, especially in the Midwest, Northeast, and California. La Nina is actually going to make things colder. So if you think 73 is warm for right now.......you should blame El Nino.

Concerning global warming,
1.) We don't have the technology to accurately predict future climates (especially when taking into consideration solar and volcanic activity, sea temperature, etc.).....So i'm a little skeptical when I see Al Gore standing in front of a projector asserting that New York City will be covererd in 35 feet of water in the next few decades. We know you created the Internet.....just not sure that you can predict the future.
2.) There have been well documented rises in temperature before. In fact, there was 4+ centuries worth of it during the Middle Ages. Subsequently, the rise in temperature was followed by a pint sized Ice Age.....which is also well documented and historically accurate.
3.) Before blaming C02 and Greenhouse Gasses (in short, people) take into consideration that the earth has had high concentrations of C02 in the atmosphere even during ice ages (actually the concentration percentages were extraordinarily higher then than they are now.) You can learn this in common geology/oceanography class.
4.) Any climatologist will tell you that C02 spikes have always followed rises in temperature....not the other way around.

[Kevlar281]

They don’t call it Global Warming Theory for nothing. Oh, and before anyone rips me a new one keep in mind that I come from an Oil family.

[shinerbock]

Who knows. Not the scientific community, despite their consistent longings for you to put all your faith in them.

[AlexMack]

We've known there's a hole in the Ozone layer since I was a child. We know it causes the greenhouse effect. Well, apparently, we thought we knew. Greekchat has convinced me of groundbreaking research being done on global warming that disproves everything I thought I knew. Except...no links or citations.

[Kevin]

Here's the way I'm approaching it. First off, I don't know. I'm in law school, and have no environmental background. In short, when it comes to comprehending the science of this, I have to take someone's word for it. Now.. as to who I believe?

Alternative #1: Global warming people are right + the world ignores them = end of civilization as we know it.

Alternative #2: Global warming people are wrong + the world gets on board with them anyhow and reduces emissions = cleaner air.

That said, just about any proposal I've ever seen has been essentially meaningless. Heavy cuts are required of the U.S. while countries like China and India get off scott free. If we're looking for global change, it has to be global. As it stands, it seems like global warming is being used as a weapon to weaken the United States. If that is the case, bring on the flooding. We'll survive it.

[macallan25]

I don't think the world is ignoring anything.....just reluctant to get into a state of hysteria over the whole global warming thing. Hell, in the 70's everyone went into hysteria over the possibility of global cooling..........and nothing really happened.

[macallan25]

Originally Posted by centaur532

We've known there's a hole in the Ozone layer since I was a child. We know it causes the greenhouse effect. Well, apparently, we thought we knew. Greekchat has convinced me of groundbreaking research being done on global warming that disproves everything I thought I knew. Except...no links or citations.

The research I was speaking of isn't groundbreaking.......rather well established and routinely used for quite some time. I also wasn't talking about the Ozone Layer. No one is debating that the Ozone is being depleted. The big question concerns the correlation between greenhouse gasses and global warming.

I don't have links or citations......I don't spend all day browsing the internet. Nothing I posted is a theory or a hypothesis, its the truth. If you want to check them for validity, I would start with the United States Geological Survey, then perhaps the United States Climatology Center, they have websites. Geology/Oceanography classes are good too.

[shinerbock]

I'm fine with more emphasis on lowering emissions and such, but what I'm not ok with is how divided it is becoming. If you wanna help, then help...but don't act like oil companies and those not eager to accept everything the scientific community says are intent on destroying the earth.

[AGDee]

Satellite images have shown that the polar ice cap is melting. This will have repercussions on the global climate and environment. From this web site:
http://www.nrdc.org/globalwarming/qthinice.asp
Average temperatures in the Arctic region are rising twice as fast as they are elsewhere in the world. Arctic ice is getting thinner, melting and rupturing. For example, the largest single block of ice in the Arctic, the Ward Hunt Ice Shelf, had been around for 3,000 years before it started cracking in 2000. Within two years it had split all the way through and is now breaking into pieces.

The polar ice cap as a whole is shrinking. Images from NASA satellites show that the area of permanent ice cover is contracting at a rate of 9 percent each decade. If this trend continues, summers in the Arctic could become ice-free by the end of the century
Melting glaciers and land-based ice sheets also contribute to rising sea levels, threatening low-lying areas around the globe with beach erosion, coastal flooding, and contamination of freshwater supplies. (Sea level is not affected when floating sea ice melts.) At particular risk are island nations like the Maldives; over half of that nation's populated islands lie less than 6 feet above sea level. Even major cities like Shanghai and Lagos would face similar problems, as they also lie just six feet above present water levels.

Rising seas would severely impact the United States as well. Scientists project as much as a 3-foot sea-level rise by 2100. According to a 2001 U.S. Environmental Protection Agency study, this increase would inundate some 22,400 square miles of land along the Atlantic and Gulf coasts of the United States, primarily in Louisiana, Texas, Florida and North Carolina.

(end of quotes) Now, just logically thinking, with asthma and cancer rates at all time highs and the knowledge that the earth has limited resources, doesn't it make sense to conserve what we have and work toward cleaner air whether you believe the whole global warming theory or not? I drive by a factory every day that pumps out orange smoke ...yeah, orange. People are all worried about second hand smoke from cigarettes and transfats in restaurants but nobody does anything about this orange smoke pumping factory. Nobody can convince me that an orange smoke pumping factory is a good thing.

[PM_Mama00]

Dee are you driving by the Riverview Poop Factory or the Detroit one? Both kind of scare me, especially since that one time with the Riverview accident.

Unless we get our usual annual snowstorm, I'll be believing in Global Warming.

[shinerbock]

There are probably some people in Mississippi who would argue that the weather is displaying obvious global warming...