What do you think?
One Viewpoint:
Some scientists say there is no doubt that human activity is accelerating climate change. They argue industrial emissions including carbon dioxide have been the dominant cause of climate change, outpacing natural forces. They warn that natural disasters, such as droughts, flooding, hurricanes and the like, will become fiercer as the climate heats up. James Hanson, director of the NASA Goddard Institute for Space Studies, asserts in Earth’s Climate Is Near Tipping Point that “‘Business-as-usual’ scenarios, with fossil fuel CO2 emissions continuing to increase at 2 percent per year as in the past decade, will yield additional warming of 2 degrees Celsius or 3 degrees Celsius this century. Such a drastic increase would imply changes that constitute practically a different planet.” In We Must End Our Profligate Use of Fossil Fuel to Ensure We Survive This Doomsday Threat, Brooks Yeager, vice president of the World Wildlife Fund, stresses that “The science of global warming may be complex, but the solution is pretty simple: reduce the amount of carbon pollution we pump into the air.” In the article Lawsuits, Regulations the Only Effective Way to Curb Pollution, executive director of Greenpeace USA John Passacantando relates the need for lawsuits against violators such as electric companies. He states that “Global warming lawsuits, like the infamous tobacco suits brought by the states, are necessary due to the lack of leadership in Washington. It boils down to corporate responsibility and liability. Unfortunately, it seems as hard for Big Coal to admit that it causes global warming as it was for Big Tobacco to admit smoking kills.”
Some scientists say there is no doubt that human activity is accelerating climate change. They argue industrial emissions including carbon dioxide have been the dominant cause of climate change, outpacing natural forces. They warn that natural disasters, such as droughts, flooding, hurricanes and the like, will become fiercer as the climate heats up. James Hanson, director of the NASA Goddard Institute for Space Studies, asserts in Earth’s Climate Is Near Tipping Point that “‘Business-as-usual’ scenarios, with fossil fuel CO2 emissions continuing to increase at 2 percent per year as in the past decade, will yield additional warming of 2 degrees Celsius or 3 degrees Celsius this century. Such a drastic increase would imply changes that constitute practically a different planet.” In We Must End Our Profligate Use of Fossil Fuel to Ensure We Survive This Doomsday Threat, Brooks Yeager, vice president of the World Wildlife Fund, stresses that “The science of global warming may be complex, but the solution is pretty simple: reduce the amount of carbon pollution we pump into the air.” In the article Lawsuits, Regulations the Only Effective Way to Curb Pollution, executive director of Greenpeace USA John Passacantando relates the need for lawsuits against violators such as electric companies. He states that “Global warming lawsuits, like the infamous tobacco suits brought by the states, are necessary due to the lack of leadership in Washington. It boils down to corporate responsibility and liability. Unfortunately, it seems as hard for Big Coal to admit that it causes global warming as it was for Big Tobacco to admit smoking kills.”
Opposite Viewpoint:
Other scientists say that while global warming is occurring, it’s happening at such a slow rate that there isn’t cause for alarm. They cite figures showing a temperature increase of 0.75 degrees Celsius over fifty years. They claim global warming and climate change is due to natural climate fluctuation. Dennis T. Avery, senior fellow at the Hudson Institute, disputes the theory that carbon-dioxide emissions are responsible for global warming in the article Alarmists Would Wreck Economy to Combat a Global-Warming Threat. He ponders that “A slew of new studies provide convincing evidence that the current warming is part of an unstoppable, moderate and solar-driven 1,500-year climate cycle that has been going on for a million years. Yet persistent voices continue to insist that Earth is warming dangerously due to human emissions of carbon dioxide. If that's true, why did virtually all of the warming we've had occur before 1940 when the world had comparatively few factories and automobiles--and, of course, few carbon-dioxide emissions?” In The Heat Is On, astrophysicist Sallie Baliunas contents that “Evidence of any substantial human-induced warming is, at best, weak.” Multidisciplinary scientist Zbigniew Jaworowski debunks the myth of global warming in The Global Warming Folly. He asserts that “The man-made global warming hypothesis is far from being confirmed by observations, many of which suggest that it is false. Environmental daydreamers try to make it seem axiomatic that imaginary dangers of this warming should be remedied without waiting for proof.”
Other scientists say that while global warming is occurring, it’s happening at such a slow rate that there isn’t cause for alarm. They cite figures showing a temperature increase of 0.75 degrees Celsius over fifty years. They claim global warming and climate change is due to natural climate fluctuation. Dennis T. Avery, senior fellow at the Hudson Institute, disputes the theory that carbon-dioxide emissions are responsible for global warming in the article Alarmists Would Wreck Economy to Combat a Global-Warming Threat. He ponders that “A slew of new studies provide convincing evidence that the current warming is part of an unstoppable, moderate and solar-driven 1,500-year climate cycle that has been going on for a million years. Yet persistent voices continue to insist that Earth is warming dangerously due to human emissions of carbon dioxide. If that's true, why did virtually all of the warming we've had occur before 1940 when the world had comparatively few factories and automobiles--and, of course, few carbon-dioxide emissions?” In The Heat Is On, astrophysicist Sallie Baliunas contents that “Evidence of any substantial human-induced warming is, at best, weak.” Multidisciplinary scientist Zbigniew Jaworowski debunks the myth of global warming in The Global Warming Folly. He asserts that “The man-made global warming hypothesis is far from being confirmed by observations, many of which suggest that it is false. Environmental daydreamers try to make it seem axiomatic that imaginary dangers of this warming should be remedied without waiting for proof.”
Sirs Researcher provided information for both viewpoints.
31 comments:
They say the earth is warming and yet the weather channel says this is supposed to be the coldest winter since the 80's and thats cause back in the 80's there was a time that for a whole week the temperature didn't rise above -10 F.
if people did thier research, they would find that there was a mini ice age that ended about 150 years ago. If you look at the past centuries,about 1350 the global temperature dropped. then it started rising again about 1850. so, if you really look at it, we are just warming up from the last ice age.
Global warming may be a natural phenomena, but it's been scientifically proven that carbon-based emissions contribute to the process as well.
So, in short, it may be happening naturally, but we're making the earth heat far more quickly than it should.
End of story.
in my view i side with the first viewpoint- were causing alot of this... but not just air pollution,were screwing up the enviorment as a whole, by litter, exhaust fumes, building and expanding of cities, the lsit goes on... over the summer i went to colorado and backpacked for 5 days, and it was absloutely beautiful... it was also sad to see though when i came back how much we are harming the enviorment around us... something needs to be done, and soon, or future generations wont be able to say" yeah lets go for a run in the woods with all those trees and the sun".. ok that was corny but you all get my point.
There should be simple efforts to reduce and in the long run get rid of carbon emissions. For example, the automobile industry should have a common goal for cheaper alternatives to fuel.
It is quite evident that global warming is occurring. The Earth is experiencing some of the hottest years on records. More frequent and more devastating storms have occurred because of it.
Then there is the question of what is causing the warming. Personally I believe it comes from our vast reliance and population explosion over the last century and through the Industrial Revolution. Carbon Dioxide's effects have been researched thoroughly. Al Gore's An Inconvenient Truth gives precise evidence on how carbon dioxide has contributed to the hottest years on record, and shown that it is only going to get worse if we do not address the issue at hand.
Even if there has been a gradual increase in global temperature over the past decade due to factors other than carbon dioxide, does not mean that we shouldn't address the issue. Carbon dioxide emissions are something we have control over. How ever small a role it takes in global warming, it still has negative affects on our environment . A main contributor to this problem are the millions of cars on the road each day. If we researched new fuel sources we could kill two birds with one stone. Now we wouldn't have to worry about our declining fossil fuels and one factor causing global warming would be reduced.
Global warming is too big an issue to simply ignore. The least we can do is develop a new fuel source that will protect the environment in many ways.
I think that it should be noted that back in the seventies people were screaming that we were headed towards the next ice age and now suddenly Al Gore comes out with a movie that says that scientists have been tracking this since the fifties. There is a lot of misinformation coming out and I think people should be wary of making uneducated demands and statements.
Obviously the human race as a whole is having a negative effect on the earth. However, global warming is an issue that has been blown out of proportion. I am not saying we should ignore it completely, but there is no need to freak out. Being smart about the environment is all we need. I must refer to justified and completely agree.
This issue was discussed of 94.1 and 98.5 this morning. I do not think that global warming is a problem caused by us as humans. On 94.1 they were talking about how there is something like a 10-15 year cycle that the earth goes through and that the earth heating up has been at a steady pace every 10-15 years for 150 years. "Experts" are saying that this month[October] we broke the record for the wettest month in history. But in 1930, when the record was set, it was not much less wet than now. We barely broke the record. I 100% agree with what Soaring Eagle says. This same thing has happened after an ice age, no matter what the extent of it, so we really should not be making such a huge deal out of it.
To all of you people who support global warming's existence: where's the evidence of this increased storms or overall increase of temperature? I don't know about you, but my parents rememer huge blizzaards and being snowed in or weeks, and tornadoes ripping apart farms almost yearly? e have yet to have these storms of dozens of destructive tornadoes that these "scientists" speak of. So, where is your evidence, other than that which you have regurgitated upon this blog? HMMMMM???
Dennis T. Avery makes a very valuable point. It is much more plausible that what's currently going on is part of a 1,500 year climate cycle that has been happening for a million years. There have been ice ages in the past, and humans certainly were not contributing to those, so it seems almost ignorant, if not arrogant, to think it's happening just because of us. While I do think we should carefully monitor what effects our actions have on the atmosphere, I do not believe it is solely because of extra carbon dioxide in the air.
Think about it, technologically we've only been able to cause enough "harm" to the atmosphere in the past 100-150 years. Now does it seem possible that what's been done during that span could change the earth so dramatically as to trigger a catastrophic chain of events eventually leading to the apocalypse for man kind? I think not.
i agree with must love pandas. whether its happening naturally or because of us, it's still happening. And if we want to protect future Americans and help them have a safe Earth then we need to do something about it. I'm not saying you have to go out and drastically change your life and buy a new hybrid car but be smart and carpool or ride a bike.
Okay, want to know something interesting? The theory of Global warming does not translate to “extreme heat, everywhere, all the time.” What it does mean, is crazy, fluctuating weather patterns all over the world, due to a general increase in heat. Some places, like Siberia, are heating up, while others -- like warm ocean currents that heat air -- are cooling down. So it's not surprising that some areas are getting hotter and some are getting cooler. The point is that we can see evidence that a climactic equilibrium that has existed for hundreds of years is now becoming much more dynamic and unpredictable. And we're probably to blame for at least some of it.
Oh, and the earth may warm naturally, but it does not do so in leaps and bounds within the period of one hundred and fifty-seven years. (The end of the Industrial Revolution, until now, for those of you who don’t know what I’m talking about). Having the earth warm six or seven degrees (on average, not location) in a span of twenty years or so is NOT normal. It is like going to bed one evening, and then waking up the next morning to find that you have grown eight inches.
Denying that man has nothing to do with speeding up the process of global warming just seems silly, and ones again shows the basic tendency for people to refuse to take accountability for their actions.
Some historians argue that the holocaust never happened.
Big tobacco companies poured money into scientific funding in an attempt to prove that cigarettes did not cause cancer.
By the way, do you all know who initially funded the scientific studies to dispute the theory of global warming due to the mass burning of fossil fuels, don't you?
Well, I do believe that was the large, American-owned oil companies.
Not saying that what evidence they’ve produced isn’t valid,
I’m just saying that people with agendas and a shaky salary usually find their information quickly.
If the world beings to turn to green technologies, the oil companies, who practically run the world’s economy, will stand a lot to lose, won’t they?
And Bob Dole is not a credible source to site, and I think everyone knows that.
He is just as manipulative with his poorly-executes uses of rhetoric as any Exxon-funded scientist could be.
I will agree the Earth is indeed warming up. There is no doubt that there is data supporting this.
There are also experiments and data supporting that CO2 is a green house gas and has a tendency to "trap" and "keep" heat from escaping.
However, I have a feeling that maybe blaming cars, factories, and power plants is over exaggerating the effect CO2 has on warming up the planet. It does warm up the planet, but let's be realistic, not enough to melt ice caps.
We do not produce heat. It comes from two places: Earth's core and good ole Mr. Golden Sun.
The sun is a lean, mean, heat producing machine. Since its first burst of energy about 4 billion years ago, it has been giving warmth to earth. Contrary to public opinion, the heat generation of the sun is inconsistent.
One of these inconsistencies is the sunspots. Although the temperature is relatively lower near the sunspots, they exert more ultraviolet radiation then other places on the sun.
Sunspots are also a source of magnetic fields. The sun rotates at different rates depending on the latitude, with the equator being the fastest. With parts of the sun rotating faster then others, the magnetic fields are contorted along with the sunspots. Flares launch out from sunspots and are shaped by the contorted magnetic field. These flares heat the surrounding gases by tens of million degrees. The flares leave the sun, head into outer space, and then bombards the Earth. We see this as the Northern Lights.
Around the time of Galileo Galilei, there was a mini ice age. Galileo made himself a telescope and looked at the sun. He observed the sunspots and kept drawings of them. Compared to 1999, there are very few sunspots.
Galileo Sunspot:
http://www.btinternet.com/~connectionsinspace/Sunspots.jpg
1999 sunspot:
http://soi.stanford.edu/results/SolPhys200/Hudson/2000/000204/sunspots_mdi.jpg
So... the more sunspots there are, the warmer it gets on earth. There were so few around Galileo's time that there was a mini ice age. Since then, slowly and steadily, the sunspots have been increasing during their 11 year cycle of maximums and minimums. With the increase of sunspots, the sun generates more heat and therefore the Earth naturally gets warmer.
I believe that global warming is happening but I think that it is part of Gods plan to destroy the earth. I also believe that God appointed humans to be stewards of the world. God’s ultimate plan is to destroy the world but I also believe we should do what's in our power to save it. There's an old joke about a man who’s stranded in the middle of the ocean. There were three separate people that tried to rescue him but he refused them all saying God was going to save him. He died and went to heaven and when he got there he asked God why he didn't save him. God responded that he had sent three different people to rescue him. The world will one day be destroyed but I believe we are to be good stewards of the things that are given to us.
Correction for me.
*Al Gore.
I guess I was just thinking of all the politicians I don’t much care for, when trying to type.
And yes, I’ve heard the sunspot theory, and that’s why I do, in fact, believe that
Global warming is a natural phenomenon (After all, the peat bogs in Siberia are excreting a tooon of methane, which is really contributing to greenhouse gases). Though, like with any natural phenomena, it is being manipulated and affected by human actives.
the ozone layer, the thing that makes our planet so super duper and well-protected,
Now has giant, gaping holes in it, thanks to those lovely little Chloral floral carbons we so loved to use in the past.
Heat and light given off from the sun used to collide into this layer of our atmosphere, and most of it was projected back into space—sort of like a giant mirror, if you will. With those “holes”, all that heat and light now have a much easier journey to the earth’s surface. After reaching the earth’s surface, it is unable to escape, due to the very thing that tried to keep it out, not to mention that huge, obscuring layer of smog and other carbon-based emissions (most prominently seen in cities in the form of huge, disgusting “cloud—like” things). So then it simply joins the rest of the stuff accumulating in our unstable atmosphere.
And I’m sorry, but humans, like ‘Mr. Sun”, and the earth’s core, do in fact create heat. Perhaps you’re familiar with the “conservation of energy” theory? You know, the one that states that energy is released in the form of heat and light? So, technically, anything that moves (I.e. man-made machinery) produces heat. Now, it may not be copious amounts, like the sun contributes, but still with 6,754,807,919 people (and counting) and all their….junk hanging out on the surface of the Earth, it’s impossible to say that we are not helping things move along quite nicely.
Global warming is happening people. now if it is happening all because of humans is up for debate. i certianly think that we contribute to the rising temperatures. those rising temps result in melting ice which results in cooler oceans which changes the currents. it just causes a whole mess of problems. but u cant deny that its happening
I do think global warming is simply a natural phenomenon. Hasn't the Earth been gradually warming up ever since the Ice Age, and doesn't it make sense for it to do so? However, I also think we are helping speed up the rate it's occurring at.
One of the biggest problems seems to be our obsession with burning fossil fuels. We use them to power our cars, heat our homes, generate electricity, and more. We always talk about using alternate sources of energy, but how many people have actually tried to do so? Honestly, I know I haven't...not because I want the Earth to be destroyed, but I just don't feel global warming is as big of an issue as many people believe it is.
I think that part of global warming is natural. I also believe, however, that humans are much to blame for some of it as well. Our country needs to invest some money into transforming our country into an eco-friendly one. We should all have affordable, non-polltuing vehicles as well as rgulations against eco-harming companies
I think we all agree that global warming is happening, we just don't agree on the speed of its progression and if humans are its number one cause. Regardless, we should do whatever can to keep global warming from getting worse. There have been many well written papers and well edited documentaries about global warming, but few people have taken any real action to solve it. Because we are aware that global warming could be a potential problem, we need to quite preaching about it and actually go out there and fix it.
I do believe that Global Warming does exist and that we are partly to blame for it. I know a lot of people say that it's not happening but then what's causing the Ice Caps to melt? The Boogeyman? Not to sure about that.
There are a lot of pretty ways that we can stop or maybe decrease the rate of Global Warming, but c'mon, seriously who's going to do it? How many high school students at PL South are willing to carpool, or walk to school everyday? None that I know of. And the same for adults? Doubt it.
Some say find better fuel sources, that’s all nice and dandy, but if they do, it'll most likely be more expensive than gas is now.
I'm definately not going to say that global warming isn't happening. It's a straight fact that it is. But did anyone ever consider what it means when people talk about "a state of fear"? The government always has the people in a state of fear to make sure that they have control and they can make us listen. It was terrorism, but now that people are less worried about terrorism, global warming is this huge deal that needs to be dealt with now "before it's too late". Just something that I think you should consider.
I think global warming is a problem because we're seeing increased drought on the west coast. You cannot deny that humans are the number one producer of carbon dioxide. Whether people say that we are causing global warming, or that it's a "natural" process, it's still happening and we need to control it.
If global warming is not an issue, neither is protecting endangered species or trying to save the forests.
I would like to add another point. The heat records that we are breaking in the Midwest right now were set back in the late 1800s. So why is it not possible that we are simply in the middle of a cycle such and are repeating the warm temperatures from an hundred and twenty years ago.
Whether global warming is being caused by people or nature, it is happening. So it would be in our best interest to put more effort into researching the major causes of global warming. While at the same time it wouldn't hurt to try to cut down on the pollution that we are causing.
Hmm, well i think the real problem is not the temperature change, though it still is one, but all the stuff we pump in the air. It may put a hole in the ozone layer but I'm more worried about breathing in all that crap. And for the people that say "find an alternate fuel source" what do u suggest? All the alternates such as electric, hydrogen, and solar powered cars are not practical and the economy is based on the use of fossil fuels. Also are people actually expected to get rid of millions of cars? If you throw them away then you're just polluting again which kind of defeats the purpose.
Ok whether there is global warming or there isn't global warming matters not! I think everyone will agree that we need to take better care of the world we live in. Who wants to look outside and see the streets flooded with trash or the sky full of smog? If it isn't depleting the ozone layer, I'm certain it isn't doing anything to keep our bodies healthy.
I believe we need to take care of what we need to take care of... but I think it's hard to tag it on one thing and say it hasn't happened before I mean there have been a lot of different "blurps" on the radar in temperature measure over time... there was an ice age but think more recent history like the Dust Bowl... how do we know it's not just another cycle of nature?
I think it is safe to say that global warming is occuring. However, I do not believe it as serious as some people, like Gore, are making it seem. The world is not going to end because it's a little hotter. In the next 10 years it will probably be colder. It's weather. It's unpredictable. And it changes... a lot. I think people are exaggerating and taking it much too far.
I agree with Omaha_kid. However, if we have the coldest winter since the 80's doesnt that kind of lead to the warmest summer?
It seems like there is too much talk about what is happening when there should be more talk about how to stop it.
I think that the vast majority of people everywhere, not just in the United States, can say they believe climate change is occurring. I also think that the majority of people say it is mankind's fault and that this isn't happening naturally.
As for what we should do, I think that the world needs to take action collectively. What I saw at the S.O.S. concerts was beautiful-the entire world acknowledging the problem and taking action, telling others how to take action as well. The U.N. has to coordinate some type of universal regulation for the entire world, penalizing those that don't abide.
We still have to remember that for some people on earth, they have to care more about surviving, not so much about the environment.
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