Global Warming

[Totorosama]

Has anyone noticed? The weather's all funky and all the seasons are all late, early, too warm, too cold, etc. Any theories as to why the global warming is happening? Human or natural. Personally, I think that humans are going to end up destroying the world at this rate.

[Spiff]

We're coming out of an ice age, and now the sun is heating up. Gosh, I don't know what else to say...well sweet and short.

[Arkacia]

Originally Posted by Spiff

We're coming out of an ice age, and now the sun is heating up. Gosh, I don't know what else to say...well sweet and short.

Thats weird. I read the opposite. That we've been out of the last ice age for many thousands of years and aren't that far away from the next one. Some scientists have speculated that we're overdue for it and its only thanks to humans suffing up the atmosphere that this planet is heating up and not cooling down.

I do believe global warming exists and that humans are at least partly to blame for it. No-one will ever convince me that the hole in the ozone layer is natural and not caused by CFC (and its chemical cousins) emissions. If we can cause something like that, then its quite probably that the huge modern human population and its polluting industries do have a very real effect on the environment, whether we want to admit that to ourselves or not .

Shadowheart, I do believe your friend wouldn't lie, but the author of the book he read may be. You never know .

[ShadowHeart]

I think it's natural. My friend read this book about these things a while ago, and according to him it said that the human-caused global warming was only a mere 1% or 2% (can be wrong on the exact number, I just remember it being really low) of the natural global warming of the world. And no, my friend does not have a habit of lying

[Totorosama]

However, the humans are also ruining many forests, which provide shade, soak up carbon dioxide, provide oxygen, and other benefits. Then there's the gas emissions, pollution of the water, earth, etc. Then there's poaching...dabadabadaba. I guess what I'm saying is that humans are just killing everything off.

[Totorosama]

Thank you. Finally someone more on my side. I think that after a while, the billions (is it up to a trillion now?) of humans that have passed through the earth will have made a huge effect on the environment. Problem is, how do we prevent ourselves from being destroyed. And even if we do make it for a few more billion years, black holes will suck up everything and we'll all be annhilated anyways. But that's a long-term problem, not to mention irrelevant to this thread.

[Spiff]

Here's something I think may be an asset to this thread:

Gloabl Warming or Global Cooling

My favorite qoute:

Greens say, rightly, that the best scientific assessment today is that global warming is occurring. Yet never in history have scientists accurately predicted what will happen 100 years later. A century ago no scientists predicted the internet, microwave ovens, TV, nuclear explosions or antibiotics. It is impossible, even stupid, to predict the distant future.

That scientific truth is rarely mentioned. Why? Because the global warming movement has now become a multi-billion dollar enterprise with thousands of jobs and millions in funding for NGOs and think-tanks, top jobs and prizes for scientists, and huge media coverage for predictions of disaster.

[Luis]

Interesting thread... It must come from all of us to stop it... But although we do our best, you should consider also that there are companies which do not respect the Kioto's Protocol, as it's more easy and economically feasible for them to pay the fine than reduce their production amount(and therefore the emissions of sulphur)
...really sad...

[Arkacia]

Spiff, that quote is interesting but wrong. All the things mentioned as not being "predicted" are or were inventions, not something that can be measured and predicted using past data and records and present trends. There is a huge difference between global warming and a microwave.

[Spiff]

Opps, I forgot about Jules Verne. He predicted (or imagined) all sorts of twentith century inventions. Back to the topic, I just don't see how people can say that they can predict the climate a hundred years in advance. Seems like they're jumping to conclusions.

[Arkacia]

Scientist can tell past weather patterns from looking at tree rings. The wider the individual rings, the more rainfall that year. Using this they can see weather patterns going back hundreds of years, depending on the age of the tree. They have even done this with petrified wood. Thats just one methold, there are many others.

Most nations have weather records going back hundreds of years, it isn't hard for scientists to study those records and chart the weather patterns down through the decades, or in some cases, centuries. They can also use those past records, take present day problems such as pollution ect into account, and predict what they feel the future weather patterns will be.

I believe global warming is happening and humans are at least partly responsible. I don't know about the rest of the world, but in Australia have found that most of the anti global warming stuff, and/or anti humans bear some responsibility for it, is coming from scientist who are being paid by large industry groups who would be most affected by any anti-pollution measures by needing to cover the costs of reducing their emmission levels ect.

[Totorosama]

Also, I thought of something. As the world starts spinning more slowly, the changes in season will take longer, making them more...off? Thus, the climate will change.

[Spiff]

Originally Posted by Totorosama

Also, I thought of something. As the world starts spinning more slowly, the changes in season will take longer, making them more...off? Thus, the climate will change.

The effect, if any, will be a few milli-seconds over the next one to two hundred years. The theory is also a bit out in left field.

[Phoenix Flame]

The way I see it, except for acts of God, the planet WE know of will be the same long after we pass. The things we should (and I suppose we are) concern(ing) ourselves with is the rapid consuption of fossil fuels - which will be extinguished withing most of our times, and the extinction of species - including those in deforrestation. Gotta keep the planet going! - Reminds me of Barrett...

[Luis]

Considering most part of the factors, I think humans won't be alarmed and totally conscious of the harm done to the planet till they (well, WE, I'm still human ) see continuously very adverse weather conditions; bacically, till the planet will be very very harmed, and the weather conditions will cause 'natural' disasters.