Does anyone here actually think global warming is a "hoax"?

Question

Sometimes my friends talk about how global warming is probably just a "hoax". They think the government made it all up. I tell them that every scientific organization (I'm not sure if "organization" is the right word to use?) that studies anything related to the climate recognizes global warming as fact. For it to be a hoax, the government would have to be getting every scienfitic organization in on it. That would be a crazier hoax than if people landing on the moon was a hoax.

Some people say that the government is making up global warming to get us to do what they want. But if they want us to take care of our planet, then why aren't they passing more laws to help out the environment?

This wasn't just meant to be a rant. I want to know your opinions on global warming, along with articles/facts/resources for me to research more.

Thanks.

Answer 1

Yes, 6% of the population believes that global warming is a hoax, and the same percentage of people believe that the lunar landing was a hoax:

"Seven out of ten Americans surveyed believe that global warming is probably happening. Seventy-one percent say that global warming is probably happening, 6 percent believe it is probably not happening, and 23 percent are unsure. This includes an 81-to-3 percent margin among Democrats, a 75-to-4 percent margin among independents, and a 56-to-13 percent margin among Republicans."

http://www.fightglobalwarming.com/conten...

"A 1999 poll by the The Gallup Organization found that 89 percent of the US public believed the landing was genuine, while 6 percent did not..."

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apollo_Moon...

Some people simply like crazy conspiracy theories!

All of the major scientific organizations warn us that climate change is a very serious issue, none has expressed doubt.  Not one.  

It is well documented however that oil and coal industries have spent millions to influence politicians and to confuse the public, and that the media happily runs their false information to foster the appearearance of controversy (which increases viewers and ad revenues).  U.S. Senator James Inhofe alone has accepted $500,000 in "campaign contributions" fromt he oil and gas industries.  If the other 500+ senators and representatives are getting similar amounts, the investment to influence politicians in the U.S. Congress alone would top $250 billion.  Is it any wonder that the U.S. government is slow to react?  Clearly the stakes are very high.

Transportation such as automobiles account for 30% of the problem.  Fortunately any person can determine their annual vehicle CO2 emissions from a site such as this and buy carbon offsets (as low as about $5-6 USD per ton) to minimize their impact:

http://www.fueleconomy.gov/f*g/bymodel/2...

For the 40% caused by electric power generation such as coal, we need to replace politicians who have failed to invest in the replacement of that power.

For the remaining 30% caused by industry, we need to reduce our consumption of unnecessary goods (which require rew materials, manufacturing, and transportation, which all cause greenhouse gas release) and encourage the implentation of a cap and trade system to limit emissions.

Answer 2

its a theory at best

Answer 3

British policy advisor says Gore is in 'panic' mode

Jim Brown - OneNewsNow - 4/1/2008 12:00:00 PM

Al Gore warming British environmental analyst Christopher Monckton says Al Gore's latest attack on global warming skeptics shows the former vice president and other climate alarmists are "panicking."



On Sunday, CBS News correspondent Leslie Stahl asked Al Gore on the television show 60 Minutes what he thinks of people like Vice President d**k Cheney who doubt that global warming is caused by human activity.



"I think that those people are in such a tiny, tiny minority now with their point of view, they're almost like the ones who still believe that the moon landing was staged in a movie lot in Arizona, and those who believe the earth is flat," replied Gore. "That demeans them a little bit, but it's not that far off."



However, Lord Christopher Monckton, a policy advisor for former British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher during the 1980s, says the former vice president can enjoy his "flat earth fantasies" for a few months, but in the end, the world will be laughing at him.



"The alarmists are alarmed, the panic mongers are panicking, the scare mongers are scared; the Gores are gored. Why? Because global warming stopped ten years ago; it hasn't got warmer since 1998," he points out. "And in fact in the last seven years, there has been a downturn in global temperatures equivalent on average to about [or] very close to one degree Fahrenheit per decade. We're actually in a period ... of global cooling."



Monckton contends Gore is now "panicking" because he has staked his reputation as a former American VP on "telling the world that we're all doomed unless we shut down 90 percent of the Western economies." He also contends that Gore is the largest "global-warming profiteer."



Gore's group The Alliance for Climate Protection is currently launching a new $300 million ad campaign that demands reforms in environmental law to help reduce the supposed "climate crisis." But Monckton points out that in the U.K., Gore is not allowed to speak in public about his "green investment company" because to do so would violate racketeering laws by "peddling a false prospectus." He says that fact came about after a British high court found Gore's movie, An Inconvenient Truth, riddled with errors.



Monckton challenged Gore to an internationally televised debate on climate change last year.

Answer 4

It is not a hoax, as such, but nor is it as serious as some would have us believe. Added to which, there is not much we can do about it anyway.

The earth goes through natural cycles of hot and cold periods - the cold periods are sometimes referred to as ice ages. We are entering the start of a hot period, but we are being accelerated into it by the production of greenhouse gasses by our industrial processes burning fossil fuels.

Our contribution is put into context, however, when you see that it is less than the contribution made by ruminants (cows, etc) farting.

Answer 5

Well if you look at the weather patterns over the past 50yrs you will see it is no hoax. Here is a website that provides all the facts and data: http://www.epa.gov/climatechange/

Answer 6

No, it's not a hoax. The only hoax is the deception targeting the American people to perpetuate the denial of Anthropogenic Global Warming.

You are correct to refer to scientific organizations. Please check out the links I've provided to mainstream science.

http://www.agu.org/sci_soc/policy/positi...

http://www.geosociety.org/positions/inde...

http://dels.nas.edu/dels/rpt_briefs/clim...

http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/Library...

http://www.ipcc.ch/index.htm

There is something you'll notice with posters that deny AGW. They provide no data, just disinformation with nothing to back it up. All they are giving you are their beliefs and opinions, not the science. Hardly an intelligent way to help you make an informed decision.

Answer 7

Not by the government, but by greedy yuppie corporations who want to convince you that you can take countermeasures to 'global warming' if you buy their overpriced 'green' things.

Answer 8

it is complex

there are certain facts

however  - are those facts related to the GW or not - that is the question.

one thing is sure - GW is being highly used by politicians and giant corporations for certain gains

Answer 9

i don't really believe that its all a hoax cause our weather isn't normal and the glaciers and ice bergs are melting up north. maybe you don't notice it as much if you live more south.  but i live in northern ontario and i can see a big change in the climate. a good example of this is that today is the first day of april, usually in april where i live, the snow is almost gone and it looks a lot like spring.  But instead, last night we just got the biggest snow storm all year, today is even a snow day because of it.. its crazy.. also there are quite a fer polar bear habitats and pengiun habitats opening up all across canada, like in the town i live in we have 4 polar bears and hopefully getting some penguins, because the ice is melting in the arctic region, therefore actic animals such as polar bears are losing their homes and dying.

I do agree that the government should pass more laws to help save the environment, they are in charge, so they should do something about it, because a large amount of canadas population is.  Much more of the population would help out the environment if there were more laws enforced to insure it.

Answer 10

My thoughts are that global warming may or may not be real. It is difficult to sort out the information that is out there.

The situation, to me, is the same as the creation vs. evolution argument. Those entities that profess global warming (or evolution) as fact will find "evidence" to prove their side. Those that feel that global warming (or creation) is questionable will find "facts" to back their side.

We simple need to do the best we can to prevent our habits from shortening the earth's life.

Answer 11

AGW is just theory.

Answer 12

Climate change is valid and the earth will cool off and warm up that is pretty basic. However Global Warming Hype is a hoax and a scam used to scare people and it will work as long as certain groups are gullible enough to fall victim to those snake oil salesman selling us the cure to all our ailments.

Answer 13

I wouldn't call it a "hoax" but I would call it exaggerated.

Scientists conduct experiments and collect data to come to a scientific conclusion.  They have not.  They have a "consensus."    There's a big difference.

Secondly, the biggest problem is how the Global Warming Wackos are addressing it.  The term is "Global Warming" yet they act like it's "America Warming."  No one cares that the oil extraction process and refining processes in the Middle East and Mexico are dirtier than how we do it in America, yet they block us from building refineries or drilling in America.

No one says anything about the pollution in China (which is getting so bad, they're starting to call it an epidemic) nor are they commenting on how dirty the air is in so many European cities.  It's all about "America this" and "America that."

THAT is the difference between people who are genuinely concerned about GLOBAL warming as a long standing environmental issue and those who are koolaid drinkers sucking up the poison that Al Gore and the Global Warming Opportunists are feeding them.

Last I checked, the only person getting rich off of Global Warming was Al Gore and his chronies (who, by the way, still owns a skunk load of stock in oil companies and lives in a 12,000 sq ft mansion with the carbon footprint of a small town).

Later Addition:

To refute those late posters who claim to have data proving Global Warming- let me use the "hockey stick" example that Al Gore used in his movie.  He claimed that, as carbon in the atmosphere went up, so did the temperature.  He claims increased carbon output increases temperature.

But, that's just 1 opinion on the data.  Another is that, as the earth's temperature goes up, it causes the carbon in the atmosphere to increase.  Therefore, there are 2 interpretations of this same data.  Don't let them tell you there is no data, it's just how the data is interpreted.

Answer 14

yes, its fake

Answer 15

You make a valid point. I believe global warming is a fact and is quite alarming. The govt. isn't passing laws, etc b/c it isn't financially in their best interests. They are more interested in global capitalism then saving the planet. It all comes down to the Almighty dollar. Check out the documentary "The Corporation". It's shocking to say the very least.

Answer 16

Global warming is not a hoax.  There is considerable scientific uncertainty, however, about the ultimate causes of warming and the extent to which human activities are contributing to it.

Much of the research that goes into the debate is done by computer simulation modelling of global systems.  These models suffer from a number of limitations, such as, they can never truly represent the complexity of those global systems, and they cannot be tested and verified against changing global conditions because those conditions change so slowly.  Another drawback is that since the models are created by the scientists using them, they can be designed to say pretty much what the designer wants them to say, should that researcher have some agenda (and this happens on both sides of the debate).

Those who believe that human activities are the main and direct cause of global warming (which is happening, that fact is not really in question) have a hard time explaining geologic data which seems to indicate that it has happend in similar fashion in the far distant past, long before humans were around.  That would seem to indicate that there are either natural factors involved that are not well understood, and/or that the warming trend that we are seeing is part of a normal, natural cycle of temperature change that includes warming (as now) and cooling (ice ages).

Answer 17

You are correct that it's not a hoax (and scientific "organizations" is an appropriate term).  Every scientific organization which has issued a statement about global warming has concluded that humans are the main cause and we need to do something about it.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scientific_...

Even the American Association of Petroleum Geologists, whose jobs depend on oil, has retracted its statement rejecting the scientific consensus.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scientific_...

The government is not making up global warming.  In fact, the Bush Administration has censored global warming science on several occasions to make it sound less dangerous.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_Hanse...

http://abcnews.go.com/Technology/story?i...

http://abcnews.go.com/Technology/wireSto...

If they wanted to make money, they would be taking money from the rich oil industry to say that humans aren't causing it, like Senator Inhofe does.

http://opensecrets.org/politicians/indus...

The scientific reality is that humans are causing global warming.  People who say it's a hoax are no better than people who say there are aliens at Area 51 and the moon landing was staged.

Answer 18

I think Global Warming is real and it will affect us alot in later generations if left unchecked.

Answer 19

Do I think that the whopping 1 degree Fahrenheit temperature increase in the last 100 years is a hoax? No. All the doom and gloom that go with it ? YES.

Answer 20

You know, actually it was mainly the government (Bush Administration) that started the hoax foolishness, and a lot of other anti-science initiatives.  There was rational discussion prior to 2000, Republican and Democrat alike.  This is what they used to call "Red-baiting", meaning if you disagree you are a communist, socialist, left winger, or something similar.  It's scapegoating in it's lowest form.  It will get worse before it gets better.

Answer 21

Unfortunately YES

you will see from your answers

there are many ignorant people out there

And they are arguing over points of  academic data

as if that changes anything.

And authoritarian forces are taking advantage of the phenomena

http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index;...

HOW EVER

There is a series that you can download easy ,called

bbc,Planet earth by David Attenborough.

About 15 ---700mb videos

this is a photographic team that has been filming Nature stories all over the world ,for a very long time .

In 3 of the episodes called --the future--saving species

the future--living together ,ice worlds ,

they compare films they made before of places and species to what they are filming now in the same places.

Many scientists give  commentaries as well .

And whole migrations of animals involving millions have disappeared in only 20 years

Ice sheets,glaziers have gone

They say about half of the worlds forests have gone in the last 300 years

Half of the natural  habitats,like wetlands , ice fields tundras,mountain vegetation and rain forests . in the last 50 years,and all of the inhabitants with it

CHECK THE CLOCK FOR THE SPEED

http://www.poodwaddle.com/worldclock.swf



Global warming is a component in a group of destructive forces at work ,it is not the only one , but  other factors which we are responsible for ,are rapidly making it the worst .

We are now  witnessing a mass   Extinction of animals and plants of Biblical proportions,equal since the disappearance of the dinosaurs.

Who cares what it is called or WHY EXACTLY  IT IS HAPPENING ,What or who is to blame

If we want to save ourselves as a specie ,we have to address

the problems

Apparently we can correct most of the destructive factors

with disciplines ,changes of attitude and habits.

A diminishing of the world population is essential especially in poor and densely populated areas.

a world sustainable number BASED ON BIO RESOURCES  is 3 billion,

And so far we can still do it voluntary,There may come a time when the governments will take harsh actions .

If they are not already doing this underground