Global Warming. Fact or Myth?

Question

I used to be pretty sure Global Warming was happening, but now I'm not so sure. There aren't any signs! This year, we've had the two biggest snows since 2002 (I'm pretty sure. :])

So what's going on? Do you believe in Global Warming?

Answer 1

Myth myth myth.... LEGEND!!!! LOL

EDIT TO CCYH:

I live there too and I remember 3 1/2 feet in my backyard just 3 years ago.... Hmm.... and this year is pretty snowy.. Oh wait... It's only snowing right now lol.

Answer 2

you idiots of course its real have you seen the ice melting i the arctic I live in massachusetts and we haven'y had a bad winter in 5 years.

Answer 3

have you seen 'An inconvenient truth?

what do you think all this pollution is doing?

Answer 4

It's a big lie made up by people who want to raise your taxes and say it's for your own good. In the 1970s they were screaming about global cooling, then it warmed up so they made up another lie.

Answer 5

Global Warming is a Fact look at the weather these days. There hasn't been that much bad weather until now.  There is proof that it is really happening, You just have to know the signs to look for.

Answer 6

First off, weather is not the same as climate - climate is weather over the long term. So a cold winter or hot summer is not an indication of global warming. Neither is a warm winter or cool summer.

Secondly, global warming is happening, but it's only 1 degree in over a hundred years - there's no possible way you could notice the few hundredths of a degree it has changed in your lifetime.

Lastly, it is a 99.7% natural, cyclic occurrence.

Answer 7

So True...

1. Beach loss in Hawaii and a sagnificintly sea level rise.

2.Less snow in Alaska

3. Coral Reaf is bleaching everywhere

http://www.climatehotmap.org/namerica.ht...

CLick the map...

Answer 8

Just a quick comment on the beach loss in Hawaii blurb. We have lost plenty of beach but that is almost all erosion. The 20 cm of sea level rise over the last hundred years. would not be noticeable enough within one person's lifetime. I am pretty sure they are a bit lower than 700 years ago when the islands were first settled. wasn't that during the middle of the mid-evil warming period. And I am sure they are higher than they were during the little Ice Age. Too much of everything is blamed on Global Warming.

Answer 9

It's a myth. That's a Fact.

Answer 10

its a myth made up by politicians

even if it was real look at the highway will those people stop driving cars to save the earth?

Answer 11

I do not think that global warming exists. There have been mush colder and warmer times than this. Both of which happened before the "evil" humans came and used cars. Mt. St. Helen's when it exploded, released more greenhouse gases than all that humans have over the course of all history.

Answer 12

How can people still be wondering about this? I would say the question is not if global warming is real, its whether or not people will accept the fact that they will no longer be able to drive around bigass cars and continue to live their current wasteful lifestyle. Weather all around the world is changing and were continuing to do nothing about it this is sad...

Answer 13

true.  there are many examples.  how 'bout this one.

"Melting permafrost has already forced the government of Alaska to cut from 200 to 100 days the annual period during which oil and gas equipment is permitted to travel on the tundra."

http://www.arcticnet-ulaval.ca/index.php...

the reason is that the ice on rivers and lakes must be of sufficient thickness to bear the weight of the trucks.

and it's just not cold enough for long enough any more.

you know that 0 degree ice is the same temp as 0 degree water.

the difference in the energy content.

it takes as much energy to melt ice as it does to heat that same amount of water from 32 to 176 degrees.

currently there is sufficient ice around the poles to absorb the energy without making it obvious.  however, the amount of ice is diminishing, and when there is no longer enough, the temperature change will be dramatic.

warm spells and cold spells are weather, not climate.  snow, or lack thereof are also weather.  it's only in hindsite, many years later, that one can look back and see what the likely signs of climate change are.  however, climate models today are pretty good -- they've been tested using several decades of data, and produced the climate conditions that we have already seen.  people's claim that they are not, or cannot be accurate are simply wrong.

btw, i looked at your profile a bit.  almost always, people who ask this question are not looking for an answer, but for someone to agree with their already formed opinion.  i'm not sure, but it could be that you are really interested in a good answer.  i guess i'll know if i see what kind of answer you pick.

Answer 14

Yes I believe it is happening.

There will be just as much rain but instead of it being spread evenly around the world, it will be dumped in one area. Same with snow.

This means that other areas may not get harldy any rain at all for longer periods of time.

Every summer has been hotter and hotter for longer and longer........

Answer 15

CCYH or w/e ur name is dont call ppl idiots because u cannot prove that global warming is real because their is not real proof at least not yet. this is a matter of oppinion and if u resort to calling ppl idiots to convert ppl to ur ways of thinking ur just an intolerant b*****d.

btw i do not believe in it

Answer 16

You're looking at weather (single points of data) and trying to infer climate (a very large set of data) from those single points.  That isn't valid analysis.  

Global warming is a fact.  The cause (causes) are still indeterminate, but global warming is a fact.  Also in question is how long the warming trend will last.

The average temperature of the planet increased by about 1 degree F over the past century.  There were some ups and downs in that trend, but 1 degree is where we are now from a century ago.  That might not sound like a lot, but that is enough to make some pretty drastic changes in weather and ecosystems.  Even your pretty bad snows could be a result of a warming trend.  The deepest snows happen between 20 and 28 degrees F.  When it gets colder, less moisture is captured in the atmosphere.  Ten years ago, those snows may have been much less or not at all.

Other proofs of global warming

Glaciers that have not retreated significantly in thousands of years, are now retreating at hundreds of feet PER YEAR.

The average date that trees start to leaf in New England has backed up over two weeks in the past 100 years.

Now, I tend to believe that global warming is caused by a lot of factors, any one of which wouldn't be able to accomplish the deed alone.  Automobiles certainly are a factor, along with coal-fired power plants.  But so is our addiction to beef, where hundreds of acres of rain forest are being cut down daily to make room for more ranching area.  More cows produce more CO2 and Methane, fewer trees absorb the increased CO2, and more transportation is needed to transport the beef.

In general, we are doing things that increase CO2.  We are also doing things that inhibit the ability of the planet to regulate CO2 levels.  The earth also appears to be contributing to the trend.  But to see thousands of square miles of glaciers no longer there has convinced me.

Answer 17

I wouldn't trust anyone here to be able conclusively to answer you question. Very few of us are climate scientists. Most of those claiming to know it is a hoax, don't have the scientific understanding to make that judgement. It is extremely complex. What is true is that an international consortium of hundreds of scientists have taken about 20 years to study the problem. They now have published their third assessment of their findings. They have looked at all the skeptic's science and still are 95% sure that man is causing global warming. Since I am not a climate scientist I take their word for it. Those who don't are taking the word of the skeptical scientists. Very few have the knowledge to decide who is right. I've read the summary of the report. I wouldn't pretend to have enough science background to understand the math geology, climate science and all that it entails, beyond the summary. I have some science background and a lifelong interest in science, but i still would only grasp parts of the actual scientific analysis, computer modeling of the climate etc.

Dont be fooled by those who claim they have proof of a fraud. So far I've seen answers here from one climate scientist who is a skeptic.

NASA confirms the findings of the consortium.

There are organizations like the Heritage Foundation and others who actuall pay scientists to give support to the skeptical view. They are funded by oil companies. so I wouldn't trust anything said by any scientist in anyway connected to them. Go to http://realclimate.org/

for information. There is an educational section for laymen like us to explain their theories. And they openly present links to all the skeptics websites

here's a website that deals with all the myths about the science and the skeptics claims. It's easy to find on the main page.

http://environment.newscientist.com/chan...  

other good websites:

http://www.globalwarmingart.com/wiki/Ima...

http://www.ucsusa.org/global_warming/sci...

http://ipcc-wg1.ucar.edu/wg1/wg1-report....

http://www.worldpublicopinion.org/pipa/a...

http://environment.newscientist.com/chan...

http://www.nrdc.org/globalWarming/f101.a...

http://www.ucsusa.org/global_warming/sci...

Answer 18

We could be like dinosaurs, they too only thought only about their immediate needs.

Or we can use our brains to predict and adjust.  Caveman / Modern Man........ full circle maybe?

Answer 19

Myth.

Evidence for it has been twisted by politicians like Al Gore. (i.e. Hockey Stick Graph)

It's part of a natural cycle called the "Carbon Cycle" which has been naturally occuring since the earth has been formed. Humans have little/no effect on it at all.

Answer 20

i really don't know what to believe but i feel bad 4 the polar bears .

Answer 21

FACT.

You may not see it where you live, but its there, and it's a threat.

FINGERPRINTS: Direct manifestations of a widespread and long-term trend toward warmer global temperatures

Heat waves and periods of unusually warm weather

Ocean warming, sea-level rise and coastal flooding

Glaciers melting

Arctic and Antarctic warming

HARBINGERS: Events that foreshadow the types of impacts likely to become more frequent and widespread with continued warming.

Spreading disease

Earlier spring arrival

Plant and animal range shifts and population changes

Coral reef bleaching

Downpours, heavy snowfalls, and flooding

Droughts and fires

Just for starters, look at these sites.

www.EnvironmentalDefense.org

www.globalwarming.org

www.epa.gov/climatechange

www.climatehotmap.org