Global warmingg?

Question

we where having an argument in my 8th grade science class the other day, my science teacher is saying that we are causing global warming by pollutingg. wich i know is true, but he says that it is ALL our fault and we are going to end up ruining the earth. but i personally think that global warming is a natural process. like alongg time ago the whole earth was covered in ice. then it all melted because the eath heated up. back then there was no cars, factories, or fossile fuels being burnedd. that means it is a NATURAL PROCESS. and its going to happen again. we may be contributing to global warming by polluting. but not causing it. am i right? now keep in mind that i am only 14. so i may be wrongg.

Answer 1

You are very sharp to pick up on that.

Yes, climate change has happened and will continue to happen independent of pollution produced by human interference.  It's a natural process of warming and cooling that has happened time and again in prehistory and recorded history.  

The real question that needs to be answered is how much of an impact that humans are having on climate change, and that's where global warming comes in.  The Earth naturally emits carbon dioxide and other commonly known greenhouse gases.  Carbon dioxide is also emitted by industry and utilities.  Natural processes take lots of these gases out of the atmosphere.  In the past 50 years it has been noted that the combined output of greenhouse gases from both plants and human pollution has become much more then can be taken in by the atmosphere.  So more of these greenhouse gases trap more heat to the surface of the Earth, hence the concern over global warming.  Don't get me wrong, if we didn't have a fair amount of these greenhouse gases life on Earth wouldn't exist, it would be too cold because heat from the sun would radiate back to space.  It's a question of how much is too much, and how much of what is typically called a greenhouse gas is produced by humans.  It has been shown that the Earth is in a warming period that is somewhat warmer then times past, but there should be a lot more research done before making a decision on this.  Just don't believe mainstream media, it's not worth a word they say on the subject (Al Gore's stuff is particularly bad).

By the way, do you know which greenhouse gas is the most potent in the atmosphere?

No it not carbon dioxide, it's not methane either.

It's actually water vapor!  Water exists in all three phases (gas, liquid, solid) in the atmosphere and goes back and forth between these three phases in the atmosphere.  As water transitions from gas to liquid or gas to solid it releases a tremendous amount of heat.  The reason water isn't considered a problem by anyone in the sciences is because when it transitions from liquid or solid to a gas it takes in the same amount of heat, so it cancels out in the end.

I applaud you kid for asking questions like this, the world could use more kids like you!

Answer 2

tell your teacher to look at this website, and read the book http://www.iceagenow.com

Answer 3

Scientists agree it's mostly (70-95%) us.  One good scientific study below, there are many others confirming it.

It's true there were natural climate changes in the past.  But the scientific data clearly proves THIS change is not natural.  Nice graph here.

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

Answer 4

your teacher sounds like a hippie or an idiot.  He doesn't know what he is talking about so don't bother even listening

Answer 5

You are not wrong ... but neither is your teacher.

There is a cyclical pattern to the Earth's weather, however, it does seem that humans have altered the pattern and increased the speed that the Earth is warming.  

If you really want to put it in perspective, I recommend the youtube videos from wonderingmind42 about global warming.

Answer 6

Sounds pretty good to me. Take that teacher.

Answer 7

U are doing very well looking for natures cycles . Nature has many and the more I find the moor I am sure there is no Global Warming. The cycle of the plants giving us back our oxygen out of CO2. The plants need the CO2 as much as we do oxygen. There is another part of this cycle most people don't know about. The plants take in CO2 and very quickly give us the O2 ,but the plants keep the C to make there food from. Now when the plants leaves die and wash down the river to the delta where it deteriorates into oil & gas. There fore the more CO2 for the plants ,the more fossel fuels will be recycled.

Answer 8

you make a fair point. But dont forget that scientists have significant evidence that the world is changing, whether or not we are causing it, and we need to tryy and think of alternate resources. We aren't doing the world a whole lot of good by polluting it anyway, are we? The polar ice caps are melting and we know this hasnt happened in recent history because the ice we have taken measurents from has been dated back to hundreds of thousands of years ago. That ice is now melting and we have evidence to say that it is because of us using more greenhouse gases. Also to say that if you look at the chart that shows the global temparature in comparison to the concentration of carbin dioxide in the atmosphere, you will see that it has been in general decline, even with the fluctuations. These fluctuations are what i am guessing you are talking about - they go up. But now the global temparature looks to be higher than it has been in the past 160,000 years. I appreciate your thinking, but we cant ignore the damage we are doing. Feel free to tell me im wrong

Answer 9

Here is truth about global warming:

Global warming is one-half of the climatic cycle of warming and cooling.

The earth's mean temperature cycles around the freezing point of water.

This is a completely natural phenomenon which has been going on since there has been water on this planet. It is driven by the sun.

Our planet is currently emerging from a 'mini ice age', so is

becoming warmer and may return to the point at which Greenland is again usable as farmland (as it has been in recorded history).

As the polar ice caps decrease, the amount of fresh water mixing with oceanic water will slow and perhaps stop the thermohaline cycle (the oceanic heat 'conveyor' which, among other things, keeps the U.S. east coast warm).

When this cycle slows/stops, the planet will cool again and begin to enter another ice age.

It's been happening for millions of years.

The worrisome and brutal predictions of drastic climate effects are based on computer models, NOT CLIMATE HISTORY.

As you probably know, computer models are not the most reliable of sources, especially when used to 'predict' chaotic systems such as weather.

Global warming/cooling, AKA 'climate change':

Humans did not cause it.

Humans cannot stop it.

EDIT:

Excerpted from the cover letter of a 12 page report on AGW.

Research data on climate change do not show that human use of hydrocarbons is harmful. To the contrary, there is good evidence that increased atmospheric carbon dioxide is environmentally helpful.

The proposed agreement would have very negative effects upon the technology of nations throughout the world, especially those that are currently attempting to lift from poverty and provide opportunities to the over 4 billion people in technologically underdeveloped countries.

Past President, National Academy of Sciences, U.S.A.

President Emeritus, Rockefeller University

1.  Science is not a consensus activity

2.  _All_ scientists do NOT agree

3.  Even the socialistic EU "scientists" are

backpedalling on their GW stance

4.  Global warming, like global cooling is part of the

natural climatic cycle.  

5.  There have been many such cycles in Earth's

history.

6.  Earth is presently in the last stages of an ice

age and was considerably warmer for most of its

history.

7.  Floating ice occupies the same volume as would the

liquid water that comprises it.

8.  Even if the ocean levels rise the alarmist 28

feet, just move away from the beach.

9.  Warmer climate means more crop growing area.

10.  Water is not going anywhere. Except for what we

have shot into space with rockets, there is the same

amount as there always was.

Thermohaline cycle

Warm water is less dense than cold water. One of the ocean currents runs North up the east coast of the U.S.

When this warm ocean water reaches the arctic ocean, it is cooled which makes it become more dense.  The now dense salt water drops to the sea floor and begins its return to the southern loop of its cycle.

Fresh water from meltoff of the northern ice pack dilutes this sea water which makes it less dense.

The diluted, less dense water drops to the sea floor more slowly which slows the entire cycle.

If diluted enough, this circulation stops entirely.

When the circulation stops, then the planet will begin to cool and enter an ice age which will stop the meltoff.

As the salinity in the north Atlantic increases, the water will once again begin to sink to the sea floor and the cycle will restart and our planet will emerge from its ice age and enter another warm period.

That is happening now.  

It will change.

Answer 10

Nobody denies that the temperature cycles of the Earth are depending on the sun activity.

What they say is that today we are amplifying this natural process by creating excessive greenhouse gases and that could lead us to the point of no return.

(The earth will surely return, but we wont be there to measure.)

Answer 11

What (Dana) meant to say was 80% of 1% not much in other words. Remember the isotopes C12=99% occurs naturally , C13=1% both. C14=undetermined, run and hide (dire straight syndrome)

Edit: I'm not here for the the points, I just burst the bubbles. I would recommend everybody to do their own studies.

Answer 12

dont let anyone tell you different    ALL global warming is caused by the sun  but dont worry i have got a plan to put it out

Answer 13

Ask your teacher; if global warming is due to pollution, and not a natural process, why is global warming also happening on venus and mars?

Global warming is entirely a natural process.  CO2 (the pollution that your teacher is talking about) does not cause global warming, but is instead, caused by global warming.  The oceans are the primary sink (sort of like a repository) for CO2 in the world.  As the oceans warm they release CO2.  There is a lag between the warming and the release of about 80 years.

You should also ask your teacher why, if global warming is linked to CO2 levels; why has global average temperature actually gone down by 0.4 degrees celcius in the last ten years, but global CO2 levels are still increasing.

Go to www.icecap.com for alot of really good, usable information.

Answer 14

well its not ur fault even if ur teacher says it is well that's all i can say but don't palute make people recycle make a club show ur teacher shes wrong!!!ok hope it works out bye

Answer 15

You are right:  Geological evidence proves the earth has undergone many similar warming periods in the the distant past.  To date, no evidence has been found to link CO2 to climate change...it's only a hypothesis.  Remember your teacher is a poorly paid civil servant with little real world experience outside of a classroom.  Just nod your head and smile.  He never questioned what he was told and odds are he never will.

Answer 16

Your teacher is almost right - humans have caused about 80-90% of the global warming over the past 30 years.  While it's obviously true that the Earth's climate has changed naturally in the past, this time is different.  See the link below for an explanation of how we know this.

Answer 17

Gglobal warmingg appears to be caused by excessive "gg" letters in various words, leadingg to increased electricity needs for our computingg devices.

In truth, this is not something either you or your science teacher are mentally armed enough to deal with, most likely.  Your science teacher (if he's anything like most) probably gets most of his "science" news from CNN and never follows real scientific publications.

Answer 18

You are in the wrong place to be asking about global warming. Most of what you get here is misinformation. You will either have many supporting the theory of AGW or a few preaching no action whatsoever, due to their opinion that GW is natural or not happening. I won't tell you to act on climate change, but I think, as an adult, it's immoral and at the height of irresponsibility to tell you NOT to act on climate change.

If you are really 14, listen to your teacher. Don't let those threatened by knowledge steer you to a path of ignorance.