If human actvity is the sole cause of Global Warming, why didn't we see this effect during WWII?

Question

Bombs, explosions, planes, trucks, transports, sinking ships... Surely worse than today!! AGW can't be a real issue. It's politically generated. We should have seen huge warming spikes during and after WWI and II. How can all those firestorms, troop movements, and especially spilled oil from sinking shipping NOT cause far worse than we have today???

Answer 1

Probably we did not know it back then or it helped build it up !

Answer 2

AGW is a very long term trend.  The activities you mentioned contributed to the trend.  I doubt there would have been a "spike", but I haven't really looked at it.  Normally it takes a huge release in a very short time to get a "spike".  The only examples I know of are big volcano eruptions.

Answer 3

I'm not sure how oil spills or bombs could add to global warming.  They don't release carbon dioxide.

Answer 4

ww1 was actually pretty local to europe.

ww2; co2 and black carbon emissions from armaments probably balanced or exceeded by loss of industrial output and agriculture, and much reduced consumption by population (coal and other fuels were rationed here).

what was bombed? a lot of factories for a start...

edit; and Coventry. i do know what i am talking about, you have no idea what it was like. my parents lived through the blitz.

Answer 5

Human activity isn't the sole cause, but it's most of it.

From about 1940-1970 burning of fossil fuels was accompanied by smoke, which counterbalanced the warming due to CO2.  

Since 1970 two things have happened.  Pollution controls have reduced smoke, and poor nations like India and China got wealthy enough for large numbers of people to buy cars burning gasoline, causing a huge increase in CO2.

Answer 6

Your question is easily answered by looking at this graph:

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/co...

CO2 levels have been measured, and as you can see they are much higher now than they were during ww2 (which isn't even on this graph, but you can see how the trend rises sharply). CO2 levels seemed to rise very sharply after the advent of the airline industry (not sure how much is causal or how much is due to more factories and cars). I am not sure, but the burning oil field during the gulf war probably spewed out a comparable amount of CO2 alone. Also, the war didn't really last all that long considering.

Answer 7

There probaby was global warming during the war.  But detailed measurements, like rising ocean temperature and the ability to measure CO2 in the atmosphere did not begin until late 1950's and early 1960's, long after the war.

I would disagree that the total of all the emissions (toxic and  CO2 generating) of the explosions, trucks, planes, sinking ships, oil spills  . . over a period of 5-6 years throughout the WWII was more than what we are producing today in even one year.

The world's population has DOUBLED in 43 years. From 3.3 billion in 1965 to 6.6 billion at present! I think that the comsumption of petroleum products would have risen drastically over the last 43 years!!  It is the burning of fossil fuels that is contributing to escalating CO2 levels in the atmosphere and not necessarily oil in the oceans (although that is bad for the environment, too). We must reduce our reliance of combustion of fossil fuels if we want to reverse the trend.  It doesn't mean we will have to stop burning fossil fuels altogether, but we must turn around the rate at which it is increasing, and find ways to burn fossil fuels more efficiently - ie: which reduce CO2 emmsions. Until that, using alternative clean energy sources will help. eg: solar heat, wind power etc.

Can you imagine your life without a car? Well, your great-grandparents did!  They lived quite comfortably with a horse and buggy. And did not even have -let alone need - electricity to run a home!

Can you tell I think global warming is am important issue?

Turn down a plastic bag at stores you shop at , when the items are small & you can carry them in your hands or purse. Try to remember to bring cloth or re-useable bags when you are doing larger shopping trips. They are way stronger too.  It takes a while to start that good habit. Think of it as a year-long goal. . . . bringing re-useable bags to stores with you! I see this happening in my community - especically at stores that promote it!

Take one extra minute before you leave home in the morning for school or work and walk to every room to ensure that all lights and un-needed  appliances are turned off eg: radios, TVs, table lamps, curling irons, chargers for portable electronics etc.

Anyways, off my soapbox.  I only want a better world for my kids and their kids ..

Answer 8

Only the extremists who try (but fail) to discredit climate change say human activity is the sole cause of global warming.   There were less than 4 billion people on the planet during WWI, now there are over 7 billion.   Most families only had one vehicle they drove maybe 3-4 thousand miles at the most during that time, not one for every family member driving 12-15 thousand miles.   There are many more planes and trucks today than there were then also.   Finally, you don't understand much about global warming or the greenhouse effect.   The parts per million of CO2 in the atmosphere were much lower then than now.   It builds up over time and stays in the atmosphere for many decades.   Some of the CO2 from WWII is still in the atmosphere mixed with all the rest that has been added since then.