Is global warming the greatest hoax or scare tactic of our generation?

Question

I would like peoples opinion on this, please vent if need be.

Answer 1

without any doubt,the amazing part is that our so called leaders bought into this sh*it.then again I can see why,more control,more taxes to "save the planet".carbon credits anyone.

Answer 2

We know it is warming but we don't really know by how much.  Microsite issues have generated a warming bias in the temp record.  Up to half of the warming in the temperature may not even real but be an artifact of these poorly sited weather stations.  Some of them are on top of parking lots! See http://surfacestations.org  

Also, it is possible mankind and rising atmospheric CO2 is partly to blame for some of the warming, but we really do not know how much is natural and how much is from CO2.  The people who claim to know that mankind is causing most of it made predictions back in 1988.  Just recently scientists have been doing forecast verifications on these predictions and learned that they have overpredicted global warming.  The has upset the AGW apologists at RealClimate, but facts are facts.

http://www.climateaudit.org/?p=2602

http://rankexploits.com/musings/2008/tem...

http://sciencepolicy.colorado.edu/promet...

Answer 3

Kind of a indirect scare tactic. The scientists that developed the theory of anthropogenic global warming are probably honest in their belief that we are the biggest cause of global warming. The issue comes when you have an intergovernmental agency, politicians, media, and business to over exaggerate the effects of AGW.  So now you have a fairly sound theory that is blown out of proportion. It immediately embraced as the end of the world by some and completely rejected by others because it has become such a exaggerated issue. There are the ones that check out the science and think it is an issue we must work on you have others that check out the science and do not think is it happening. Then you have those that believe the exaggerations blindly that this is the end of the world or the biggest hoax ever without researching anything. Personally, I read all the data I can find and to me it doesn't add up. we are having a little effect, but not enough to change things as much as the scare mongers are advocating. I already live a fairly green lifestyle so I an contented to live as I have been.

Answer 4

No, it's science.  That oil industry propaganda has managed to convince some people that it's a hoax despite the massive amounts of data supporting the theory is a pretty huge hoax/scare tactic.

There are many basic scientific facts which can only be explained if the current global warming is being caused by an increased greenhouse effect due to carbon dioxide accumulating in the atmosphere from humans burning fossil fuels.

For example, the planet is warming as much or more during the night than day.  If the warming were due to the Sun, the planet should warm a lot more during the day when the Sun has influence.  Greenhouse gases trap heat all the time, so they warm the planet regardless of time of day.  Another example is that the upper atmosphere is cooling because the greenhouse gases trap the heat in the lower atmosphere.  If warming were due to the Sun, it would be warming all layers of the atmosphere.

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

We know it's warming, and we've measured how much:

http://www.epa.gov/climatechange/science...

Scientists have a good idea how the Sun and the Earth's natural cycles and volcanoes and all those natural effects change the global climate, so they've gone back and checked to see if they could be responsible for the current global warming.  What they found is:

Over the past 30 years, all solar effects on the global climate have been in the direction of (slight) cooling, not warming.  This is during a very rapid period of global warming.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/62902...

http://www.pubs.royalsoc.ac.uk/media/pro...

So the Sun certainly isn't a large factor in the current warming.  They've also looked at natural cycles, and found that we should be in the middle of a cooling period right now.

"An often-cited 1980 study by Imbrie and Imbrie determined that 'Ignoring anthropogenic and other possible sources of variation acting at frequencies higher than one cycle per 19,000 years, this model predicts that the long-term cooling trend which began some 6,000 years ago will continue for the next 23,000 years.'"

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

http://www.sciencemag.org/cgi/content/ab...

So it's definitely not the Earth's natural cycles.  They looked at volcanoes, and found that

a) volcanoes cause more global cooling than warming, because the particles they emit block sunlight

b) humans emit over 150 times more CO2 than volcanoes annually

http://volcano.und.edu/vwdocs/Gases/man....

So it's certainly not due to volcanoes.  Then they looked at human greenhouse gas emissions.  We know how much atmospheric CO2 concentrations have increased over the past 50 years:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Mauna...

And we know from isotope ratios that this increase is due entirely to human emissions from burning fossil fuels.  We know how much of a greenhouse effect these gases like carbon dioxide have, and the increase we've seen is enough to have caused almost all of the warming we've seen over the past 30 years (about 80-90%).  You can see a model of the various factors over the past century here:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Clima...

This is enough evidence to convince almost all climate scientists that humans are the primary cause of the current global warming.

Answer 5

I assume that you really mean "Man-caused" global warming??

Assuming that is the case, then my opinion is that even the so-called climate experts.....you know....like the folks who also told us in the 1970's that millions would starve to death because of GLOBAL COOLING.....not even these experts are serious about Man-Caused Global Warming.  IF they were....do you think for one moment that 10 TO 15 THOUSAND of them would have jumped on pollution-spewing jets to attend a climate conference in Bali??...... in order to discuss how WE should be more responsible in our use of energy??!!  How are we....the "masses" supposed to trust so-called 'climate geniuses' when they're too stupid to realize that a video-conference (No jetting to resorts in Bali) would have been MUCH 'greener'??!!  Those folks are not really concerned about man-caused global warming, but they ARE interested in free vacations!!

Answer 6

Until someone can tell me what the perfect utopian earthly temperature should be, then I don't think anyone can claim that man is the cause of global warming.  

A million earths would not even come close to making up the mass of the sun.  The amount of energy produced by the sun in one second is greater than all the energy produced by man since our inception.  Doesn't that tell you that the sun may have more to do with how warm we are then anything that man has ever done?   Think about it the Sun, 93 MILLION miles away, still heats us from 93 MILLION miles away.

Also, how do we explain mars and pluto getting warmer?  Man doesn't live in either of those two places...

Also, if Al Gore really cared about Global Warming:  http://www.tennesseepolicy.org/main/arti...

I'll be villanized here, I'm sure I'll get a lot of thumbs down.  I personally don't buy into the media driven hype.  I don't think there is enough evidence when onlly 30 years ago a newsweek article warned us about Global Cooling.  http://www.denisdutton.com/cooling_world...

So to all the global warming people out there;  Chill.

Answer 7

No it's not a hoax. Yes, global warming is definitely real; there is no doubt about that. the thing i find interesting about the debate about it is that the people who just last year were denying its existence entirely are pretty much the same crowd that are saying that it's just not man-made now. It just looks like they're trying to avoid dealing with it. obviously, the reason most of the people will dismiss it so quickly is because of al gore being the spokesperson for a lot of it. they don't want to listen to him for whatever reason they have in mind. al gore does not claim to be a scientist. he is merely a spokesperson for a majority of the scientific community.

Have you ever heard the phrase "it's better safe than sorry?"

That's the way i feel about this issue.

Think about the effects if we do something about it, but it doesn't matter after all.

Now think about what would happen if we dont do anything, and it is our fault.

I think i'd rather go with the first one.

Answer 8

Nope.  The biggest hoax of all time is the idea that we can continue with business as usual with no consequences.

Answer 9

A hoax.... LOL. I would actually love someone to explain how a hoax of this size could work. Imagine the 1000's of people involved. Don't you think that at least one of them would of stepped forward and told the world? And even if it was a hoax then what do the perpetrators of the hoax have to gain? Is it possible that a bunch of hippies dreamed the whole thing up to make everyone consume less and look after the planet.

The trouble with the world is that the stupid are sure and the intelligent are full of doubt. What is wanted is not the will to believe but the will to find out wich is the exact opposite.

Answer 10

I honestly believe it is true, to a point. Doesn't it seem like weather has been changing? In Minnesota we used to get snow in October years back... now a days we don't get any until mid December if we are lucky.

Answer 11

it is real

Answer 12

I don't really understand why people are scared to accept global warming- first of all IT'S CHEAPER TO SAVE ENERGY on our part. Who was ever against saving money??

This is why our country is in question. The government realizes how expensive it is to fix the problem at once so they want to continue lying about it so we don't fix it and they die and no longer have to worry about it.

Check out INCONVENTIENT TRUTH

                  EVERYTHING'S COOL: A toxic comedy about global warming

Answer 13

If it is, the Bush Administration would have to be in on it:

First State of the Carbon Cycle Report (SOCCR) December 2007:

http://www.climatescience.gov/Library/sa...

If the Bush Administration is behind it, the oil companies that formed Bush's policy must be behind it.  Why would oil companies want to regulate themselves?  

No, there's not division, and no motive.  The wild claim that liberals and conservatives are somehow cooperating (for some reason) to fool everyone else (what, to fool a few independents?) is a tall tale that even the most gullible people would have trouble believing.

The only hoax involved is the propaganda that ExonMobil spews, creating the false appearance of debate:

Exxposing ExxonMobil's Agenda: Manipulating Politics and the Public

http://www.exxposeexxon.com/facts/dailyf...

Denial is also viewed by some as an important public facade to maintain:

"A recently leaked memo written by Frank Luntz, the US Republican and corporate strategist, warned that 'The environment is probably the single issue on which Republicans in general - and President Bush in particular - are most vulnerable... Should the public come to believe that the scientific issues are settled, their views about global warming will change accordingly. Therefore, you need... to make the lack of scientific certainty a primary issue.'"

http://politics.guardian.co.uk/columnist...

Even the most skeptical scientists won't put their money where their mouth is:

http://www.livescience.com/environment/0...

In 2005, Annan offered to take Lindzen, the MIT meteorologist, up on his bet that global temperatures in 20 years will be cooler than they are now. However, no wager was ever settled on because Lindzen wanted odds of 50-to-1 in his favor. This meant that for a $10,000 bet, Annan would have to pay Lindzen the entire sum if temperatures dropped, but receive only $200 if they rose.

“Richard Lindzen’s words say that there is about a 50 percent chance of [global] cooling,” Annan wrote about the bet. “His wallet thinks it is a 2 percent shot. Which do you believe?”

The well documented oil industry campaign to deny that that global warming is happening, or to claim that it is not harmful, is the hoax.

Answer 14

I believe in global warming I do not believe man has anything to do with it except scaring the beegees out of everyone and not letting people enjoy their milder winters (that haven't really happened here as much as I had hoped) and enjoy taking all their trips to enjoy the scenery of different places. and enjoy their picnics in the parks and enjoy their nice long vacations they can afford because they aren't being taxed yet on their co2 emissions yet.

can you imagine the beauacriacies if they pass this tax? oh the cost alone just managing it and collecting all those taxes will bankrupt us. and the invasion of privacy will be intense. they will decide what you can and cannot do with your house land and animals on the pretext of saving the enviroment when they really are just looking to control their slaves for profit.

RRRRR

Answer 15

Yep, I think so.

Answer 16

Hope we live long enough to find out what happens.

Answer 17

It tops killer bees, Legionnaire's disease, Lyme disease, frogs with teeth that climb trees, killer rabbits (Carter's story), the Red Menace (China), nuclear fallout, mad cow disease (never been proven that a mad cow gave this disease to a human, people got this disease before they ever scared us),  and a dozen others.

If the earth is getting warmer, then it is a cyclical effect of glacier periods,  warming and cooling of the earth went on long before humans were here. And the sun can be getting warmer. At some point the sun will die, and if we canned all the hot air from people scaring us about global warming we could send a rocket there and reignite it.

Answer 18

I totally believe that global warming is real.

Answer 19

Yes it is. The UN propaganda machine is in full ahead mode and grants abound for the scientists who agree.

Believers discount any data that contradicts their theory as "oil industry propaganda".

Pretty myopic view even for UN enablers.

Answer 20

If globAL warming is so SERIOUTH [and CO2 is dah penultimate evuhlist gas of ALL timeses] then we hoomanz just HAS to BAN CO2 fire-extinguisher!!! fizzypops and bier!!!

Answer 21

this is bigger than y2k.

Like Y2K.2 or somethink...

Yup, all just a buncha crapola.  Everything thinks they know what is going on...  but the general public only believes it because the media says it... persistently.

Answer 22

personally I think that there is no global warming. You see the earth goes through something like seasons in the inner core. Only it goes by WAY longer. But scientist say that according to the earth's age it's just time for it to start warming up. But that doesn't mean that global warming couldn't happen. It is still good to help protect this earth. Just because we can't see it, were distorting your planet.

Answer 23

It is a soviet disinformation campaign to wreak the economy of the US using there old radical liberal network

it is the same as there old anti nuke disinformation campaign.

http://discoverthenetworks.org/articles/...

Russia has always used disinformation when other means failed

if you will note that even though Russia is a major industrial country you never hear about them and global warming.

why is that

because it is there disinformation campaign

Answer 24

Yes the planet is warming very slightly.  Just 0.6 degrees over the last 100 years.

NASA has done the work and calculated that the Sun contributes at least 1/2 of that amount.  Natural variations cause some warming, and man has contributes a little.

"Many researchers believe the steady rise in sunspots and faculae since the late seventeenth century may be responsible for as much as half of the 0.6 degrees of global warming over the last 110 years "

Answer 25

Well the question bears another one to be asked, should we be arguing over whether global warming is real or not?  Probably not.  The important point is that our actions will affect our habitat, that delicate balance of all life that provides us with resources to sustain human life on the planet.

Whether the globe is heating up or not, we need to focus on keeping our ecosystems healthy so that we can continue to have fresh water to drink and food to eat.  

Clearly history shows that humans have not been very good at conservation and thinking about the future.  The native Americans hunted the buffalo with wild abandon, and when white men came from Europe and Spain they were then hunted nearly to extinction......  a bit of a problem if your kill all of your food at one go and have nothing left to eat.

Florida is currently experiencing a terrible drought and is leeching all of the fresh water out of an underground reservoir at an astonishing rate.  They obviously don't recall the terrible Dust Bowl in the 1930's that wiped out huge areas of crops and caused portions of the land to sink in many areas across the Mid West.  They are still pulling water out of that vast underground reservoir but are suffering from the effects of salinization and sink holes eating portions of cities.

Now these things don't have anything to do with the so called global warming crisis but are they any less important?  

The argument should not be, is it real or not, but what can we do to preserve our habitat, environment and species.

Answer 26

No. Global warming is a proven fact---which anyone who has a high school education in science knows.

Answer 27

Its right up there with Iraqi weapons of mass destruction IMO.

j

Answer 28

I guess we'll find out,won't we?

Answer 29

No it's not, the "War on Terrorism" is the greatest hoax and scare tactic of our generation.

Seen on a bumper sticker today:

It will be a great day when our schools get all the money they need and the Air Force has to hold a bake sale to buy a bomber

Answer 30

Yup.  These things go in cycles, but whatever man has contributed isn't the cause.