They say that a lot of natural materials release methane into the atmosphere.

Question

Well, isn't that O.K, since that kind of naturally released methane has been going on for thousands of years and it didn't cause global warming or pollution problems? I think it is all the man made stuff that is the problem. If man stopped his part of the pollution. Wouldn't that help make the earth more normal again?

Answer 1

Carbon dioxide is "natural" too.  The difference is the quantity and rate of release.  With methane, the largest contributor to the increase is from farmed cattle.  The problem is that we have huge numbers of cattle grown for our consumption.  Now, normally this wouldn't be too bad because when cows are eating the food they evolved to eat (i.e., grass), they don't produce nearly as much methane as they do when they are eating a diet full of corn.  The digestive system of cows is not set up to digest that much corn.  They get ulcers and digestive problems that contribute to higher methane production.

The same with carbon dioxide.  Carbon dioxide has always been released, but, with the rapid burning of fossil fuels, we are releasing an abnormally large quantity at a very rapid pace.

And, global warming has happened in the past.  The earth has warmed and cooled without human interference in response to changes in solar radiation, proximity of the earth to sun, etc.  The concern with our current situation is that the warming is occurring at a more rapid rate.  The earth will survive.  The problem is that the rate of current change will likely cause great hardship for humans.  Droughts in some areas, floods in others, etc. can cause millions of deaths.

So, it isn't about the earth being "normal", it's about trying to prevent human suffering.