Think Rationally. What would Be More Damaging, Gobal Warming or Global Cooling?

Question

Think Rationally. What would Be More Damaging, Gobal Warming or Global Cooling?

Answer 1

global cooling by far, we won't be able to grow anything, so we'll starve, unless the southern hemisphere gets wetter and can grow better and sell to us, which could make them better off, but we'd have to be able to pay them. We need to seriously think about how we'll adapt to it.

Answer 2

Gobal warming :)

Answer 3

warming definitely.

in an ice age the habitable part of the world is in the middle where there is lots of light, and the sea level drops exposing lots of fertile new coastland. it just would not be so nice for the nations at higher lattitudes, i.e. the developed ones.

Answer 4

Global cooling will be more damaging. Less food for people in temperate areas and droughts in tropical areas. During the Quaternary period, glaciations have always corresponded to droughts and extension of the deserts. Just try to read some books on quaternary paleoclimatology.

Answer 5

global cooling would be much worse think about another ice age

Answer 6

Both!

Answer 7

Obviously global cooling. Plants will thrive with global warming.

Answer 8

Life and humans have survived 10 degree drops in temp during every ice age with little ill effects.  Right now it's about as warm as it's ever been in between.  The fossil record shows that when the temperature has risen above this point by 4 degrees it has caused mass extinctions-- the death of all higher forms of life.  In the past it's typically taken 10,000 years for the temperature to rise that much.  We've got 1/4 of the way there in 100, but actually we make a lot more CO2 today than we did in 1970 and before.  We won't have to wait 100 years for the next degree.

So.....easily survivable versus total extinction?  Gee that's a toughie.  Let me think about it....

Answer 9

Both would be equally distructive to plant life and human comfort and survival. Think it through.

OK OK OK!  What IDIOT gave me a thumbs-down?

I SAID 'think it through'   y' know - like sub zero temps kill all the plants,  corn can't grow in snow, fish can't lay eggs in ice, the lakes and oceans become deserts because all the water is at the poles in ice form (see last big ice age to understand).

Warming - ice melts lakes and oceans rise - coastal areas are flooded (that's where our oxygen baby fish and fresh water come from if you live within 100 miles of the sea).  Warm weather causes fruit and berry plants to bloom early then noraml cold weather comes back and kills them (y'know like last winter when we lost 300 million in fruit across the southeast) bees die (susceptible to heat), birds die out (eggs can't incubate over certain temps), water evaporates more quickly so plants dry out and don't produce as much food.....

it's simple

"t h i n k   -   i t   -    t h r o u g h"

Answer 10

Which exists? That's the question! There has been no solid evidence for either of them! All they come up with, gets shot down by our natural evidence! So get that out your mind!

Answer 11

Cooling.

Has anyone been to a rainforest?  Ok more realisticly Hawaii or the African Savanna.  Billions of bugs and wildlife in these hot/humid climates.  Not to mention the abundant thriving plant life.

How many mosquitoes or moths have flown in your mouth while snow skiing?

Answer 12

Come on people. This is history not your global warming hot celbrity cause. Life thrives in the warmth of the rain forests. It hangs on in frigid climates. I guess that's another inconvient fact that you choose to ignore. You sound as afraid of 1 degree warmer as you are an ice age. I wish you would all quit trying to protect me.

Answer 13

What the heck does it matter? You can't choose which it will be.

Answer 14

Sure.  Rationally?  Frame the problem with the logical extremes.

Runaway global cooling?  The whole earth freezes, some life will persist, locked under the ice near thermal vents, in the ice itself, but eventually it will thaw out again and life can continue.  Even if we have to wait a few billion years for the sun

Runaway global Warming?  Eventually the oceans would boil off and that would be the end of life permanently.

Answer 15

Depends on whether you would rather be a torch or a Popsicle. Both would be equally destructive.

Answer 16

Both.

"We humans have built a remarkable socioeconomic system during perhaps the only time when it could be built, when climate was sufficiently stable to allow us to develop the agricultural infrastructure required to maintain an advanced society.

If the Earth came with an operating manual, the chapter on climate might begin with a caveat that the system has been adjusted at the factory for optimum comfort, so don't touch the dials."

But few scientists think we're in any danger of cooling anytime soon.  The problem with warming is that it causes coastal flooding, and damage to agriculture, which will be _hugely_ expensive to fix.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/business/6096...