Why is global warming considered to be such a threat?

Question

I know that sea levels will rise, ice caps will melt and further desertification will take place but aren't all these disadvantages balanced by advantages, e.g. more land mass becomes productable, species move and/or adapt, less need for fossil fuels etc.

Answer 1

The ice caps are melting? The ice caps are melting?? The ice caps are melting! THE ICE CAPS ARE MELTING!!

AAaarrgghhh!!!! THE ICE CAPS ARE MELTING!!!!!

So why the h**l have got a hosepipe ban?

Answer 2

To give the 24 hour news channels something to report on.

Answer 3

In the last century sea levels have risen at the same rate they rose in the century before that.. which rose at the same rate as the century before that.

This warming trend is NOT anything new, and it's not a threat.  In fact, our current warming cycle has been VERY good for humanity.

Answer 4

Asking 'Why is Global Warming a threat?' is the same as asking  'Why are tsunami's a threat?'. When ice caps melt the sea levels rise by 25-30 feet, flooding many lands all across the globe, destroying homes and killing many people and animals. It's just like one big tsunami getting bigger and bigger! Global warming is serious and if you don't want to die I suggest you help stop it. And yes, GLOBAL WARMING IS REAL! I saw many programs on National Geographic and the Discovery Channel concerning it as well as doing a little research myself.

Answer 5

Because it is really about global socialism.

AGW is unproven theory.

Answer 6

no way. its a serious matter. all the CO2 weve pumped into the atmosphere is causing drastic climate change quickly. many species are not going to have the time to migrate and adapt to a warmer climate and we could lose many of them

Answer 7

The ice caps aren't melting, the sea levels haven't risen and the temperatures haven't gotten hotter.  It's all speculation on the part of Al Gore and the scientists and lobbyists he hired to back his plan.

Global warming isn't happening, in fact the warmest year out of the last 50 was 1998 and since then the temperatures have decreased from that year.  Don't worry over global warming, or give your money away to support it...it's a scam/hoax.

Answer 8

If the ice caps melt, the polar bears will go extinct, also if the ice caps melt the sea levels will rise, flooding major cities such as New York, Paris, and Washington DC

Answer 9

Personally, I believe in global warming. The effect is a dramatic change in climate. One million species are threatened with extinction by climate change. Ice caps melting means that huge areas of land will be completely lost under the sea and so a large number of people will die. Snow melting also means that rivers will be fuller and therefore are likely to cause more floods. Another problem with snow melting is that skiing resorts will lose out! Global warming will also cause more extreme weather such as hurricanes and violent storms which can do a lot of damage. There will also be an increase in forest fires. Desertification will occur which means crop yields will drop. Eventually, the world may struggle even more than it already does to feed the population. There are many more effects but it will take me forever to tell you what they are.

Global warming is a bad thing, but whether you believe global warming is taking place or not is another matter.

Answer 10

Are you aware of just how much water will rise if these things occur???

no land mass will be left

or very little,,,and only on very high ground,,which is not arrable land,anyway,,

so could and would wipe out a huge percentage of civilisation,,,

Answer 11

Sea levels are rising at about a millimeter and change per year - - - the rate of increase is a fraction of a millimeter more than has been the case for 10,000 years.

There is no threat - they just need to assert one to convince enough of us to cede more power over our everyday lives.

Don't fall for it.

The ozone hole is no smaller, 20 years after the CFC ban.

If it's no smaller 25 or 30 years after the ban, I think that'll be pretty conclusive evidence that the problem wasn't CFCs.

But does anyone think they'll repeal the ban?

Do you think they'll repeal the DDT ban?    One million people, mostly children, die every year from malaria.   And the link to the bald eagle turned out to be bogus - just like the alleged link between Bt corn pollen and Monarch butterflies, and teflon and bird deaths.    Do you think they'll repeal the DDT ban?

Nuclear power is safely used throughout the world.    It emits zero CO2.    The same radical environmental groups such as Greenpeace and the UCS who now oppose coal and gas fired plants are ultimately responsible for their construction, because they're the ones who made specious arguments about nuclear power plants a generation ago and effectively halted new nuclear construction.     Do you think it's really about CO2 for them?   Or is it about forcing people to "change their consumerist lifestyles?"       In the USA, the country founded on the principle of freedom, shouldn't people be free to choose their own lifestyles?

Look - underneath all the hype there's an interesting though unproven theory.    It has warmed very slightly in the last century, and perhaps we are a material factor.   There's just no direct PROOF of that, despite tens of billions of dollars being spent, not to find out, in some open-ended search for and examination of the evidence, but specifically to prove that it's us.

They hype dramatically overstates the case for man-made warming - - - there are probably as many people who have become skeptics because the hype is so laughable as there are people who have become convinced because they're afraid of all the dire predictions coming true.

As time passes and the dire predictions continue to NOT come true, and more years pass with 1998 as the "hottest year on record," more and more people will jump off the bandwagon, just as they did when William Miller predicted the end of the world in the mid-1800s.

And that will happen sooner rather than later.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/opinion/main....

Why do you think they're in such a hurry to declare that "the debate is over, we need to act now, we have ten years?"

Because a few more years without any more warming and the critical mass of support for their agenda will have faded - the tide will have receded from its high water mark.

Look at the cynicism on the part of the radical environmentalists - - - 1 million people die every year from malaria, which wouldn't have happened if DDT was used to control mosquitos.     But you can't admit you were wrong - all you can do is vote thumbs down.

Answer 12

When global climate changes people are dissplaced and war and famine occur. This has happened though history. Thing is.. in the past there just wasnt so many people!

Now if something goes wrong then millions may die. The biggest threat to our world is not that Mrs Jones doesnt recycle.. the biggest threat is the massive increasein population.. This planet simply cant have sucha high population..

remember your school lessons? closed systems , and limiting factors? Look it up..Population grows until it poisons itself...

Dont mess around using less resource.. simply limit yourself to one child and the worlds problems will dissappear in a few generations.

Answer 13

The Earth has been warming and cooling since day dot,which would explain all the different species of being alive or extinct.The planet has been cooling for the last six years.Pollution pollution pollution take a look at London 1953,the Mediterranean Sea has been a desert more at least twice before.The FEAR of is the key,it gives a licence to raise revenue from everybody to control something which is not in the capabilities of anyone or thing.That's how religions have stayed so successful through the centuries.MANS FEAR OF DYING

WHO WOULD I TRUST THE PEOPLE THAT OFFER TOTAL BS TO A GREEN(AS IN GULLIBLE) GOVERNMENT SO THEY GET THE UNLIMITED FUNDING FROM SAID GOVERNMENT AND THE SHEEP THAT FOLLOW OR REALISTS

Answer 14

The only 'threat' is to the politicians if you don't believe it.

They need the 'people' to be scared about something in order to keep the people from thinking rationally and throwing the whole bunch of parasites out of office.

Having the people scared about something 'major' also lets them use various 'cures' and/or 'solutions' to justify their greedy ways, overspending, and restriction of rights to maintain their privileged positions.

NOW, to go along with global warming, we also have nuclear threats (Iran), Terrorist threats ( almost the ENTIRE middle east as primary culprits), alleged fuel shortages, immigration problems, [AND what scares THEM MOST, some people who STILL WANT to think for themselves!]  

Answer 15

I think global warming is happening.   We humans cannot interfere with the balance of nature to the extent we are doing, and have done for thousands of years.

Many people will not believe anything, until it is happening on their doorstep and affecting them personally.

It`s considered a threat because as yet, we are not sure what will happen (apart from severe climate change).  Remember, there are thousands of things we have done, that we never thought would harm us.....like cancer from smoking, blocked arteries from too much fat, like dried up rivers cos we have built reservoirs:  polluted oceans killing the sea-life    - the list is endless.

The road to h**l is paved with good intentions.

Answer 16

the girl who said "dont believe in it, don't care" shud just not comment...wats the point if she doesnt hav anythin valid, intresting or justifiable to say

its not a question whether you "believe" in it or not, its whether you understand it or not

Answer 17

hmm..... who shall i trust on scientific matters - the quite brilliant knowledge collective that is the British Science Council or individuals who think they singlehandedly outsmart the combined brainpower of 400,000 scientists and can claim it is a conspiracy by their government

hmm toughie....

Answer 18

All of these future predictions about how global warming will affect changes in agriculture zones are based on climate models which are just a guess. Human history shows that the medieval warm period was warmer than current conditions and humanity thrived, when the climate cooled times were hard, and the climate changed fast.

Answer 19

don't believe in global warming, don't care for it

Answer 20

No one knows for sure why this is happening.  The government has lied to us before so who knows what to believe?

Answer 21

Are you kidding? Further desertification is the exact OPPOSITE of more productable land mass. It means MORE desert, LESS land that can be used to produce food. As far as species moving and adapting, what is the benefit of that? Those that fail to adapt will die. Those that do will be no better off than before. And many of those that DO die off may serve necessary purposes in the ecosystem. It's a horrible risk to take. And how does global warming result in less need for fossil fuels? That makes no sense. On the contrary, taking the steps to eliminate our "need" for fossil fuels right now would further reduce the likelihood of global warming getting worse. You can have it both ways. Factor in the fact that global warming could result in less fresh water to drink, the death of important livestock due to lack of grassy land, increased cases of skin cancer, and the fact it is directly caused by pollution that hurts our health regardless... it is just smart to try to fight it off. There is no reasonable doubt about it.

What is funny to me is the reaction against global warming arguments. 99% of the experts in the field say it is real. The only "scientists" that deny it are paid by oil companies. Yet people still deny it? Ok. Fine. The best argument that anyone can come up with for why global warming is not real is that we have no way of knowing what the impact on the climate can be because it ebbs and flows. So what is the big backlash against doing something just in case? All anyone is asking is for us to be smarter with our resources, reduce pollution, reduce waste, and be responsible with our material consumption. Global warming or not, that is just smart. People who deny global warming have ulterior motives (greed, oil, laziness, politics, etc). The only motive that the rest of us has is that we want a safe, clean planet to live on. So who should one believe?

Answer 22

More people die each year from cold-related deaths than heat related. It’s much easier to drive on a warm day than a cold day. Increased global temperature will affect the temperate regions more than the polar or topic areas, thus creating a longer growing season for crops and increasing the world’s food supply.

Also, when ice melts the water therein contracts, thus causing the ocean levels to actually lower upon icebergs melting, so if you can afford it, oceanfront property is still a sound buy!

I’d love to cite this but it comes from an issue of “The Economist” I happened by about 10 years ago.

Answer 23

Some people are pessimists and always think disaster is around the corner.  Global warming is a threat because these types latch onto it and become even MORE hysterical.  Smart politicians see this and know they can get votes by appealing to naive do-gooders.

They are called 'greens' because they were born yesterday and fooling them is like taking candy from a baby.

Answer 24

There are no advantages to it. We will lose arable land to the sea and the sand, which means less room to grow food for an increasing world population, so starvation will increase. The air quality will also suffer through CO2 emissions, which isn't healthy for anyone.

Deforestation to create farming land or land for bio-fuels (like palm oil in Indonesia and other places) will mean that the carbon sink will be reduced. Forests collect and store CO2 under their roots, but once the trees are gone this ability to collect and store is lost, so the process of atmospheric destruction speeds up.

In terms of disease, warmer air will mean the north and southward spread of tropical diseases, as in malaria, yellow fever, and other major killers.

It is totally true that the weather is cyclical across the world, and we alternate between ice ages and warmer periods, but there is no reason to speed this process through our own actions, as it would be nice to leave an intact world for our kids and grandkids.

I hope that helps.

Answer 25

Pour yourself a glass of ice tea,take a sip or 2 (evaporation) then walk off and let the ice melt. That's what happens when glaciers melt--nothing. Glaciers will freeze and refreeze, the Earth will heal itself. As long as humans use a little common sense and not waste resources, our planet will be fine. Drill for oil???Sure. God designed Earth--He will take care of it.

Answer 26

The main reason it's a threat is the rate at which the climate is changing.

For example, let's take your poductive land mass scenario.  It's true that as the planet warms, some areas currently too cold to be productive will become habitable (i.e. Siberia).  However, at the same time many areas which are now habitable and productive will become too hot and dry (i.e. closer to the equator).  So basically you're shifting the habitable land northward.  It's easy to say 'oh we could just adapt and people can move and grow crops elsewhere', but moving people around is a difficult and costly proposition.  It takes money, resources, and time.

Essentially all species living on the planet are adapted to its current climate.  Species can adapt to slow climate change, but the faster the change, the more difficult it becomes to adapt.  As you can see from the graph below, the current climate change is happening very rapidly.

There are also other issues, like rising sea level (happening faster than scientists expected), increased droughts, heat waves, food and water shortages, etc. which make global warming such a threat.

Answer 27

Catalyzed by an increased global temperature a chain of chaotic events could possibly trigger an earlier than anticipated, ice age.

Answer 28

I'm surprised really by all the people here that can parrot statistics and theories they've heard on CNN or CBS news...but so few have actually investigated it enough to prove its really happening as bad as is stated.

Even Al Gore.....I might remind you he's a politician...no a scientist... Has been proven lying to the public to advance his agenda... but look at his lifestyle...He's paying $10k in utilities per month...he has a business that doesn't reduce carbon...it just makes him lots of money by trading them between people....and who on this planet is arrogant enough or thinks they are smart enough to actually set a "level" that is acceptable and what is too much ?

Is it so hard to see what Government has done to us as taxpayers over the decades ? They overspend all the time...in general..and lump it all onto the national debt. From time to time they bend an ear to the American public but alot of the time they bend it toward whacko and rogue organizations that are in the minority but have lots of money...so they are a special interest and since they are the one's that love to whine the loudest..the politician does some of what they say. Personally I think these kind of people in the whacko group need psychological help, since they have no trouble trying to force the rest of us to do things their way and think they have the right to change out America according to what they want.

But that having been said, is it so hard for us to realize how our taxes keep going up ? Even the Alternative Min Tax wasn't suppose to effect individuals...only corporations yet it still exists today, and when Sen. Rangle and his buds was leaned on in 2007 about it, he wanted to get rid of it....but replace it with something so the Government would still get their money. This was money they were never entitled. Government is growing larger, getting fatter, getting more corrupt, and stealing from us as Citizens day in and day out. Higher taxes, new fee's , cities have been upping the price of garbage collection saying the city subsidized residents.... What the h**l is our taxes going for if not to pay for these kind of services ? governments and cities don't really "make money" they only collect it from us and spend it. And we are suppose to reward these people that do not live within their means by giving them more ? That wouldn't be the case for us as individuals. We'd be evicted, go hungry or many of the real problems if we lived beyond out means and didn't pay our bills.

The governments...Fed, State, or local see it as a mission to cause chaos. If you have to drive a bad road, or if the services you receive is subpar...they are counting that you will be outraged. You are not getting what you should for your taxes or money, and with this outrage, the government incrementally asks will you pay 1 or 2 cents more to supposedly 'fix' the problem. But it never realy gets fixed, they never recind that couple of cents tax, and they are back again...next year.....the year after...maybe 5 years down the road asking for even more. Incrementally they nickle and dime you to death for their agenda. And they use consumer outrage to set up a senario that they can use to ride in and look the hero...when all the while they are the reason for the crisis's. Government needs to be held accountable.