Why is global warming the critical environmental issue?

Question

In your opinion, why do you think it is.

Answer 1

Scare tactics created by the government to manipulate the brains on societies.

My 2 cents.

Answer 2

The release of the toxic gas chloro fluro carbon(CFC)to the environment from the AC machines and the refridgerators increases the heat in the atmosphere.This leads to the hole in the ozone layer near Antartica.Ozone layer is the layer which is found in between the troposphere and stratosphere and is useful to filter the harmful UV rays that is emitted by the sun.If the hole increases,the people in the world would able to get some peculiar skin problems.

This problem also leads to melt the icebergs and the water takes the place of the land.

Because of this problems global warming is considered as a serious issue.

Answer 3

A lot of people are saying "its not", without providing any evidence or argument. My answer is "yes it is".

The reason why it is the most important environmental issue is simply because no other environmental problem has the ability to wipe out human civilisation as it is today. We literally do not know and cannot project how great the effect of rising CO2 levels will be, but we can and have made educated guesses based on the global climate record. And these are frightening. For example, some recent research by NASA has shown that the Antarctic icecap formed when atmospheric levels of CO2 dropped to 425 ppm, several million years ago. (see here: http://arxiv.org/ftp/arxiv/papers/0804/0... This suggests strongly that if we go above that limit, the Antarctic ice sheet will melt, which will raise sea-levels by as much as 70 meters, and render homeless about 2 BILLION people. For example, all of Florida, as well as the cities of New York, Washington, Seattle and Los Angeles would be underwater.

The frightening thing is that these levels of CO2 will be reached in perhaps 10-15 years if there isn't a radical shift in current policy. The melting itself could take hundreds of years after that, of course... But once the CO2 is in the atmosphere, we're committed to a future without our current major population centres in most areas of the world.

These are not the only projected and indeed current effects. Crop failures in marginal areas will put populations under the threat of famine, and increase civil wars over resource use in places like Africa. Not to mention the millions put at risk from starvation.

Global warming also appears to be the biggest driving factor in species extinction today (and we are in the middle of one of the greatest mass extinction events in the world's history, quite probably more severe than the one which wiped out the dinosaurs). See this article: http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/20...

Answer 4

it's not

Answer 5

Because the proponents have political and economic goals that they are using global warming as a weapon to attain their aims.

Answer 6

It is vast enough and vague enough of an issue that none of its proponents need ever worry about being effectively proven wrong.

Now if you want a real environmental issue look at the looming problems of access to reliable inexpensive sources of water. This is or is going to affect people in many places in the world.

Answer 7

Background info:

As humans have found new forms of energy, they have created more of our worst enemy, CO2 or carbon dioxide. CO2 is present in our atmosphere and is keeping us alive today. It keeps in heat for humans to thrive. Now we have to much of it and it is taking up too much of the atmosphere.

Answer to question:

It is an issue because as the CO2 rises so does the temperature. This, in turn, makes ice melt and water levels rise. Venice is a living example as it has gained about three feet of water since 2000. Also, heat destroys the currents in the oceans and disrupts fish patterns. This means fishing may be eliminated in the future as some fish ride these currents to get to their mating cites.

Answer 8

its not

Answer 9

if the temp keeps rising all the polar bears and stuff will become extinct.