Global Warming, melting glaciers, extinct species -- Do u believe?

[liketobemad]

Almost bells are ringing everywhere--- but not alarming about Global Warming .. IPCC is doing it's job in releasing various updates on the situation. In it's last report it confirmed it is due to human causes...
Here people are from various countires (Developed/developing/under developed) and from various backgrounds, from various financial positions...
so what i meant to ask is "Do u think Global Warming is Global Human treat and should be fought collectivley?"
"Do u feel like doing ur part in fighting climate change?"

 

[fractalfeline]

Fun question. A bit garbly but after a few tries I think I understood.

EH, sometimes I do my part and sometimes I don't. It's pretty much out of my hands as far as I'm concerned. The most I can do is vote at the polls, which amounts to not very much, all things considered. At best, I can choose a fuel efficient, low emissions car, recycle when it's convenient (and more often than not it is very inconvenient). I suppose I could do more, become more politically active, reduce my personal paper usage, use those clothy bags, reduce electricity consumption, etc. etc. but I don't think the world will end just because I forgot to turn off my computer when I went to take a nap, for instance. The ice caps melting, the world catching on fire, all the crops failing, freak storms and weather patterns, all the earth's little creatures dying off... I think it's a bit over-exaggerated. Last I heard, they project that the average temperature on Earth will rise by 1 degree over the next 20 years. I suppose that's Really Big News but I can't seem to bring myself to really give a crap about a 1 degree difference in temperature. And none of the experts seem to agree anyway.

Ice caps melting? Freak storms? And droughts? All at the same time eh? I suppose so. A lot of the projected drought-prone areas are over-farmed to the point of reducing the soil to desert anyhow. The Sahel for instance... I hardly think the globe warming up will change the fundamental fact that our farming methods need updating too. The poor wittle trees in the rainforests? Unfortunately there's very little I can do about it except hope that laws in the relevant countries get passed to limit deforestation. Reforesting needs to be upped to help eliminate carbon dioxide in the air, but what can I do about it? I suppose I could plant a tree in my yard, when I get one. The poor wittle animals dying off due to (insert something here, high temperature, UV radiation, etc)? I mean, adaptation happens, if they can't survive, what can we do? Fighting change is silly, change is inevitable. Humans must adapt, animals must too.

Unfortunately I think a lot of what goes into climate change issues is social, economic, and political issues. People have an instinct to live, they'll do what they have to in the short term to live. If that means slashing and burning to make farmland that's fertile? If that means overfarming land and depriving it of the nutrients it needs to continue being arable in the future? People do what they must. Additionally, there's significant profits in factories that spew forth greenhouse gases, but you'll be hard pressed to convince the world to allow the global economy to come to a complete standstill just because we're worried about the climate. And yeah, living here in the US of A, what in hell can I seriously do about what other countries and cultures do with their land? EVEN IF everyone in America cleans up and goes green, how much impact would that really have on the environment as a whole?

People need to be educated, knowledge needs to be embraced. Too much carbon dioxide emissions? Well figure out how to reduce emissions without significant cost to the global economy. Too much deforestation? Reforest, limit deforestation, and provide alternative ways to make money. Talking the issue to death is meaningless. We must adapt to the situation. Find cReaTIve solutions to the problems we face, and practical ones too. It would be nice if people spent less time arguing and projecting and drawing up doomsday scenarios and actually started working on a Feasible Plan that is palatable enough for everyone to accept without too many concessions. I mean, who really wants to pocket the bill for Global Cleanup anyway?

 

[ichwar]

A drama being played by some freaks. In case you haven't heard yet, global warming has been changed to 'global climate change'. It shows those freaks just can't make up their minds.

But seriously, while there is truth in the fact that the eastern side of antarctica has gotten a little warmer, the western ice shelf has gotten increasingly colder over the last couple of years. (It might be the other way around, I can't remember which is which.)

Also, since we've started measuring global temperature with satellites, the average temperature of the earth has gone up about .5 degrees. That doesn't really sound like global warming to me. Once I take into account that greenland used to be green, it sounds more like our world is slowly going into another iceage.

 

[knockoutjams]

I believe that humans have to some extent contributed somewhat to the increase in global temperatures.

However, considering we occupy only 4% of the total surface of the earth and a minimum percentage of this is where we have factories...I'd say humans arent capable of distabilising an echo system to which we contribute about 20%.

There have been ice ages before and these have also gone by without any artificial form of atmospheric warming.

Maybe its that time in the earth's cycle that things are meant to start heating up....

 

[ichwar]

Maybe its that time in the earth's cycle that things are meant to start heating up....

Exactly, the earth seems to go in cycles. I don't agree that it's heating up right now, but if/when it does start, it won't be because of anything humans can do. We just aren't capable of doing that much damage to this earth.

Something else I forgot to mention, one of environmentalists' big arguments is that all the carbon dioxide we are putting into the air is creating a green house effect. While this is true, it works both ways. Not only does it keep a lot of warmth in, it also reflects an equal amount of the suns rays back into space. So it's saving the ozone layer (another big myth that I won't address ) and it's counteracting the greenhouse effect, thus keeping our earth functioning normally. I see evidence for an intelligent Creator through this whole thing.

 

[deltavolt]

Exactly, the earth seems to go in cycles. I don't agree that it's heating up right now, but if/when it does start, it won't be because of anything humans can do. We just aren't capable of doing that much damage to this earth.

Something else I forgot to mention, one of environmentalists' big arguments is that all the carbon dioxide we are putting into the air is creating a green house effect. While this is true, it works both ways. Not only does it keep a lot of warmth in, it also reflects an equal amount of the suns rays back into space. So it's saving the ozone layer (another big myth that I won't address ) and it's counteracting the greenhouse effect, thus keeping our earth functioning normally. I see evidence for an intelligent Creator through this whole thing.

To your first post, global warming is happening, there is no denying it. Anyone who does obviously has not looked at the data. The problem lies in the fact that politicians keep getting in the way of scientists and are trying to use everything to their advantage. Global warming is actually the warming of the oceans, which is much worse than just the air heating up a bit. A change in the heat of water would disturb the climate system of our planet in various ways - Europe, for example, would go into an ice age.

For the second point, you would be surprised just how much damage we can do. With deforestation, pollution, continuous harvesting of crops, and other activities we indulge in, we have quite a bit of an effect.

Any physicist can tell you that your greenhouse effect theory is flawed. Yes, the greenhouse gasses will keep some of the sun's rays from reflecting back into space, and yes, they will keep some of the sun's rays from penetrating into the planet, but while doing so the greenhouse gasses also heat up. It's transfer of energy. I see absolutely no evidence of any intelligent creator and if there is one he didn't do a very good job.

Oh, by the way, someone should take a look at the first option in this poll. As much as someone may thing Global Warming is a "treat" to humanity, most of us would rather go without it.

 

[vinkin]

I think the warming is already showing its effects.
We are not getting proper rains not proper climate change, after some days if we dont get rain then the ground water level will decrease and like in arab countries all over the world we will need to buy water(but for how long ? ) one day it will end.

Right now its not so dangerous, we still have got time for it & we can prevent that from happening. After a few decades it will be toooooo late...

 

[ichwar]

To your first post, global warming is happening, there is no denying it. Anyone who does obviously has not looked at the data. The problem lies in the fact that politicians keep getting in the way of scientists and are trying to use everything to their advantage. Global warming is actually the warming of the oceans, which is much worse than just the air heating up a bit. A change in the heat of water would disturb the climate system of our planet in various ways - Europe, for example, would go into an ice age.

I thought this was global warming, not global cooling.

For the second point, you would be surprised just how much damage we can do. With deforestation, pollution, continuous harvesting of crops, and other activities we indulge in, we have quite a bit of an effect.

Have you seen some pictures from the some of the old soviet union military buildings that were abandoned after they USSR fell apart? Thee buildings that were built of solid concrete and had a wide area cleared around them are now totally overgrown by trees and vines. You obviously have no idea how resilient the earth is to anything man can do to it. If all humans died out, in 50 years, you could never tell we existed. Man is here on this earth, working by the sweat of his brow just to provide food, clothes and shelter for himself, and you say we're harming this earth. We're changing, for sure; but we're not harming it.

Any physicist can tell you that your greenhouse effect theory is flawed. Yes, the greenhouse gasses will keep some of the sun's rays from reflecting back into space, and yes, they will keep some of the sun's rays from penetrating into the planet, but while doing so the greenhouse gasses also heat up. It's transfer of energy. I see absolutely no evidence of any intelligent creator and if there is one he didn't do a very good job.

Of course some energy needs to continue to get in, other wise, our earth would quickly cool down and freeze if the carbon dioxide blocked all the sun's energy.

Oh, by the way, someone should take a look at the first option in this poll. As much as someone may thing Global Warming is a "treat" to humanity, most of us would rather go without it.

lol, well, it is kind of a treat to see so many people go baloney over it as though they've got nothing more important to do.

 

[deltavolt]

I thought this was global warming, not global cooling.

Have you seen some pictures from the some of the old soviet union military buildings that were abandoned after they USSR fell apart? Thee buildings that were built of solid concrete and had a wide area cleared around them are now totally overgrown by trees and vines. You obviously have no idea how resilient the earth is to anything man can do to it. If all humans died out, in 50 years, you could never tell we existed. Man is here on this earth, working by the sweat of his brow just to provide food, clothes and shelter for himself, and you say we're harming this earth. We're changing, for sure; but we're not harming it.

Of course some energy needs to continue to get in, other wise, our earth would quickly cool down and freeze if the carbon dioxide blocked all the sun's energy.


lol, well, it is kind of a treat to see so many people go baloney over it as though they've got nothing more important to do.

It's called Global Warming, it does not mean all of Earth will suffer the same effects. Besides, like I previously stated, it's more of Ocean Warming. Read this: http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2005/06/0627_050627_oceancurrent.html

I have seen those buildings and I know the Earth will be fine - that's really not the question here. When the Earth was hit by a huge meteorite it was still fine, do you think it cared any? No, it just went back to revolving around the sun. Did the dinosaurs and other inhabitants find life quite as nice as before? You obviously have no idea how fragile the ecosystem on which our lives depend on is. In 50 years there would be plenty of traces of humanity left, the Pyramids, for example, are well over 50 years old. Watch Discovery Channel, they have a program on what would happen if all humans were to disappear.

I never said we don't need the sun's energy to get in - we do. I was simply stating that the excitement of the greenhouse gas particles in the atmosphere is generating more heat than if they were not there - then quite a bit more solar energy would simply bounce back into space.

 

[jtwhite]

I think it's a normal cycle the Earth goes through. If we've done anything, we've only sped it up. The Earth cools and warms in cycles. Everything is fine. While that is true, I do believe we should research our impact on the Earth, it's not something which should go unnoticed.

 

[batman1]

A drama being played by some freaks. In case you haven't heard yet, global warming has been changed to 'global climate change'. It shows those freaks just can't make up their minds.

But seriously, while there is truth in the fact that the eastern side of antarctica has gotten a little warmer, the western ice shelf has gotten increasingly colder over the last couple of years. (It might be the other way around, I can't remember which is which.)

Also, since we've started measuring global temperature with satellites, the average temperature of the earth has gone up about .5 degrees. That doesn't really sound like global warming to me. Once I take into account that greenland used to be green, it sounds more like our world is slowly going into another iceage.

It is quite easy to site in your big office in New York and talk about global temperatures raising by 5 degrees and not being a big problem. I live Jamaica, and let me tell you. I have noticed the raise in temperature it has become tremendously hotter almost unbearable most times. Hurricanes destroy the country last year, and the year before. We are having a drought this year. Grass and trees and becoming yellow.

Let me tell you, your government is hiding the truth as the always do. It is a problem - I don't think it will destroy humanity but it can easily be addressed.

They (Europeans) just want to fix over population in the world - making it easier to control.

 

[liketobemad]

ya.. One thing is true Global Climate Change or Global warming is true.. it may not be so perceptible in some interior plain areas .. but in My country (India) I can really feel the difference.. himalayan Glaciers which feed much of the water to the mighty rivers of India are receding/melting like never before. Not only in India Glaciers of many countries are facing the same threat.
Untimely rains,hurricanes, droughts are more often now a days. El-nina or La-Nina are heard more frequently than they used to be..
SO the thing is -
There is a problem - for which the exact cause is not completely known.. and definitely there is a human contribution .... may be rampant clearing of forests, burning fossil fuels, unsustainable agriculture....

 

[knockoutjams]

Like I said earlier, there is no doubt that the modern man has contributed somewhat to the increase of carbon levels in the atmosphere. The question however is, does this contribution spell doom for mankind or is it in itself insignificant?

We are worried about carbon-dioxide emissions poisoning our ozone which would lead to catastrophic events like ultra-violet and cosmic radiations slicing through us like butter. We think that the ozone being ether, it can only be de-stabilized by a gas. We forget that we are protected from the fatal cosmic radiations and ultra-violet rays by a carefully evolved carbon system.

The carbon system on our planet has evolved over billions of years to a stable state that has ways of re-asserting balance.

Plant life, which covers almost every inch of land has played a major role in absorbing un-imaginable amounts of carbon from the atmosphere and combined them with other elements to store them in solid forms that are not released to the atmosphere in millions of years.

Trillions upon trillions of marine organisms also collect carbon from the atmosphere and trap it in their shells and as they die and fall to the bottom of the oceans, they are packed into limestone by the pressure.

The plants and organisms thrive on high levels of carbon in the atmosphere and release oxygen and nitrogen into the atmosphere. This alone, reduces the carbon levels in the atmosphere by 76%.

The weather, which is basically the amount of water in the atmosphere, is controlled by our oceans. The water surface, which makes up most of the total earth’s surface, is responsible for the distribution of temperatures on earth plays an important role in keeping the balance that the carbon system needs. The ‘weather’ also controls the quantities of elements in the atmosphere by absorbing some and releasing others.

We have to also remember the fact that earth having a molten interior; has provided a magnetic field that protects us from the cosmic radiation by repulsion.

The moon which orbits the earth, gives our planet a gravitational stability without which our climate and weather patterns would be unstable (the planet would be wobbly about its orbit) and hence giving us an erratic atmosphere and irregular protection from the cosmic radiations.

Conclusion
Our planet is alive and knows how to take care of itself. The human race has maximized its efforts to bring about the death of mother earth, but she has more important threats to worry about like the occasional reversal of her magnetic field, the gradual slipping away of the moon by 4cm a year, and her tectonic rumblings that at times increase the surface areas over which her waters (weather) is lost to the atmosphere and release millions of gases and particles that de-stabilise temperature retention and absorptions.

The age of development of the human race; the use of fossil fuels has not lasted long enough to cause an imbalance in a carbon system to which our contribution is comparable to a drop of water in a litre of milk a year.


The earth is getting warmer because it’s that time in the earth’s cycle when preparations for an impending ice age say 30,000 years from now, are being made. Maybe, a reversal of the earth’s magnetic field is in progress. All in all, we haven’t been here long enough to have caused any harm to the carbon cycle. If poisoning the atmosphere with carbon were our mission, we wouldn’t even have the technology with which to pump the atmosphere with enough carbon to overwhelm the current levels. Not in even 1000 years. Yet, we have been using fuels for about only 300 years.

 

[Sharky]

Europe, for example, would go into an ice age.

And, thermally speaking, what have we come from? An ice age. So grab your nuts, and get ready for a cold spell... Seriously, though, anyone who says they have enough data to comment accurately either way is either a liar or misguided. Or has too much faith in the numbers they have collected. You cannot produce a trend based on one singular set of data, and can't do any more than hypothesize that any species can accelerate the climatic cycle. Sure, you can say it's probable, but no more than that.

 

[achilleasgr]

Question:

Global Warming, melting glaciers, extinct species -- Do u believe?

Answer:

Absolutely

 

[compass]

Uh, guys, I've just voted.

But, is the text "a Global treat" meant to be "a Global threat" maybe?
I mean, where I live, some warming would indeed be a treat...

Or is this meant to be funny and I don't get the joke?

 

[liketobemad]

Uh, guys, I've just voted.

But, is the text "a Global treat" meant to be "a Global threat" maybe?
I mean, where I live, some warming would indeed be a treat...

Or is this meant to be funny and I don't get the joke?

Excuse me .. It is meant to be "threat" only.. I wanted to Edit it, but it seems it is not allowed...
Global Threat...

 

[fractalfeline]

Uh, guys, I've just voted.

But, is the text "a Global treat" meant to be "a Global threat" maybe?
I mean, where I live, some warming would indeed be a treat...

Or is this meant to be funny and I don't get the joke?

Reminds me of some song lyrics:

There's no concern about the world getting warmer
People thought that they just were being rewarded
For treating others as they like to be treated
Obeying stop signs and curing diseases
Mailing postcards with the address of the sender
And now we can swim any day in November
(Don't wake me I plan on sleeping in)

 

[ah-blabla]

We are worried about carbon-dioxide emissions poisoning our ozone which would lead to catastrophic events like ultra-violet and cosmic radiations slicing through us like butter. We think that the ozone being ether, it can only be de-stabilized by a gas. We forget that we are protected from the fatal cosmic radiations and ultra-violet rays by a carefully evolved carbon system.

Carbon dioxide doesn't affect Ozone. CFCs (Chloroflouocarbons) affect ozone. The way ozone helps is that it absorbs UV light, keeping (damaging) UV rays away from the earth, thus protecting humans. Carbon dioxide is a greenhouse gas, i.e. causes more infrared radiation ("heat") to stay trapped in the atmosphere, warming the earth.

The carbon system on our planet has evolved over billions of years to a stable state that has ways of re-asserting balance.

Plant life, which covers almost every inch of land has played a major role in absorbing un-imaginable amounts of carbon from the atmosphere and combined them with other elements to store them in solid forms that are not released to the atmosphere in millions of years.

Trillions upon trillions of marine organisms also collect carbon from the atmosphere and trap it in their shells and as they die and fall to the bottom of the oceans, they are packed into limestone by the pressure.

The plants and organisms thrive on high levels of carbon in the atmosphere and release oxygen and nitrogen into the atmosphere. This alone, reduces the carbon levels in the atmosphere by 76%.

True, but mankind has been adding on a lot of extra Carbon dioxide to the CO2 cycles, this is causing the CO2 cycle to destabilise. Before industrialisation the CO2 cycles were in equilibrium, but now we are releasing extra CO2, therefore getting an increase in CO2 concentration in the atmosphere, again leading to more warming.

The weather, which is basically the amount of water in the atmosphere, is controlled by our oceans. The water surface, which makes up most of the total earth’s surface, is responsible for the distribution of temperatures on earth plays an important role in keeping the balance that the carbon system needs. The ‘weather’ also controls the quantities of elements in the atmosphere by absorbing some and releasing others.

Sorry? Weather definitely isn't the same as air humidity. The rest is utter codswallop.

We have to also remember the fact that earth having a molten interior; has provided a magnetic field that protects us from the cosmic radiation by repulsion.

Not quite. The magnetic field is due to a combination of molten fluids, but also due to their electical conductivity and rotation, see this. The magnetic field doesn't affect radiation though: Cosmic radiation is absorbed partly by the atmosphere and not repelled by the Earth's magnetic field. If radiation were completely repelled by the Earth's magnetic field, we wouldn't have any light on the Earth, since light is also electromagnetic radiation.

The moon which orbits the earth, gives our planet a gravitational stability without which our climate and weather patterns would be unstable (the planet would be wobbly about its orbit) and hence giving us an erratic atmosphere and irregular protection from the cosmic radiations.

Not particularly true either. The moon may affect the seas, but that's the limit of the gravitational force exerted by the moon upon the earth. Mercury and Venus have no moons, but still have a stable orbit

Conclusion
Our planet is alive and knows how to take care of itself. The human race has maximized its efforts to bring about the death of mother earth, but she has more important threats to worry about like the occasional reversal of her magnetic field, the gradual slipping away of the moon by 4cm a year, and her tectonic rumblings that at times increase the surface areas over which her waters (weather) is lost to the atmosphere and release millions of gases and particles that de-stabilise temperature retention and absorptions.

Planets aren't living beings, they don't worry about things either. And the atmosphere is being heavily destabilised all the time. True, the other things you list are happening, but that's just life as usual.

The age of development of the human race; the use of fossil fuels has not lasted long enough to cause an imbalance in a carbon system to which our contribution is comparable to a drop of water in a litre of milk a year.

Nope. Look at the top of this page for a nice graph of CO2 concentrations. Actually, I recommend reading the whole page. And also, a drop of water in a liter of milk a year will make quite a difference in a few hundred years even. So you're image isn't particularly serving the purpose you gave it.

The earth is getting warmer because it’s that time in the earth’s cycle when preparations for an impending ice age say 30,000 years from now, are being made. Maybe, a reversal of the earth’s magnetic field is in progress. All in all, we haven’t been here long enough to have caused any harm to the carbon cycle. If poisoning the atmosphere with carbon were our mission, we wouldn’t even have the technology with which to pump the atmosphere with enough carbon to overwhelm the current levels. Not in even 1000 years. Yet, we have been using fuels for about only 300 years.

Preparations for an ice age? The earth doesn't actually control anything that happens on its surface. We might not have the technology to create a large change in CO2 concentrations, but even small changes will have large effects on us. Just so you know, the heating of the earth even now is causing positive feedback with CO2 release by thawing tundra where much CO2 is currently trapped, which will release more CO2, causing more warming etc.

However, all in all, humans are only a short episode in the story of the earth. If we happen to drive ourselves to extinction, then it just serves us right. The planet Earth will still survive fine, only the life forms upon it might change dramatically.

Oh, I just noticed this

A drama being played by some freaks. In case you haven't heard yet, global warming has been changed to 'global climate change'. It shows those freaks just can't make up their minds.

Te change from "global warming" to "global climate change" was an invention of politicians who are quite into euphemisms. For politicians "global warming" sounds too threatening, which is why they changed it. (Politicians are prone to this, think "collateral damage" instead of "civilian deaths/murders" when talking about war.)

And as usual, while the rich nations (USA, Europe) caused all this, it is poor countries that are suffering most. Some people from rich nations even have the cheek to deny that there is such a thing as global warming.

(Please don't try saying nations such as India and China are terrible polluters, their CO2 release per person is still considerably lower than that of USA, UK etc. Look at this nice graph.)