Global Warming - Is it the end?

[Chad -]

For years now, we have been hearing about an environmental issue known as global warming. It's surprisingly/rapidly increasing and nothing is being done about it...or is there?

What do you think the causes of global warming and what measures you, personally, would take to prevent it from spreading and destroying us? Do state your reasons why you chose these measures.

[Yuoaman]

All the scientists and experts say it's real and we should do **** to stop it. I try.

/end discussion

[Serene Grace]

Originally Posted by Yuoaman

All the scientists and experts say it's real and we should do **** to stop it. I try.

/end discussion

Greatest reply ever.

Seriously though Global Warming is real and we should all do something about it. To bad most of us don't.

[Magik?!]

I think that it's worth doing a bit to help, but I'm not going to be one to do the whole giving up everything on the basis that it might help a tiny bit. When I'm older, I want to have an eco home and stuff 'cause it would make me feel less guilty.
It's part of the earth's natural cycle though, it's just that we've sped it up a lot.

[Aurafire]

I never understand why people don't specify between global warming and man-made global warming.

Obviously, global warming is real and has been going on for millions of years. It's an entirely natural process. Man-made global warming is far from confirmed science, otherwise there would be little debate amongst the scientific and political community. It's not crazy to think so either, since the majority of people aren't bought into the fact that human energy consumption is having a noticeable effect on our climate. Funny how the issue itself has lost steam in the media now that most people are aware of the facts. Makes you wonder if the whole issue was a political one to begin with...hmm? ;D

[Rekky]

I watched An Inconvenient Truth and even though it was largely bias, Gore still made some good points:

Two thousand scientists, in a hundred countries, engaged in the most elaborate, well organized scientific collaboration in the history of humankind, have produced long-since a consensus that we will face a string of terrible catastrophes unless we act to prepare ourselves and deal with the underlying causes of global warming.

AL GORE, speech at National Sierra Club Convention, Sept. 9, 2005

Global warming is too serious for the world any longer to ignore its danger or split into opposing factions on it.

TONY BLAIR, speech, Sept. 27, 2005

I don't see how people can say they don't believe in global warming when the evidence is all around us. It's very, very real.

My answer to Chad is that Gore hit the nail on the head when he said if we want to eradicate global warming, we all need to do our small part. Our roles lead into the bigger picture. I cycle/walk to school instead of getting a lift; I recycle whenever I can (this stops rubbish being burned etc.). It's really not that hard to do and it does make a miniscule difference in the end.

[Richard Lynch]

Originally Posted by Aurafire

I never understand why people don't specify between global warming and man-made global warming.

Obviously, global warming is real and has been going on for millions of years. It's an entirely natural process. Man-made global warming is far from confirmed science, otherwise there would be little debate amongst the scientific and political community. It's not crazy to think so either, since the majority of people aren't bought into the fact that human energy consumption is having a noticeable effect on our climate. Funny how the issue itself has lost steam in the media now that most people are aware of the facts. Makes you wonder if the whole issue was a political one to begin with...hmm? ;D

You answered your own question there: it's lost steam because it's not in the media anymore. Who knows why. The scientific community tries very hard to keep a distance from the political one (for obvious reasons), so just because the politicians aren't talking about it anymore doesn't mean the scientists aren't, too.

And actually, it's much closer to a confirmed science than you think. In fact, it's nearly fact that the chemicals we release CAN have an impact on the environmental chemicals (usually through degradation of, say, ozone). That part isn't a question; the jury is out, end of that story. You just haven't heard about it because the media indeed skews (or just ignores) the facts and makes it into a political debate (mostly due to big business and lobbyists). Ignore the politics, and look at the science; it is that simple.

Now, is it nearly as bad as some people say? I'm inclined to think not, actually. Sure, it's bad; but it's not some sort of immediate crisis, although I believe we shouldn't procrastinate on dealing with it.

Allow me to give you a small intuitive example. Ever had a really bad sunburn? Sunpoisoning? That's due to UV radiation from the sun (type A), and is the tip of the ice burg as far as levels and intensity of UV light that hits the earth. Now, as everyone knows, our atmosphere (in truth, a layer of gaseous chemicals) blocks much of this. Now, if chemicals we release can eat away at the atmosphere, it stands to reason that more UV radiation will go through and reach us (UV-B and UV-C). Once UV-C (~300nm shorter in wavelength than UV-A, common summer beach sun) starts reaching us, we're toast; literally. haha.

[Haowakeorden]

Disregarding whether or not "global warming" is real or false, or natural or artificial, environmental over-extension and pollution is definitely a problem in the world today. I've been doing my part to minimize those effects.

[Charizard★]

Cause;

Scientists have determined that a number of human activities are contributing to global warming by adding excessive amounts of greenhouse gases to the atmosphere. Greenhouse gases such as carbon dioxide accummulate in the atmosphere and trap heat that normally would exit into outer space.
While many greenhouse gases occur naturally and are needed to create the greenhouse effect that keeps the Earth warm enough to support life, human use of fossil fuels is the main source of excess greenhouse gases. By driving cars, using electricity from coal-fired power plants, or heating our homes with oil or natural gas, we release carbon dioxide and other heat-trapping gases into the atmosphere. Deforestation is another significant source of greenhouse gases, because fewer trees means less carbon dioxide conversion to oxygen.
During the 150 years of the industrial age, the atmospheric concentration of carbon dioxide has increased by 31 percent. Over the same period, the level of atmospheric methane has risen by 151 percent, mostly from agricultural activities such as raising cattle and growing rice.

As the concentration of greenhouse gases grows, more heat is trapped in the atmosphere and less escapes back into space. This increase in trapped heat changes the climate and alters weather patterns, which may hasten species extinction, influence the length of seasons, cause coastal flooding, and lead to more frequent and severe storms.

We should cut down pollution by a large amount if we want to help :/

[Åzurε]

Originally Posted by Richard Lynch

Now, is it nearly as bad as some people say? I'm inclined to think not, actually. Sure, it's bad; but it's not some sort of immediate crisis, although I believe we shouldn't procrastinate on dealing with it.

Everyone's saying everything I have to say before I say it.

[Surmonter]

Global warming is real, you have to be stupid to not see that.

The debate now is whether or not we're causing it.

I think that the Earth is going through a natural process of heating up. HOWEVER, we are speeding it up.

The temperature changes in the past 30 years would take the Earth about a million years to actually do without any interference.

The depletion of the ozone layer (yes, that is still happening) also has a profound affect on it.

I think this year is the perfect example of what is coming. Look at all the flooding in Asia. The Russian wild fires. The heat all around the world (According to NASA, 2010 is the hottest year in recorded history.)

The world wont end though. It will just be warmer and with less ice and different weather patterns. Life will adapt.

[Human]

The globe is warming, but Al Gore's film is hogwash and exaggerates the facts. I'm all for cleaning up the environment - which in Gore's defense, his film has motivated people to do - but global warming is yet another BS environmentalist scare.

[The Last One]

i have seen something on disney channel where they are trying to get kids/adults ect ect to help out the earth and stuff like that. that just proves that they are using nature crisis as puplicity in trying to make kids clean up nature. when if DISNEY wanted to help. they might now use so many GD rides that cause alot of pollution and so one
and i thought it said that global warming was actualy COOLING the earth and not heating it up >.<

[Ninja Caterpie]

Originally Posted by The Last One

and i thought it said that global warming was actualy COOLING the earth and not heating it up >.<

Technically, it will. If it screws us over enough, all the heat will eventually do something that somehow stops the ocean currents and blocks out the sun or something and then something bad happens. tl;dr, there's going to be another Ice Age. Eventually.

...or something like that.

[digi-kun]

Um, I was taught in kindergarten and first grade about air pollution, and i stick by that no matter what fancy name the media decides to give it.

[icomeanon6]

Is global warming happening? Probably. Numbers and statistics can be murky and malleable, especially when you're dealing with something as complicated as the climate, but consensus does bear weight in our understanding of science.

Is global warming our fault? Possibly. There are far more potent factors at work in the climate than simple carbon dioxide emissions, especially when you look at the oceans. The mechanism is far too complex to state that our blame is irrefutable fact.

Is it the end of humanity? Not even close. In the most extreme cases, we may take quite a hit, but humans are one of the most readily adaptive species the world has ever seen. Some peoples' ways of life may change for the worse, but humanity will definitely live to see the next few hundred slow climatic disasters.

As far as our course of action goes, one thing we need to do is drop the silly notion that we'll lower our carbon emissions just by getting people to use less energy. That won't work for the same reason that Republicans won't repeal the health care legislation: People don't deprive themselves of benefits they already have. And even for those selfless individuals who try to "go green," they're really just alleviating guilt, and that only leads them to using more energy later because they feel entitled to do so. It's basic human psychology: You do some good, and you feel like it's okay for you to do some bad. Ask anyone who diets. Initiatives to get individuals to "go green" are a waste of time, and can only make a few drops in the bucket at best.

Our energy situation will have to be solved on the supply side, not the consumer side. Alternative forms of fuel must become more desirable to new energy companies than current, harmful ones. The first step we can make in America is making like France (much as I hate to say it) and dropping coal for nuclear. Yeah, the coal industry is going to be ticked, but nuclear's just more efficient, and it's even safer. The worst nuclear power disaster in the American history had no immediate fatalities, and the effects on the surrounding ecosystem were marginal. That was in the '80s, and nuclear's only gotten safer since then. Compare that to the tens of thousands who've died from black lung disease in the last decade, and all the hubbub about the dangers of nuclear power are reduced to a joke. And before anyone mentions Chernobyl, that happened in a piece-of-crap Soviet plant that barely had a roof. Modern countries build them better.

Until solar and wind get even remotely efficient, they're kind of out of the picture. Hate to say it, but they're a long way from being viable. Right now nuclear is our best bet for getting at the biggest contributor to our emissions.

[Zet]

We just need to drop a giant ice cube into the ocean once and a while, thus solving the problem once and for all.

[Livewire]

Originally Posted by Ninja Caterpie

Technically, it will. If it screws us over enough, all the heat will eventually do something that somehow stops the ocean currents and blocks out the sun or something and then something bad happens. tl;dr, there's going to be another Ice Age. Eventually.

...or something like that.

the increased heat will melt the ice at the polar ice caps, then that freshwater will mix with the saltwater of the ocean, and the mixed water will effect the salinity of the ocean water in a way that stops the flow of warm water to the arctic circle and the flow of cool water to the equator. Then, the screwed up currents will contribute to a cooling period ( salt water's density is different from freashwater, causing the problem)

Then, once all the Ice is on the ground, it will reflect sunlight/UV radiation back into space, thus keeping the planet cool.

[The Last One]

ahh.. so it does COOL the earth.. stupid name... it should be global freezing.. although it does heat it up.. but in the end whoever survives the heat will die from the cold.. sooo

[Livewire]

Originally Posted by The Last One

ahh.. so it does COOL the earth.. stupid name... it should be global freezing.. although it does heat it up.. but in the end whoever survives the heat will die from the cold.. sooo

yeah what i mentioned is known as Thermohaline circulation, it would cool certain areas (northern europe) and it would warm areas like alaska in the US, Antartica, and the tropic regions, not to mention it would bring about crazy storms, flooding, and oxygen depletion of the oceans too. Wheee

[The Last One]

oh that's nice i'm in Florida.. hello warmth.. i hate you!

[Ninja Caterpie]

Originally Posted by Live_Wire466

the increased heat will melt the ice at the polar ice caps, then that freshwater will mix with the saltwater of the ocean, and the mixed water will effect the salinity of the ocean water in a way that stops the flow of warm water to the arctic circle and the flow of cool water to the equator. Then, the screwed up currents will contribute to a cooling period ( salt water's density is different from freashwater, causing the problem)

Then, once all the Ice is on the ground, it will reflect sunlight/UV radiation back into space, thus keeping the planet cool.

Yeah, that's exactly what I meant. I just can't remember the exact wording from a geography video I watched three years ago.

Originally Posted by The Last One

ahh.. so it does COOL the earth.. stupid name... it should be global freezing.. although it does heat it up.. but in the end whoever survives the heat will die from the cold.. sooo

Not really, it's still warming. It's just that the warming eventually becomes an Ice Age, which makes no sense until you think about it or something.

[Livewire]

Originally Posted by Ninja Caterpie

Yeah, that's exactly what I meant. I just can't remember the exact wording from a geography video I watched three years ago.

Not really, it's still warming. It's just that the warming eventually becomes an Ice Age, which makes no sense until you think about it or something.

Yep, same here i couldnt for the life of me remember what it was called, so i flipped on some national geographic. XD

[The Last One]

warming cooling whatever.. we all die because of human's ignorance

[Livewire]

Originally Posted by The Last One

warming cooling whatever.. we all die because of human's ignorance

well we're all dead regardless. XD just a matter of when and how.

I do think things have been done, its more common to recycle now and Smart cars/more fuel efficient cars have been more common, and ive seen more effort into looking for other energy sources