Global Warming? Rising sea levels or CO2? Melting Ice?

[AlexisSalas]

Well i really dont know what could happen but im 100% sure global warming its true ! I came to visit my family in mexico and the place where im visiting the usual temperature its 20 to 25 c and the past year grew to 30c and this year its about 39 to 43c, thats not coincidence. Im almost dying from the heat its horrible.

[WingsToDiscovery]

A quick search on Google and one can find all of the empirical evidence that suggests that yes, there is such thing as global warming. One can sit down and analyze all of the scientifically tested data, because it was made available to us.
That's a pretty objective answer, but you'd be surprised at how many people try and answer topics without ever having done any research.

[GoNative]

I majored in meteorology for my science degree and studied numerous climatology subjects as well. I have taken an active interest in the science around anthropogenic global warming (AGW) for many years.

As far as the science goes it's simple. CO2 is a greenhouse gas and if you increase it's atmospheric concentration then it will have a warming forcing on temperatures in the troposphere. This isn't untested scientific conjecture, it's scientific fact.

So what does 'greenhouse gas' actually mean? Energy from the sun hits the earths' surface heating it up. Like anything that is heated up it radiates energy back away from the surface. The longer wave energy radiated away from the surface interacts with certain gases in the atmosphere like CO2. The CO2 molecules then radiate energy out in all directions. Thus some of the energy is kept within the atmosphere heating it up more. The CO2 acts in a similar way to the glass over a greenhouse. So if we increase the amount of greenhouse gases more heat will be kept within the lower atmosphere. Again this is not some weird, untested theory. It is scientific fact.

There is no doubt (scientifically) that mankind has been responsible for a rapid increase in CO2 in the atmosphere over the last couple of centuries. In the climate record (determined from ice core data) it is very plain that temperature and CO2 concentrations in the atmosphere are inextricably linked. So there is no doubt whatsoever that mankind is affecting the climate in a significant way.

Over the years I have seen some of the most incredibly uneducated debate on this subject it has truly astounded me. What has really astounded me is just how incredibly scientifically illiterate most people seem to be. Most people seem to have little, if any detailed knowledge of the natural world around them and the scientific principles underpinning that knowledge. It is staggering at times how little people know.

What I have also found amongst the typical deniers out there is that there is a certain mindset or phychology underpinning their denial of the science. For many the simple fact that the whole issue has been portrayed as an environmental issue is a big problem for their acceptance. Many out there would rather die than be associated with something 'green' or an environmentalist cause. They believe all the green movement is anti-progress, anti-capitalism and basically made up of communists. So it'll be a cold day in hell before they will believe in any science that's associated with environmentalism or the green movement.
It has been shown that you can get these people on board if you present the whole issue in a completely different way. Don't mention anything about the environment. These people want nothing to do with something that's good for the environment. Present it in a way that talks about new technologies and advancement and job creation and benefit for the economy and they seem to get on board a lot easier and will come to accept the science.

The other major group of deniers are the religious fundamentalists. Like christian groups who only believe the earth 6,000 years old instead of billions of years. They don't believe anything happens unless god wills it so if it's getting warmer then that's gods' will. Obviously like with all religious nutters there's no reasoning with these deluded fools.

The real fundamental problem in dealing with man induced global warming is that some of the most powerful and richest companies in the world are behind most of the production of the CO2 being released into our atmosphere. And the sort of change required to see meaningful reductions will severely affect these companies and the economies of many countries. And I think greed is still the prime motivator for much of the worlds' population. I don't believe anything will be done until it is too late and many of the worlds' biggest cities are struggling to keep the rising tide at bay. Only when the costs of doing nothing outweigh the costs of change will we see meaningful change occur. Of course we'll be living in a very different world by then with a very different climate.

[RealJames]

It used to snow every year in Kobe, a significant amount, now it may or may not snow, and it may not stick to the ground.
This is my unscientific observation.

Either Japan is drifting south, the ground below Japan is heating up, or the air above it is warming up...

@GoNative, good post
Greed is definitely the biggest problem plaguing humanity now!

[Ryzorian]

The earth goes through cycles. Warms up, cools off. It's on a warming trend currently, like all the other planets in the solar system. This is because the sun is going through a warming cycle. Can man enhance the effect of a natural warming cycle? Yes, The dustbowl of the 1930's shows man can effect the enviroment. However, the so called "green solution" won't do diddle. It would take 100 years to get rid of the co2 build up we have currently, and that's if we all moved back into caves. Some how I don't see China stoping to do anything about it, and they put more greenhouse gases into orbit than the US does.

Not to mention one volcano puts out as much Co2 in a day as all of mankind does in a year. So I'm not hugely worrid about it.

[Jaydelart]

The weather where I live has been unpredictable - and unexpectedly dynamic - at times... Very hot winter nights and hailing summer days. Is it global warming? I'd be lying if I said I knew. I do live in California, after all; the weather has always been a bit crazy. And, as GoNative said, some of us can be extremely scientifically illiterate. I blame my school system and President Bush for that one. From what I've seen, there are those who are quick to dismiss scientific data, then there are also those who ignore logical reasoning unless there are statistics to prove it -- which is somewhat irrational, in my opinion, considering that statistics may not necessarily exist for every argument -- and then there is the issue of accuracy and, possibly, deception. Whatever the case, I'm certain, if there is any problem, it would have to exist in people's interpretation of valid data and events, not the data and events themselves.

Although, I've become wary of the politics and dogmatic bickering revolving around this subject, I would still be inclined to support the virtue of practicing responsibility and wisdom when it came to our role in the world. I don't follow the idea of Global Warming to the extent that I'm cursing people for driving big trucks... but I do make an effort to recycle and save energy, when I can. Just in case.

[Jaydelart]

By the way, GoNative, your comments about religious people are offensive. I'm a Christian myself, but I have no problem with science or the idea of Global Warming. I'm sure I'm not the only religious person in the world that has opened their mind to the notion.

So, If I could ask politely, would you, please, tone down on the bitter remarks?

[RealJames]

Originally Posted by Jaydelart

By the way, GoNative, your comments about religious people are offensive. I'm a Christian myself, but I have no problem with science or the idea of Global Warming. I'm sure I'm not the only religious person in the world that has opened their mind to the notion.

So, If I could ask politely, would you, please, tone down on the bitter remarks?

I think that you just defined yourself as Religious where as GoNative was referring to Religious Fundamentalists, these are two entirely different categories.

You're on the safe side

[GoNative]

Originally Posted by Ryzorian

The earth goes through cycles. Warms up, cools off. It's on a warming trend currently, like all the other planets in the solar system. This is because the sun is going through a warming cycle. Can man enhance the effect of a natural warming cycle? Yes, The dustbowl of the 1930's shows man can effect the enviroment. However, the so called "green solution" won't do diddle. It would take 100 years to get rid of the co2 build up we have currently, and that's if we all moved back into caves. Some how I don't see China stoping to do anything about it, and they put more greenhouse gases into orbit than the US does.

Not to mention one volcano puts out as much Co2 in a day as all of mankind does in a year. So I'm not hugely worrid about it.

It is absolutely uneducated drivle like this that truly astounds me. Coming from a religious nutter I'm hardly surprised.

Firstly the sun is not currently going through a warming cycle. In fact it is in a cooling cycle. It is actually one of the better pieces of evidence in support of the dominant role of CO2 on climate change. Although the output from the sun has been in decline now for almost 30 years we have continued to see increases in the temperature trend. This suggests very strongly that the warming forcing by the increased CO2 in the atmosphere is stronger than the cooling forcing by the declining solar output. There are other natural factors that affect climate which also would normally point to a cooling period currently like the PDO moving to a so called cool phase recently. In recent years numerous uneducated swill peddling psuedo-science have actually predicted we are heading into the next ice age because of all the natural factors pointing to a cooling period. And it's true most of the natural factors that would normally be leading us into a cooling climate scenario are there. The temperature trends though are continuing to increase. How is this explained? Simply CO2 is a major factor in climate change and is currently the dominant factor driving our climate.

Human activities release far more CO2 than do volcanoes. In 2010 human contributions were 135 times more than that from volcanoes. If you want to read one of the latest scientific papers on this go to this link

http://www.agu.org/pubs/pdf/2011EO240001.pdf

Jaydelart I couldn't care less if you are offended by my comments about christians. If you wish to believe in fairytales about gods then you deserve ridicule as far as I'm concerned.
Plus I referred to religious fundamentalists not all religious people. Do you believe that the earth is only 6,000 years old? Do you believe that dinosaurs and humans lived during the same periods? If your answer to either of those questions is yes then you are an absolute idiot. If your answer is no then maybe there is some hope of you seeing the light one day.
Stop believing in fairytales and get into the wonders of science for real enlightenment!

[Jaydelart]

Originally Posted by RealJames

I think that you just defined yourself as Religious where as GoNative was referring to Religious Fundamentalists, these are two entirely different categories.

You're on the safe side

Thank Go -- oops!