A Question for all you Global Warming skeptics

[Bobbity]

Even if we aren't the cause of rising temperatures, which I don't believe that we necessarily are, we're still accelerating these changes, and we still have the power to slow them.

While I'm at it, I hate that this has become a political issue. On Australian television today, you can hear people in the opposition receive just as much attention for their skepticism on this subject, as you would an accredited scientist. You have the right arguing against it, the left arguing for it, but no one much arguing about it.

Climate change has become so wrapped up in political ideologies and governmental agendas that we can't actually get anything done.

Oh, and something that amused me on television the other day: A politician talking about how it's going to be a big political issue in the future. The process is slow, and if we wait until we start seeing truly serious consequences, then it'll be almost to late to act. Why the fuck is humanity incapable of dealing with its problems before they screw us up?

 

[Sonic Doctor]

I think this winter in the US is a pretty good sign that at least SOMETHING is wrong with the climate

Nope, nothing to see, just natural climate change.

If the popular view of global warming was actually happening, I wouldn't have experienced several days of winter weather this April. I shouldn't have to wear a jacket to keep warm in the spring if that type global warming was real.

What that really is is the planet being naturally unpredictable.

 

[Johnson McGee]

I do believe that there has been some weird-ass weather in recent years (i.e. the recent tornado season in the U.S.) and we should do whatever (reasonably) that we can to combat it.

However, I also have a problem with the way most people are approaching the problem. The reusable grocery bags take 200 or so times as much energy to produce as a regular bag, and most people always forget them at home anyway. Biofuels also take a huge amount of energy to grow and divert farmland from actual food, raising food costs.

Bottom line, we shouldn't just slap a green label on anything that seems like it's beneficial without doing a real review of what the impact is. Green techs will be way easier to implement if they are economically viable as well, for example, mining companies are clamoring to get fuel cell vehicles since they don't have to ventilate the exhaust from the mine shaft since it's just h2o. So rather than forcing the change to green, we should be finding the places where these techs give the most benefit, and they'll spread from there.

 

[imperialwar]

Global warming, australia : 34celsius day in MID autumn... yeah that sounds like a warm day to me when it SHOULD be getting cooler.

 

[Timotheus]

...

Ahem, first: The global temperature has also other factors, but the trend is set by greenhouse-effect.

Maybe, I was not as clear, as I intended. Imagine, if the Earth received sunrays permanently without any way to lose energy, it would continuiously heat up, because there is energy put into it. But fortunately the surface of earth emits IR and this emission depends on the temperature, the higher the temperature, the more energy is sent into space.

Then there is a temperature, when the IR emissions(temperaturedependent) and the insolation(constant) are nearly the same, which means, there are no major changes of temperature anymore. Of course if there is a different temperature, then there are 2 possibilities:
-higher temperature: The earth emits more IR than insolation and therefore cools down
-lower temperature: The earth emits less IR than insolation and therefore heats up
In both cases it tends toward the first mentioned temperature.

But how much energy the earth actually loses because of the IR is determined by the greenhouse-effect(gases that reflect a part of IR back to the Earth). You see the figure? Now the Earth loses less Energy and the sun still shines constantly on our planet. The temperature rises, until the point, when the damping of IR emission is balanced by the higher gross emission of IR on a higher level of temperature.

 

[Timotheus]

...

So it was my fault, that you didn't care to proof any of you claims? Thank you, I wasn't aware of that.

Also a couple of scientists refused to release data - they didn't change anything, nor drew false conclusions? That shows that the data and the conclusions are not to be trusted. Thank you, websites of fundamentalists(1st) and people ranting about the "leftist mainstream media" (3rd)

 

[jovack22]

Whether or not you believe humans can influence climate (which we have)

you cannot deny the fact that our lifestyle is not sustainable. Greener methods for fuel and more efficient recycling of waste needs to be at the forefront of discussion.

 

[Murray Whitwell]

I see the argument against global warming's existence are pretty pointless. Regardless of whether or not carbon emissions are heating up the planet, we're still burning a limited resource. We're already responsible for too much destruction of this planet, so what gives us the right to extinct a mineral that has taken millions of years to form?

 

[mrF00bar]

I have seen a lot of different opinions on global warming, to be honest I trust the independent scientist more then government funded scientists because their opinion varies greatly sometimes. One particular theory, which I think is most likely, we are in a cycle, the planet is going to heat up and get colder. By pumping all the gases into the atmosphere we have slowed down the process but now instead of it being a gentle change from hot to cold it will be very sudden. If they are right anyway.

 

[blankedboy]

Ugh. Hasn't anybody here seen Al Gore's presentation?
It's direct and obvious proof that global warming is a HUGE problem that is DEFINITELY cause by humans. Go and look it up and stop whining.

 

[Purple Shrimp]

The global-warming skeptics would be against anti-global-warming measures simply because they feel that these methods are an expenditure of money to combat something that isn't real. I don't agree with them, but it's pretty easy to answer your question if you think about it

 

[RicoGrey]

WE NEED TO CLONE MAMMOTHS

They will be the cows during the next ice age!!!

I am sorta joking/sorta serious.

 

[Tomo Stryker]

Ugh. Hasn't anybody here seen Al Gore's presentation?
It's direct and obvious proof that global warming is a HUGE problem that is DEFINITELY cause by humans. Go and look it up and stop whining.

Since when where politicians scientists? People treat it like its the freakin Bible, its not. The earth has been and always will be changing at a constant rate. To think that we, the product of evolution could actually harm the planet is ignorance of the highest degree. The earth will be around and changing long after we nuke ourselves because we couldn't agree on anything.

 

[JediMB]

"Global warming" is not something I worry about. (On a related note, we've had our coldest and snowiest winters in decades in Sweden these last two years.) Climate is not constant. Not even the supposed cycles are entirely consistent.

But there are many, many other reasons to cut back on fossil fuel usage, deforestation and many other of our non-sustainable contributions to this planet.

 

[JediMB]

Ugh. Hasn't anybody here seen Al Gore's presentation?
It's direct and obvious proof that global warming is a HUGE problem that is DEFINITELY cause by humans. Go and look it up and stop whining.

Since when where politicians scientists? People treat it like its the freakin Bible, its not. The earth has been and always will be changing at a constant rate. To think that we, the product of evolution could actually harm the planet is ignorance of the highest degree. The earth will be around and changing long after we nuke ourselves because we couldn't agree on anything.

Well, you're just going to have to eat those words when we create our first Planet Smasher. =P

 

[blankedboy]

Ugh. Hasn't anybody here seen Al Gore's presentation?
It's direct and obvious proof that global warming is a HUGE problem that is DEFINITELY cause by humans. Go and look it up and stop whining.

Since when where politicians scientists? People treat it like its the freakin Bible, its not. The earth has been and always will be changing at a constant rate. To think that we, the product of evolution could actually harm the planet is ignorance of the highest degree. The earth will be around and changing long after we nuke ourselves because we couldn't agree on anything.

It's actually pretty ignorant of you to think we can't. Just because this planet was here first doesn't man we're not able to seriously fuck it over.

 

[Tomo Stryker]

Ugh. Hasn't anybody here seen Al Gore's presentation?
It's direct and obvious proof that global warming is a HUGE problem that is DEFINITELY cause by humans. Go and look it up and stop whining.

Since when where politicians scientists? People treat it like its the freakin Bible, its not. The earth has been and always will be changing at a constant rate. To think that we, the product of evolution could actually harm the planet is ignorance of the highest degree. The earth will be around and changing long after we nuke ourselves because we couldn't agree on anything.

It's actually pretty ignorant of you to think we can't. Just because this planet was here first doesn't man we're not able to seriously fuck it over.

I'm not saying we can't screw this planet over, hell we could make is space crumbs if we really tried. All I'm saying is that nature is infamous for balancing itself out. Its like a forest fire, oh sure the fire burnt down a glorious forest. But that doesn't mean things won't regrow on it.

Note: I really don't want to get into this conversation, but if we keep this civil then I don't have a problem. Seen to many people on this thread turn into an insult war.

Note: Fucking Spell Check

Note: Wow, I really need to reread my stuff today. I'm spelling like four year old.

 

[Astoria]

It doesn't matter whether or not we are having an impact, those with the power to stop it won't.

 

[Merkavar]

There have been 6 major extinctions wherein the majority of the Earth's life died that we humans know of. All of them happened before we were here and all of them happened due to massive climate change. The ice age was the most recent.

Humans do not affect the climate.​

The Earth will cool and warm long, long after we go extinct and the cycle of life and death will be unaffected.

The hippies are wrong. The science is right.

yeah ok so climates change naturally. but in my oppinion humans are accelerating the climate change.

even if it is a natural change shouldnt we try our hardest to stop it. from your quote you are agreeing climate change leads to mass extinctions. so why not try to stop this natural climate change that is happening right now so that things dont become extinct, us included.

 

[Tomo Stryker]

But in my oppinion humans are accelerating the climate change

Oh good, I was worried for a sec that you were going to use facts instead of opinions. Sorry bout that, it just poked out to me that you used your opinion instead of facts. Nothing personal mate.