Global Warming

Should we do something about global warming?

  • No, global warming is a hoax.

  • We don't know for sure, so don't worry about it.

  • Yawn. Perhaps.

  • Yes, this is serious.


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doubtingmerle

I'll think about it.
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It's hotter than blazes out there. Its drier than a sermon by a 3rd string pastor. And what about all those whacky storms? Scientists have long predicted that, if we keep on putting carbon dioxide in the air, these things will happen. A recent international report confirms this (Report: Global warming linked to deadly, costly weather disasters – USATODAY.com).

The case for global warming is overwhelming. We have long known that carbon dioxide (CO2) in the atmosphere causes a planet to warm. And we have been able to verify that CO2 has been increasing in the atmosphere as a direct result of burning fossil fuels. We have seen that global temperatures have increased as CO2 levels rose, just as predicted.

So what do we do? Should we limit our CO2 emissions to the current levels? That will help, but won't solve the problem. For it is not the rate of CO2 emissions that is the problem, but the total cumulative emissions. When CO2 is emitted in the air, part is absorbed in earth and water, and the rest remains in the air for centuries. So even if we cut global emissions in half, we would still be adding CO2 to the atmosphere, increasing the cumulative level, and hence adding to global warming. And most of the CO2 we have put into the air will remain there for the lives of our grandchildren, their grandchildren, and their grandchildren. They won't be driving with gasoline engines in their cars--petroleum supplies won't last very long at its current usage rate--but they will feel the brunt of the resulting heat their entire lives.

The consequences are severe. We will see more of the same trends in climate conditions. But it could be much worse. We don't have a good feel for when global warming might cause the ice layers on Greenland and Antarctica to disappear. But they are melting at alarming rates. If the runoff waters weaken the supporting structures of the ice caps, much of this ice could slide into the sea, raising ocean levels worldwide, and turning New York City first into Venice, then into Atlantis. The scuba diving industry might sell a lot of tours, but a lot of other people will be upset.

Worse, if global warming causes methane releases and other feedback mechanisms that amplify the affect, it could greatly increase the temperatures and greatly increase the amount of water vapor in the air. Since water vapor itself tends to increase global warming, that is a problem. There is a point where the heating caused by CO2, methane, and water vapor exceeds the cooling from the evaporating oceans. Evaporation would then proceed at runaway rates, and turn the earth into a giant pressure cooker. Don't laugh. That apparently happened on Venus. OK, the risk of this is far off, but can we ignore it?

So what do we do about global warming?
 

freezerman2000

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We are in a solar maximum..the more sunspots (solar storms) there are, the more radiation is expelled, creating heat.
The infamous hockey stick graph showed that CO2 increases occur 80 years AFTER a significant rise in temperature.
Venus is much closer to the sun than we are, so it naturally is much hotter than we are.It is also many more times volcanically active than we are.Using Venus as a template for our future is not viable.
It certainly doesn't hurt to limit the amount of gasses we emit,but what we try will be a drop in the bucket.
Earth has been heating and cooling in cycles since it was created..we just happen to be in a warming trend between ice ages.
 
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doubtingmerle

I'll think about it.
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We are in a solar maximum..the more sunspots (solar storms) there are, the more radiation is expelled, creating heat.
Uh, the sunspot cycle takes 11 years to complete a cycle. We have been observing drastic increases in temperature for the last half century. How can you blame that on the sun? We are experiencing a long term trend far worse than the 11 year heat variations due to sunspots.
The infamous hockey stick graph showed that CO2 increases occur 80 years AFTER a significant rise in temperature.
Sure, because historically heating has occurred first and that has released CO2 into the air. We have known that for a long time. The released CO2 causes more heating, and the increased heating releases more CO2. Eventually a new equilibrium is reached.

Today we are in a different situation, in which the driving force of the cycle has been the increase in CO2 due to burning of fossil fuels.

None of that changes the fact that CO2 causes planets to warm, that we as humans have increased the CO2 of our planet, and that the planet is warming in response.

Venus is much closer to the sun than we are, so it naturally is much hotter than we are.It is also many more times volcanically active than we are.Using Venus as a template for our future is not viable.
Sure, but Venus is much hotter than we would expect based on the differences in distance. The difference is the atmosphere of Venus, which causes the planet to heat sufficiently.
It certainly doesn't hurt to limit the amount of gasses we emit,but what we try will be a drop in the bucket.
Human CO2 emissions have increased the atmospheric concentration from 280 ppm to 396 ppm. That is significant. Fixing that is going to be a huge problem, but I don't see why we should give up just because it is a big problem.
Earth has been heating and cooling in cycles since it was created..we just happen to be in a warming trend between ice ages.
Uh, we have been between ice ages for 10,000 years. The climate has been remarkably stable during that time. The natural trend would be to go back to another ice age, but it appears that the CO2 we added to the atmosphere is overcoming that, and is driving temperatures upward.
 
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durangodawood

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Nope, he only lived 969 years. No telling the shifts in the 31 years after he passed on.
Well, I cant think of a single person I know who's observed George Washington. I'm starting to think him and Santa Claus are the same guy.
.
 
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drstevej

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Well, I cant think of a single person I know who's observed George Washington. I'm starting to think him and Santa Claus are the same guy.
.


I don't think I have ever observed you. Are you Santa?
 
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rambot

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I don't think I have ever observed you. Are you Santa?

Is the existence of something completely dependent on whether you specifically observe something or do you ever farm out these observations to other people who may know a bit more on a subject (like say, doctors?... cause I'm not convinced you've ever seen your, gall bladder, heart, kidney, colon, capillaries or brain).
 
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doubtingmerle

I'll think about it.
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Plant trees

And plant them faster than rainforests are being destroyed? That would help.

But where are you going to plant them? Since natural forests are healthier than man-made forests, why not just leave the rainforests alone? Are you willing to live without the beef from the ranches that are the driving force behind clearing much of the forest?
 
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