<p>Barrons–CO2 is a greenhouse gas. Greenhouse gases are the reason are planet is not a cold ball of ice (yay for them.) OTOH, excess amounts of greenhouse gases lead to more heat trapped. Humans have added far, far more CO2 into the atmosphere than was occurring naturally.</p>
<p>Why don’t you think, then, that we can cause climate change? We are changing the variables at a much realer “blink of the earth’s” eye than what has occurred naturally. The earth is a pretty big object, true, but the atmosphere is a fantasticly thin layer of very delicate composition. It’d be more surprising if our increasing recomposition of it didn’t cause big changes.</p>
<p>I can show you rafts of studies and earnest books that supported theories of various types that have been overturned in my lifetime. All sorts of dooms were being predicted by earnest scientists in the 70’s. These people are generally all enjoying the trends in funding and pressure to agree for the scientific flavor of the month. Countervailing thought is suppressed. The herd instinct in science is a bad as anywhere. When palm trees sprout along Lake Mendota I’ll worry. Right now a couple more degrees does not sound like the worst thing in the world.
Many climate scientists also think we are getting on the short end of time to another ice age (10,000 yrs or so). That would be far more damaging to us than a couple of degrees of warmer climate.</p>
<p>Humans produce less than 5% of CO2 emitted by various sources per year, and CO2 never causes more than 9-24% of warming attributed to greenhouse gases…by my math that’s at most 1.2% of global warming attributable to human CO2 emission.</p>
<p>Scorchedsky. First, provide your sources. SEcond, provide an explanation of what amounts of green house gas changes and warming provide what effects. The IPCC has provided theirs, already.
Thanks.</p>
<p>Depends on where you are. GW doesn’t necessarily mean higher temps everywhere - some areas are experiencing chaotic weather. Key word here is chaotic. </p>
<p>I’m in Texas and it’s definitely warmer. We used to get a good freeze at least about 10 times every winter, when I was a kid. The last few years, we haven’t really had a winter at all. Maybe 1 or 2 coldfronts, other than that, it’s warm enough to run the A/C in the car during the day.</p>
<p>I’ve been enjoying John Tierney in the NY Times on global warming. Don’t know how the ultra left-wing NY Times let’s him get away with it but I think he does a great job bringing a voice of reasoned sanity to the dialogue. Personally, I’m a skeptic. I remember similar alarmists telling us we’d all be dead from starvation by now and instead we’re dying from obesity. Plus Al just totally makes me think of really low-budget crude sci fi films from the Fifties - Plan 9 From Outer Space - with his unctuous and patronizing lectures. And any time Brad Pitt and George Clooney and the other pretty boy hollywood types start wanting to save me from my stupidity – well, I tend to become contrarian.</p>
<p>Great thinking, Mammal - “The pop culture spokespeople are guys I hold in contempt, so I’ll ignore the vast majority of scientists and believe what I like.” Maybe you could get together with Barrons and find another octogenarian (who looks better than Al Gore) to tell you comforting thoughts. Beats all that scientific heavy lifting.</p>
<p>I remember people claiming that tobacco didn’t cause cancer, that seatbelts don’t save lives, and that crash helmets would make more motorcyclists crash. You’ll always find people to tell you things that you want to hear.</p>
<p>" . . . You’ll always find people to tell you things that you want to hear."</p>
<p>Darn tootin’</p>
<p>" . . . the vast majority of scientists . . ." humping for tenure in an extremely politically correct academic environment. For a young scientist to question what is fast becoming unproven orthodoxy would be career suicide. </p>
<p>Somehow the global warming proponents are connected to the Walmart Haters - not sure what the connection is but I’m pretty sure it has to do with a general disgust with the American materialistic middle class in all its synthetic supersized glory. A bit of Marxist theory is called for to parse what’s going on here. I’m not the gal for the job. Good night!</p>
<p>wow whenever i see someone say “global warming can’t be true it’s so cold” it shows how ignorant you all are. global warming doesn’t just cause warming, it causes extremes in temperature…extreme heat, extream cold. and sometimes extreme flooding and extreme drought.</p>
<p>Sorry Mammall, you are misinformed. The IPCC is a worldwide community of the most highly qualified scientists, who are not highly paid comparatively, and who already are tenured. I know a few.</p>
<p>One of the specifics of global warming is that it is not consistent. Expect extreme variations in weather patterns.
That is the IPCC viewpoint, not that we will melt away in a year.</p>
<p>It is your grandchildren and their children who are the concern. No water in 50 years. No water now in Georgia, Tenn, and Fla. Just for starters.</p>
<p>Most people agree that climate change happens. It has been happening for a very long time. The bigger debate is whether this phenomena is attributed to natural cycles or is somehow induced by man. In my opinion, the scientific data pointing to man’s influence is not completely understood or convincing. Theories are just that.</p>
<p>narcissa, Read the link I provided. You need to research a bit more on scientific theory versus belief. A belief about global warming is NOT a scientific theory.</p>
<p>(AND WHEN YOU PUT EVERYTHING IN UPPERCASE IT WON"T CHANGE MY MIND.)</p>
<p>Not a reliable source Sokkermon. Internet gossip. No documentation. Yes, global warming is a scientific theory.
It is called an interglacial period, etc. Read the IPCC report if you want the real truth. At this point, there is no doubt.</p>