Do you believe in man made global warming?

[LeMaquis]

It's happened at least twice before, probably three. Man didn't cause it back then and we certainly are not causing it now (although we may be speeding up the process slightly).

 

I love an argument with plenty of empirical evidence. Human behaviour is definitely leading to global change, on top of natural changes. I saw the Al Gore film a few years ago at the Showroom and although it came over as a bit simplistic the essesntial point about atmospheric changes caused by human emissions and leading to global warming seemed valid.

 

Last winter when it was freezing the sceptics were saying how can global warming exist when it's so cold. We're due some hot temperatures this week. I wonder if they'll be back on to say they've changed their mind, even though the arguments are about global warming and not just us.

[retep]

I love an argument with plenty of empirical evidence. Human behaviour is definitely leading to global change, on top of natural changes. I saw the Al Gore film a few years ago at the Showroom and although it came over as a bit simplistic the essesntial point about atmospheric changes caused by human emissions and leading to global warming seemed valid.

 

Last winter when it was freezing the sceptics were saying how can global warming exist when it's so cold. We're due some hot temperatures this week. I wonder if they'll be back on to say they've changed their mind, even though the arguments are about global warming and not just us.

 

There is in fact no empirical evidence that global warming is mainly man-made. If there was, we would have heard all about it. Tens of billions of dollars has been spent looking for it.

http://joannenova.com.au/2011/09/dr-david-evans-four-fatal-pieces-of-evidence/

[truman]

I love an argument with plenty of empirical evidence. Human behaviour is definitely leading to global change, on top of natural changes. I saw the Al Gore film a few years ago at the Showroom and although it came over as a bit simplistic the essesntial point about atmospheric changes caused by human emissions and leading to global warming seemed valid.

 

Last winter when it was freezing the sceptics were saying how can global warming exist when it's so cold. We're due some hot temperatures this week. I wonder if they'll be back on to say they've changed their mind, even though the arguments are about global warming and not just us.

 

Genuine question..what are Al Gore's scientific credentials... ie qualifications etc?

[truman]

I love an argument with plenty of empirical evidence. Human behaviour is definitely leading to global change, .

 

What's the empirical evidence? Correlation doesn't equal cause...

[GrapeApe]

What's the empirical evidence? Correlation doesn't equal cause...

 

Its very difficult to ascertain a definite causal link but the stakes are so high we should go with the mainstream of scientific view which is overwhelmingly in favour of a link.

 

My simple mind looks at it this way.

 

CO2 is a greenhouse gas.

CO2 levels are higher now than ever and this is probably at least partially caused by human behaviour.

 

...and what harm can come of reducing the use of fossil fuel?

[truman]

CO2 levels are higher now than ever

 

Is that actually true? I don't think it is unless you take a shortened version of "ever" and, as I understand it, we've had warmer periods with a lower CO2 level and cooler periods with a hgher one..?

[0742Sheff]

I love an argument with plenty of empirical evidence. Human behaviour is definitely leading to global change, on top of natural changes. I saw the Al Gore film a few years ago at the Showroom and although it came over as a bit simplistic the essesntial point about atmospheric changes caused by human emissions and leading to global warming seemed valid.

 

Last winter when it was freezing the sceptics were saying how can global warming exist when it's so cold. We're due some hot temperatures this week. I wonder if they'll be back on to say they've changed their mind, even though the arguments are about global warming and not just us.

 

My bold....

 

One program i watched explained that at some point in the global warming process the UK is going to get a lot colder. It went on to explain that the Gulf Steam is being diluted and will, at some point snap back into it's original position and miss the UK completely.

[Mikes10]

The vast majority of the general public do not understand

climate change, and Al Gore's little movie 'An Inconvenient

Truth' didn't help, all it did was give the sceptics a tool

to bash the scientists with.

 

Occaisonally an expert appears on tv and says the rise in

carbon emissons is giving rise to a 'blanket' of C02 in

the atmosphere. Ask any member of the general public what

a blanket is and they will probably answer 'something to

wrap around you to keep warm. Co2 is rising but the planet

is NOT being wrapped in CO2.

 

 

So here's my take on the subject:

The Vostok and Greenland ice-cores indicate there has been

at least 4 cooling / warming cycles in the last 600,000 years.

(give or take a few thousand)

 

At the coolest point in each of the cycles the CO2 concentration

was not less than 150 Parts Per MIllion (PPM). At warmest point

of each cycle CO2 concentration did not exceed 300-PPM.

 

At the present the earth is warming and the CO2 concentration

is 390-PPM, never in the earth's recent history (600,000 years)

has the concentration been so high!

 

So the question is why so high?

 

Well one possible answer is industrialization, the burning

of oil, coal, gas, and de-forestation. Actually that's

five answers: one answer;- Human Kind.

 

If the increase is made by humans than its a truely frightening

experiment we are putting ourselves through. Anyone over

the age of 55 has probably nothing to worry about.

 

There's lots of predictions for the future, one is for a

concentration of 800-PPM by the end of the century,

I think they are wrong, there will be nobody around to

take the measurement:- WWIII.

 

Link to CO2 concentration

http://co2now.org/

 

 

Anyone wanting to know why the earth has warming and cooling cycles

should see the following

( or enter milankovitch cycles in their favourite search engine )

 

http://www.sciencecourseware.org/eec/GlobalWarming/Tutorials/Milankovitch/

[Cyclone]

I have practically no knowledge of climate patterns so I'm going to have to defer to the scientific consensus on this one, so a definite yes we are causing the world's climate to change.

 

There isn't a consensus though. More of a media attempt to trick us into thinking that there is.

[flamingjimmy]

There isn't a consensus though. More of a media attempt to trick us into thinking that there is.

 

I'm not at all convinced that that is the case, quite the opposite in fact. I'm slightly more convinced by things like this long list of many of the largest and most well respected scientific organisations in the world who all either agree that we are causing the climate to change, or are non committal, and things like this study which found that 97% of the most published climate scientists in the world agree that we are causing the climate to change. In what universe is 97% not a consensus?