tsurara

10-20 years ago, we used to argue about whether or not Global Warming existed at all. Our opinions seemed to correlate quite a bit with our politics and how much we wanted (or didn't want) to be bothered with tree-hugging in a growing economy that depended quite heavily on utilizing natural resources as if they were limitless.

Times have changed: it seems that people have nearly all acknowledged the the phenomenon EXISTS. We can look at concrete numbers and know that reguardless of our personal politics or theories: our atmosphere is degrading, the glaciers are melting, storms are worsening and the temperature is rising.

The argument now is over whether or not humans actually causing it or if it is natural cyclical phenomenon. Can we (or should we) do anything to stop it?

What do you think?

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cantsenditback

i think we humans are partly in this as we produce co2 with cars/trucks and moter vehicle that we invented and we should try to fix the problem that we have caused so the future generation have somthing to look forward to and not fix what the past generation destoryed

Hassun

I think it's a combination of both. The earth is warming up by itself (and has done so in the past) but our influence is probably increasing it greatly.
Of course it had to become a fashion term, making it a lot less credible in the process...

We do have to minimize our own influence in my opinion, but certainly not in the way it's going now. Concentrating everything on CO2 is not the way to go about it. Nevertheless, it's better than doing nothing at all against it.

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Ichigo_06

I agree we humans have had a great impact on global warming with co2 levels, and other things and should do what we can to help reverse the effect on the ozone layer that keeps out the deadly rays of the sun, but I greatly welcome warmth! anyways we need to do all we can to reduce the effect such as electric cars or something.

on another note, like people have said this is a natural process and the earth has done this before, and we must do what we can to reduce the effects on us, as well as try to help this world "continue" if you guys know what I mean.

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_gwenibe_

agreed! We need to acknowledge that global warming is a natural process, it's how the earth stays warm so we can live on it, but human activities plus the natural occurance, means we are heating up the earth way past natural levels (apparently)

I can't understand anyone who says that it's entirely natural considering humans have never ever had an industrial age before, so how can you tell that it's not humans?

But realistically, we need to stop these activities that are damaging, humans can not live the way we are forever and those that are serious about the environment, should be focusing on heaps of other things aswell. Though reducing co2 will help, we also need to look at a whole range of other issues.

It will take a whole heap of social issues to solve this problem. It is humans who are creating this risk in the first place.

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FLawEdmiNd

I don't know how many of you keep tabs on the science world (or pay attention in class), but views are seemingly changing.

Scientists, as per my deductions, have shifted the blame from CO2 to water vapor. I'm still researching this, but apparently, water vapor is the cause of the degradation of our atmosphere.

In the past, Earth has gone through ices ages and warming periods and survived. We've currently been in a warming period, I don't know how long (probably since the birth of the modern global warming theory). I believe human intervention/action would hurt the Earth more than its natural processes would.

What else could we do even? Cutting back on greenhouse gas emissions is one thing, but where would we go from there? Put a ban on boiling water because it created steam and water vapor? Hardly.

In any case, the temperature rise wouldn't be dramatic enough to destroy Earth and those who exist upon it. The max the average temperature would raise is between 3 and 5 degrees Celsius. People are dramatizing this change. Of course it would impact our lives, but it wouldn't hinder us from moving on.

(Interesting fact: Permafrost, yes permafrost, ground in some areas of the world have begun to slow thaw.)

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always loaded

_gwenibe_

But how do we know? How do we know that it's not going to have any affect? Has some little man gone back in time and studied the process before? Have they said that there is going to be terrible effects because of it? Did they say that it wasn't? I wasn't aware that humans have lived on this planet before to see it's effects.

we just don't know!

and in cases like that, the precautionary principle comes in - if there is any chance that there could be any environmental damage - stop doing the activity. eg. if you know that dodgy factory is going to leak chemicals into water supplies, you don't build it. The same theory should apply to enhanced global warming. It's just a shame that undergraduates are taught this so well, yet out in the field no one cares ( but can you blame people when there is often money invovled?)

Global warming is not a theory. It is how mother earth keeps us warm. it's fact. Or else we wouldn't be hear. the theory part is if humans are helping global warming by contributing to CO2 levels in the atmosphere, making it warmer that what it would have been naturally.

not that I'm totally debunking you water vapour theory flawed, but do you have anything so that i can look it up?

only because i've heard another theory that it's solar flares that are causes enhanced global warming aswell...

infact, I've heard alot of theories from scientists. Actually the two that I have heard (and understand XD) is CO2 and cutting down of forest are the big contributors.

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dude101

hmm from hearing flawed's statement, it could be possible that water vapor is having a "warming effect" on the atmosphere. since i believe that microwaves are absorbed by water, causing it to heat up (hell thats how all microwave ovens work). and since all mobiles use microwaves like , radar at airports, GPS, etc. it could be believed that it's having a warming effect on the atmosphere. but i don't think its anything major but it's probably contributing a little bit, but i wouldn't be concerned about it.

as for human impact on global warming. i pretty much see us as a catalyst. we're pretty much accelerating it to a point where we can say its "out of control" but did we ever have control over the atmosphere? frankly the simple answer to global warming is that we don't have one. we have numerous ideas of whats causing it (CO2, methane, reduction of ozone (O3) which is from halogens) but we can't be 100% certain all of these things are having the effects that we are seeing. all i can say is that we have to reduce the impact that humans have on the environment, not just the atmosphere.

but one day i would like to see technologies that work with nature being dominant, not just conserving nature, but utilizing it without damaging it (not sure y ppl are developing these technologies so slowly, probably to risk for companies, but if possible it would be so much cheaper in the long run). shame most ppl see these ideas as a bit unpredictable and expensive since we can't be sure of how reliable nature is or these technologies, since nature is unpredictable in our eyes.

but i love how most countries see how nuclear power station are the "solution" to global warming. i mean ya we aren't producing any CO2 (gee a little late already hey?) but now we have nuclear waste that will built up and eventually destroy humanity (or we mutate, either way). sigh still bummer out that Australia is going to become a nuclear waste dump. just because we export most of the uranium doesn't mean u can send it all back, but.... we did sell it and we knew what it was goin to be used for. sigh..

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Joe Mage

This is what I've been tryin' ta tell ppl for a long time here at home. This trend in our earth's activity has been happenin' for Billions of years and it's a little hard ta swallow that humanity is the cause of this. I do agree that humanity is contributin' ta this phenomenon, but I believe that it's more than a little arrogant ta think that we're the cause. Although we're not the cause, we can do somethin' ta slow it down in order ta give humanity more time ta prepare for when the earth does go through this inevitable change. We haveta stop and think 'bout what ta do and do it. We can' stop it though, for the earth has been around for a long time and it'll still b here long after humanity is long gone, goin' through it's paces. This is jus' one of them, but we can adapt; it's one of the things that our species is very good at.

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