Why are humans being blamed for global warming when other planets are getting warmer as well? Is it politics?
454734
It's politics but it's also the incredible egotism human beings have that we are at the center of everything. Sure, we need to be concerned about pollution. We have to breathe the air and drink the water. Human beings have clearly had an adverse effect on local ecosystems, but whether we are powerful enough to warm up the whole planet is an open question. I am afraid that all the focus on global warming is taking attention away from environmental issues where there is a clearer cause and effect.
303981
Because global warming is a load of crap..
1174608
I've answered this question about a million times now in some form or other....\n\nThe Earth is a complex and robust system that operates with a number of positive and negative feedback systems. This means that all the systems are interconnected and all the systems change through time.\n\nWhat a lot of people miss is that humans are part of the system too. By virtue of our very existence, we change the environment.\n\nThe media has confused a lot of people about the climate-change/global warming situation. The fact is, we do know what causes global warming. Greenhouse gases like CO2. We also know that industry produces a large quantity of these gases. In fact the levels of CO2 in our atmosphere have more than doubled since the industrial revolution.\n\nNow you can sit there and tell me that Earth changes the levels of CO2 in the atmosphere naturally, and you'd be right. But does it not seem like a huge coincidence that the increase in CO2 levels, and the onset of global warming are occurring together?\n\nThe Earth is warming naturally, but it doesn't take an Earth Scientist to work out that dumping huge volumes of greenhouse gas into the atmosphere is likely to make it worse. Pretending its nothing to do with humans doesn't mean we can afford to ignore that it's happening either!
395082
Because only 30 years ago, the same scientists were talking about the new ice age that was coming.\n\nAnd, historically, the Earth goes through hot and cold cycles. Greenland was once green. Ohio was once covered in glaciers.\n\nAnd right now, the sun is going through a cycle of increased activity. Mars is getting warmer, too. They don't have SUVs there.\n\nAs for whether there is any significant human activity contribution to the current increase in temperature, there is no data that suggests this.\n\nBut are you willing to cause civilization to collapse because of an unsubstantiated enviro-wanker scare tactic? The staggering cost of putting something like Kyoto into effect would cause a severe world depression worse than the Great Depression.\n\nDon't beleive the hype - someone is feeding you a load of bull.
1019295
Global warming is happening, make no mistake about it.  This natural cycle that we're going through seems to be accelerating.  Is it due to humans?  Quite possibly.  Can we do anything about it?  Maybe, but will it have a dramatic effect?  Who knows.\nNobody in their right mind believes we are going to "destroy" the planet.  At worst we'll just make it uninhabitable.
218644
It is because of the Global Warming due to the green house effect.
1031040
Yes, the earth is running hot because many anthropogenic activities  are taking place and are at the peak level mainly Global warming and Greenhouse effect.\nbec of this phenomena the temperature is rising high and due to this the polar ice inthe polar region is melting soon and due to this activity there will be rise in thewater level there by reduction in the land surface.\nIF THERE IS A WILL THERE IS A WAY. We can try to minimize it but can't fully suceed ! So unless and untill we try the temperature will go on.
522813
Definitively a lot of hot air goes up warming the atmosphere.\nAlot comes from certain party and politicians in that party. That definitively aids the  warming phenomena which is due to the changing tilt of the earth.\n\nOn the other hand polution cause the opposite effect . it cause solar diming  wich counteracts the global warming effect.So its a War between those with the hot air and those with particle polutants.\n\nAs far as biological life of animals and plant life it does not go back that far .Because it is the changing tilt of the earth(precession of the poles) that cause either global freezing or cooking.I dont think that evolutionary species like revolutionists could survice these extreme changes.\nThe complete poles precession was calculated by scientist and astronomers to have a cycle of 22,000 years.\n\nAs fAR AS DINOSORS ARE CONCERNED ITS NOT SURVIVAL OF THE FITTEST THAT MAKES THEM SURVIVE. it is the availability of nutritional food that allows them to survive. Besides there was a global flood in the history of the Globe. And that was only a short time ago.(poor Noah).So that anihilated some of the  animals who could not reach higher ground.\nThis bring the question whew did the oil in the ground come into being?\n\nAbout millions of years? there were writing that dated before the flood. and these people also exagerated about Time.The same is the case today . Dont believe those scientists who talk out of the top of their hats.Unless there is positive correct proof.
863668
Global warming is NOT a "natural thing."\nYes, our planet all on its own, for various reasons, does go through cycles of warmer and cooler temperatures.\nHowever, in the last 150 years we have added many billions of tons of carbon in various forms (carbon dioxide in the air is the biggest problem) to the planet's ecosphere -- more than any "natural" cause in the history of the earth.  \nI very much want to leave a habitable planet to my children, so they can do the same for theirs.  That means reducing humans' artificial climate changes which are causing a runaway greenhouse effect -- which is NOT natural.\n\nThe earth isn't going to "die" naturally for another 4.5 BILLION years or so -- why are you so relaxed about moving that deadline up by 4.9999 billion years?\n\n"only" girl -- it's not a theory, it's well proven.  You should keep up with science.
307818
Global warming and cooling, in nature, has cycles beyond our control. AS a species, we have vastly accelerated the warming by CO2 emissions from burning of fossil fuel. The CO2 is/has formed higly reflective shield around the globe that holds heat IN, yet allows sunlight to go through it. The heat builds up, but cannot escape fast enough to prevent warming of the planet. We have reached a critcal stage in this cycle. IF we do not greatly reduce CO2 emissions within the next 10 years, it will be too late for us to stop the cycle that has started. Ice caps will melt and the surface of the Earth will change drastically. Storms will intensify dramatically, having more and more heat to power them. WE are within just a few years of a catastrophe, and yet, no one seems willing to act upon it, in fact, no one seems to even acknowledge the pending disaster. Life as we know it will be very different than it is today. WE are, time wise, just around the corner from a life threatening climate which will be conducive to an instant ICE AGE. If you have any doubt, see the movie, "Day After Tomorrow." The premise of the movie is NOT sci fi...it is very real.
537292
No and yes. \n\nWith regards to un-educated and mis-informed rubbish that goverments tell us that global warming is an artifact of human activity on this planet no I do not. Global warming is a topic which for the last thirty years or so has been 'fashionable' to study. If you look it at this way, the Earth is approx 4 to 6 billions years old and we are only studying the past few centuries. To me this is not even a dot on the Earths timescale so how can we possibly deduce mans influence on the climate. The climate of the earth is changing constantly. What we recognise as the four seasons; sping, summer, autumn (fall) and winter have only been in existance for the past few million years!\n\nAlthough some scientists have looked at the recent erosion of the ozone, they fail to see the bigger picture and take into account the varying orbit the planet has around the sun, its tilt and wobble (see link below for info on the Milankovitch Theory). They also fail to recognise in they're studies the gravitational pull of the earths core and the movement of the fluids contained within. Additionally the 'hotspots' or 'solar flares' on the sun are not taken into account when global warming is discussed, of which also effects our climate.
1073265
The defense is to ignore it as a problem that they can do anything about. The most common argument that you will hear is: "The global climate has been changing throughout its history." We do have more than 100 years worth of data, and yes, there has been major climatic changes in the past.\n\nThere is some disbelief that human actions can affect anything as big as the global climate, too. Arguments that take science into consideration are the best ones, but they're the least often used. Usually, it's just this general statement of disbelief that is given.\n\nLet's take the previous poster's example of the Mars ice caps melting, and how we haven't been studying the Earth's climate for long enough. First of all, there is no statement about how this is beyond the normal seasonal fluctuations of Mars. After all, the ice caps wax and wane according to the seasons. Now, consider how long we have been studying Mars too. Have we studied Mars sufficiently long enough to be able to decide what is or is not normal seasonal changes for Mars?\n\nAnother claim to helplessness is to say, "This is the only choice that we have - without a fuel source, economies would collapse." This argument relies on the fact that there are no viable alternative fuels. However, I would like to see a little less helplessness, too. If we don't have another source of fuel for getting to work, why doesn't the government fund research into alternative fuels? Before you say there is no money, think about how much money we spent on Iraq. Wouldn't it have been better spent on research & development of alternative fuels? If we are no longer dependent on foreign oil, then we are not funding terrorists.\n\nAnother tactic is to attack people on a personal level, to distract attention away from the problem. In truth, it's difficult for the individual to make big changes in the world, and that is why for things like that, the government has to step up to the plate.\n\nHowever, I do not want to be mistaken for towing a party line. I do not limit this rule for Republicans or Democrats. While the Democrats have been slightly more environmentally friendly, I would like to see somebody more radical from either party come into office - you know, somebody who is willing to try to fix the problems that the government is presented with, both on a national and an international level.
859112
I do agree,they claim el nino is responsible,some claim global warming. The semi cold weather with wet,cloudy days is depressing not to mention it brings on aches and pains......Illness The cold snowy days seem to bring excitement, to cold for the germs. My personal theory is the whole Earth has shifted orbit just enough to mess the weather up. Scientifically I would go with global warming or the green house effect. We have used and released so much freon or R-12 into the atmosphere, plus other pollutants its really damaged are enviorment all for comfort. Maybe we should go back to horse and buggies..lol
815930
Global warming is the latest trend by Governments of the world to try to convince the population that we are at fault for warming the world.  The world's weather and climate has been changing regularly over the last 15,000 years - before cars and planes were invented.  Carbon dioxide is one of the most prolific gasses in our atmosphere because it is needed for plants to survive.  Without CO2, the plants would die and we would have no oxygen which is a by product of a plant and we would all die!  Remember all the other scare stories over the years - in the 60s it was nuclear bombs from Russia, then we had SARS and bird flu, then terrorists and don't forget the hole in the ozone layer.  Every couple of years, we get a major scare story to keep the world's population under control.  The effect of global warming is that we are all paying out so called green taxes that actually do nothing to stop the problem but it sure makes the Governments rich!  What is the point of worrying about future global warming when now you have people freezing to death in the winter because they cannot afford to heat their homes because the price of gas and electric has risen so much because of green taxes?  Or we are getting plagues of rats and other vermin because Councils only collect our rubbish every two weeks because recycling is top priority?  We really should solve todays problems first before we start worrying about something that will most likely never happen.
237892
The degree to which humans are effecting the climate is unclear.  There are so many variables that even the most powerful computers or networks of computers can't effectively model them all.  Even if there were computers powerful enough, the honest answer is we don't understand enough about the world around us to know how each system effects the other.\n\nLooking back further than the VERY short timespan that humans have kept climate records, we see that in the past the world has been much much colder during certain periods, but also much, much much warmer during others.  We are now in what you would call "Ice House" conditions, where we cycle between long (100,000 year) glacial periods, and relatively short interglacial (~15,000 year) periods.  Right now we're sitting 2/3rds of the way into one the interglacial periods.  The slight fluctuation that is occuring now may be related to humans, or may be part of the natural cycle.  In any event, it has occured before, when there was no more human CO2 contribution than from campfires.\n\nAll this getting colder stuff happened when the space betwen North and South America closed off, which was once what was called the "Isthmus of Panama".  Before then, times were much much hotter, and correspondingly sea levels were higher too.  This was because the water could go around the equator and exchange hot water from Pacific to Atlantic.  Now, the only seawater exchange is North-South, and around the poles, so you can imagine that this would tend to act to depress temperatures.\n\nAnyways, long story short: We don't really know.  Personally, I think we should worry less about this global warming stuff, and more about reducing air and water pollution and dealing with the increasing water shortages around the world.
1065169
Humans actually account for only a fraction of the chemical content of the atmpspher. Vulcanism, electrical storms, ionization of the atmosphere by solar radiation, interstellar (and this interplanetary) dust, cometary and meteor impacts, wildfire, drought-fueled dust storms, and other natural processes are a greater impact. \nOur study of meteorology has been on-going for a very short time. Our records are spotty, localized, and fraught with inaccuracy as recently as sixty years ago. It is scientifically suspect to make predictions on climate based on short-term observations.\nBut to answer your question, yes, that was global warming, just as the advent of the ice age was global cooling. \nThe cause of either is still an unknown.
978974
The missing link between air pollution and gobal warming is a concept that you've probably heard of before known as the greenhouse effect.  \n\nThe greenhouse effect is caused by an increase in certain pollutants (known as greenhouse gasses) that are released into the atmosphere.  If enough water vapour, carbon dioxide, methane (and other culprits) are present in the atmosphere, it turns the atmosphere into a "greenhouse" in a way.  Short wavelength infra-red radiation that comes from the sun has enough energy to get through the layer of greenhouse gasses and enter our lower atmosphere, but when these rays contact the Earth, they lose some energy.  \n\nAfter they lose energy, they become longer wavelength infra-red rays, which tend not to have enough energy to break back through the layer of gasses.  These rays are absorbed by the greenhouse gasses, then sent back down to the Earth, further heating the planet.\n\nBasically, if you increase the amount of greenhouse gasses in the atmosphere, you let the same amount of heat in, but not as much heat gets out.  The overall temperature of the Earth rises, polar ice caps melt.  Bad stuff happens.\n\nThe best example of this is Venus, which has a thick layer of carbon dioxide (among other things) in its atmosphere.  Thus, the mean temperature of Venus is around 737K, far hotter than Mercury at 440K, even though Mercury is closer to the sun.  \n\nHope this helps.