Global Warming ... A Hoax ? or the End of Mankind ?

[B]The debate over global warming seems to be reaching a fever pitch as of late ! There are claims of falsified findings by scientists ! Mass exaggeration of the long term effects of climate change ! Even cries of political conspiracy to keep the global warming issue at the forefront of political issues . Now while I'm not an expert I can see the impact that human beings have on the environment around them and if even the smallest part of scientific predictions are true on climate change the human race could be looking at a finite amount of time on this lovely little planet we call Earth ! ... I would love to hear how the membership here at EnviroCitizen feels about the subject of global warming , Post your opinions on global warming here but please remember to keep it civil & respectful of your forum brethren . [/B]


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[MsWhiskers]

I think some of the fears of global warming are founded but I also think that some people out there who shall remain nameless are bending the truth to scare people into thinking it is much worse than it is . Fear always leads to consumption which equals $

[Kelvin]

[B]Global Warming as a chain of events:[/B]
1. Permafrost: Currently the measured effect of global warming as caused by the greenhouse effect on the planet overall is approximately a 1 degree Celsius increase over the last 50 years. that one-degree of heat made you take off a sweater, segments of the Earth known as permafrost began a meltdown. Permafrost is a condition whereby sections of the Earth’s surface have remained at a temperature below freezing (0 degrees Celsius) for at least two years.
2. Tundra: Tundra describes the soil above permafrost that is frozen for most of the calendar year but thaws for allowance of small amounts of vegetation growth. Areas of Tundra throughout the world serve as sinks for absorption of massive amounts of Carbon.
3. Polar meltdown: The Next is the warming of our polar caps and oceans. An increase in overall temperature for the troposphere allows that segment of the atmosphere to absorb more water vapor. A 1% increase in water vapor is a huge increase to the overall amount of greenhouse emissions.
4. Ocean Temperature and Positive Feedback: Our oceans digest most of the carbon footprint needing to be absorbed into our ecosystem. Currently greenhouse gas emissions from production of energy and internal combustion engines results in a 36% increase in carbon dioxide over that which the planets normal balance can support. The CO2 then slightly raises the Earth’s temperature resulting in an endlessly looping progression. This situation and scenario is known as positive feedback and this is the real danger inherent as global warming.
5. Environmental cause: Not all of global warming is the result of greenhouse gases and the ensuing greenhouse effect. As the population of the earth has increased mankind has brought civilization which includes buildings, highways, land cleared for agriculture, cities built where once stood deserts. Almost everything that we build absorbs more heat than its natural predecessor. It doesn’t mean that we tear down all of our houses to plant a forest of trees and carve up the superhighways and replace them with lovely green meadows. What we do need is an awareness of our situation. We need to realize that every move we make as a result of industrialization has a corresponding consequence.
Global Warming is defined as the increase of the average temperature on Earth. As the Earth is getting hotter, disasters like hurricanes, droughts and floods are getting more frequent. But it is not only about how much the Earth is warming, it is also about how fast it is warming. There have always been natural climate changes – Ice Ages and the warm intermediate times between them
[url=http://www.globalwarmingsurvivalcenter.com/]Global Warming Survival Center[/url]

[paulp428]

How can you not think Global Warming is real? There is enough empirical evidence to prove freaking alien life!

[solarant]

[COLOR="DarkGreen"]I have been reading on the subject of global warming for over three years, and I must have read over 300 different arguments for and against the subject.

If I were to objectively assess from all the reading I have done, while there is no 100% certainty that CO2 is causing global warming and that global warming, if unchecked, will lead to the destruction of the world, I think most folks agree that the likelihood of these is high and we should do something about it. I think most of us realize that even if the likelihood is even just 10%, we should start doing something about it.

The question is, what? Anthropogenic emissions of CO2 every year is about 30 giga tons (that is equal to 30 billion tons). It is fair to assume that we cannot try to capture or mitigate all 30 billion; it’s more practical to prioritise the sources (prepare A, B and C lists) to see which sources of CO2 are the most feasible in terms of remediation.

And the answer is quite simple. Start with coal-based power plants, there are about 4000 large ones around the world. Let’s start with them. Oh ok, there are some who are trying to do some rather [URL="http://powerplantccs.com/blog/2010/03/removing-co2-from-air-university-of-calgary-scientists-undertake-research.html"]fancy things like removing CO2 from ambient air[/URL]<link> - - but I think the best bet is to try to capture the CO2 we are emitting from power plants, especially coal power plants. One estimate says these coal-based power plants alone could be emitting close to 8 billion T of the total 30 billion T of all CO2 emissions from fossil fuels.

The good news is that many large engineering companies worldwide have started laying the ground for the carbon capture and storage process (also called CCS). I know that the power plant CCS costs are high today. Let’s use our scientific brains to get these costs to much more affordable levels in future.
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[solarpowered]

If you don't believe in global warming just watch a few documenteries about the shrinking ice caps that test the suronding wildlifes survival skills to the utmost extremes. Besides when even the republicans admit we are facing global warming, you know it's bad.

[MsImpact]

I saw a video documentation called "The Great Global Warming Swindle" where the presenter pointed out that this debate is still on among scientists. According to them the extra heat we are experiencing now is not actually the result of man's irresponsibility on wastes, industrialization, and things like that. It's just that the sun is getting hotter causing all of these chaos.

However, I believe that if the government would have bought this idea instead of the other way around then it would be more difficult to impose discipline to "the most intelligent animal" on the planet.

You can google for "The Great Global Warming Swindle" and see for yourself and let us know what you think.

[Saffron]

Global Warming is ...

I feel that global warming is happening and that by taking preventative measures we will extend the life of our planet.

I also feel that the whole extent of this is exaggerated and that if as a previous member suggests, that the sun is getting hotter, surely the ultimate result would be burn out and we would sink into a second ice-age.

I am not a scientist, this is just my point of view.

[Vegan]

I voted for the third one which is this phenomena is real but being exaggerated. We can feel the climate is changing and natural disasters are increasing. But this is happening even before we can predict weather patterns. What we should do is to do our part in helping the Earth heal itself.

[shannahana]

I know this may sound kind of strange but what we have to take into consideration is that climate changes and things like this happen... one day Maine will be 90 degrees and Florida will be below 0.. that could be 10000 years from now but change is inevitable.. we have already taken several measures of undoing the mess we have caused but as the population continues to grow exponentially, we are forced to consume more natural resources and go in the direction we are.