Warm Winter - Is "Global Warning" Real

Evil plot by the weather wizard(Jason Mayerhoff)

(3) Last year's winter was unusually bad on the East Coast, so I don't believe in this global warming story anymore.

and you don't need to worry about global warming, it's not likely to affect you. just be sure you don't have grandchildren you care about...

Actually, scientists are getting to drawing conclusions about this pattern of "eventful" weather we have been having the last decade.

In short, the theory goes like this... Among other things, extreme weather events are expected to increase in both frequency and severity. Thus, things like floods, hurricanes, blizzards, etc will be more common. There is some evidence this is already happening. Notice there has been a lot of record weather over the last several years. Last year record snow in much of the northeast (and even mid atlantic) and record cold. Year before was record highs for much of the winter.

Another thing is that some areas will get warmer, and some will get colder.

Basically, it will be much like the earth today, with the extremes becoming more extreme.

Provided the scientists are correct, we will eventually do something on the policy level to combat this. There is also that possibility of some technological fix, such as pumping CO2 down into the oceans. However, it seems inevitable we will have to deal with some future warming.

The problem with passing global warming legislation (as opposed to other air pollutants which are currently regulated) is that it is difficult to link global warming with human health impacts (domestically, not so in the 3rd world). There is also a LOT of uncertainty about the costs and eventual benefits.

First off, global warming is completely undetectable to the naked eye, so to speak. There is no way that anyone can say that it feels warm out, so that there must be global warming. Global warming must be seen over centuries by observing data. For example, there has been a lot of warming in the past 120 years - but it has been a warming of around 0.5 degrees Celsius, which is completely negligible when you consider that daily temperatures often vaccillate by 15-30 degrees Fahrenheit.

That said, the Earth's temperatures appear to have peaked around 1998, and we've seen global cooling since then. There is still lots of research being done on the subject by climatologists and atmospheric dynamicists, but no strong conclusions have been made. Anyone who tells you that they have seen conclusive evidence that the recent global warming is man-made has just read one too many articles by Greenpeace. No real researcher has ever been able to make such conclusions conclusively. Many suspect that men are responsible and that the Earth will continue to warm for the next several hundred years, but no one has been able to prove it yet.

The thing is:

1) Global warming is real, saying that there world has not gotten warmer in the past 100 years, or that CO2 in the atmosphere has not increased is like saying cigarettes aren't bad for you.

2) Something like 1/3 of the co2 on earth can not be accounted for by current co2 cycling theories (we don't know what exactly all this co2 will do.)

3) The world has been a lot warmer with 100 times the amount of co2 in the atmosphere during previous epochs (the Jurassic period etc.)

4) If the world does warm, and what is supposed to happen happens it won't be the end of the world. It will, however, suck when n.y.c goes down, our wheat fields move to Canada and Nebraska becomes a desert.

5) Do more research, concentrate on other environmental problems

global warming is only undetectable to the naked eye because we have yet to hit the tipping point.

third choice wrote:

Anyone who tells you that they have seen conclusive evidence that the recent global warming is man-made has just read one too many articles by Greenpeace.

Whoops we sure don't want to believe any facts do we.

That could be dangerous.

I mean, gosh, we all must might realize what's happening... and then what.

Oh well nothing we could do anyway, so may as well put our heads back the sand and ignore it.

cowboyjoe wrote:

The thing is:

1) Global warming is real, saying that there world has not gotten warmer in the past 100 years, or that CO2 in the atmosphere has not increased is like saying cigarettes aren't bad for you.

2) Something like 1/3 of the co2 on earth can not be accounted for by current co2 cycling theories (we don't know what exactly all this co2 will do.)

4) If the world does warm, and what is supposed to happen happens it won't be the end of the world. It will, however, suck when n.y.c goes down, our wheat fields move to Canada and Nebraska becomes a desert.

5) Do more research, concentrate on other environmental problems

The globe has warmed, generally, for the past 100+ years, but the effects of humans are not yet understood. For example, one big volcano explosion will put more greenhouse gases into the air than every car on Earth will for the next 20 years.

Also, over the past several hundred thousand years (which is as far back as we have data) the Earth has been much warmer, but the interesting thing is that CO2 tends to rise after temperature rises. That suggests that perhaps an increase in temperature causes CO2 to be released from the Earth's surface into the atmosphere. This supports the commonly held notion that most of the current global warming has been caused by water in the upper atmosphere, not CO2. But, again, specifics are still not clear.

Also, there is no respectable scientist in the world that believes in the "Doomsday" scenario you put in comment #4.

Finally, I've done my research. In fact, I've performed actual research related to global warming, as dunes runner knows. Of course, she'd rather believe the Socialist Party's beliefs on the atmosphere than NASA's or NOAA's...

My balls are frozen, today in Eugene, Oregon the temperature was cold enough to produce some sticking snow - something that happens maybe once a year during the first week of January. Mark this day. And send me an extra blanket.

Global warming is real. So is global cooling, as witnessed by the documented ice ages the earth has gone through. There is no doubt that the average temperature of the earth fluctuates over the centuries. What is in doubt is what is causing it. There is some anecdotal evidence that man might be having an influence on the environment, but it is far from certain and natural disasters cause far more damage in a far shorter time frame. The recent fires in California probably put more pollution into the air than all the cars of the world combined.

what are you talking about? Last winter here in the NE, it was one of the brutal winters on record....

I'm in Bend, Oregon and the low temperature tonight is 10 freaking degrees with a few inches of snow. I'm not even in Gunnison anymore but it sure as hell feels like it!

Sorry, I should have been clearer in my doomsday prophecies. The affects of global warming are unknown, and possibly not bad. (That?s the ?what?s supposed to happen??bit) However, no self respecting scientist would deny that if anthropogenic global warming is a concern (like a greenpeace type scenario) our wheat fields would likely move north during climate shift and the Nebraska sand hills (a large portion of Nebraska) would likely become destabilized resulting in desertification. It?s not voodoo liberal science it?s simple weather patterns. If it gets a hotter (never mind the feedback loops or degrees of hotness) then the climate south of you becomes your climate.

And once more to avoid the ?no science? cry, those examples are general, not ironclad. The exact effects of temp. increase would depend on region and rainfall. The point is there would be changes including the possibilities I mentioned. And, while I hate to defend the eco-freaks, it's not just cars doing the polluting. If you look at graphs of industrial development and co2 emission it?s almost impossible to deny the human impact.

I think the term should be 'climatic change' rather than 'global warming'. As has pointed out by others we are likely to experience more extremes of weather - due mainly, though not entirely, to human behaviour.

By the way, for my original post, I was not relying on Greenpeace, I was relying on some reports I had read that were published by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. Check them out on the web if you doubt their legitimacy.

And if you read these reports you will find that scientists are getting closer (there is by no means a consensus) to linking the rise in extreme weather events with climate change.

Also, the last few years have shown a cooling trend since 1998, that is correct. However, they are still among the warmest years on record.

I'm all for global warming.

I hate winter. It's also tough being in the midwest and loving the beach. This way, I don't have to move, and the beach comes to me. Melt those damn polar ice caps.

I'm familiar with the IPCC, I even know some of the people that did research for them. But, again, no one can know if men have an effect on the warming of the Earth that is anything more than negligible. The Earth has warmed at faster rates than this in the past. And, since past research has shown that CO2 levels generally follow temperature levels (instead of vice versa, as was originally thought since CO2 is a greenhouse gas), then rising CO2 levels may not be a problem as long as whatever the main greenhouse gas is (probably water) decreases in concentration.

Over the past 25 years the levels of every major air pollutant has decrased, except for CO2. This could be a reason that the Earth has begun cooling again, and it might not. There is still a lot of research to be done. It's not fair to jump to conclusions.