global warming true or false?

[mark777]

Yes...it is a conspiracy by petroleum companies to get rid of competition...get these greenies and hippies behind environmental groups to lobby the government to maintain their monopoly by not allowing the building of new refineries and constrict supply...also the uneconomical production of bio fuels...which guess what? Cost 2-4 times more, even use fossil fuels in their production and still produce CO2

[Paul Ward]

Ok Mark - bold claims - can you substantiate this or is it just rhetoric that you think sounds good?

[ruben]

Global warming has not been proved to be caused by us humans. I am not saying that it is not i am saying that there is no substantial evidence to say that it is. Meteorologists cant predict reliably what the weather is going to be like in a few days time let alone what it will be like in a few decades. If you want proof about this then read the book State of Fear by michael critchton.
Also the ice caps have been melting for the last 6000 years how can that be to do with a human influence. Recently Anarctica has been getting COLDER.
There is evidence for and against global warming but i am not yet convinced of a human influence.

[psr]

Ruben,

You know I wasn't even going to bother with a reply to that post of yours but I guess I couldn't help myself. I guess what you're saying is that we should just go on our merry way and keep abusing the earth?? Ruben, even just considering the huge numbers of people who currently call Earth home it makes sense to "BELIEVE" that YES we are doing it lots of damage! Whether you believe that humans are causing global warming or not you cannot dispute the fact that more humans are using the resources on earth than ever before and eventually something has got to give. When less informed people read posts such as yours it makes them feel better about their own exploitation of the earth and makes them lax in their duty towards Mother Nature. Unfortunately, it's always easier to ignore or misinterpret the figures to suit our minds. Your voice would serve a better purpose if it was used to fight against the causes of global warming. Something is better than nothing, and we need to be better prepared.

I apologise if I have offended you in any way. That was not my intention. I was merely airing my own opinions.

psr

[ruben]

psr,

No offence taken.
I totally agree with you that us humans are damaging the environment massively but whether it is global warming is somthing else. I recently read an article arguing that it doesnt matter if global warming is true or not we should still protect our planet from pollution, deforestation strip mining etc... and reduce our carbon emissions even if there is no such thing as global warming we ARE still destoying habitas of near extinct animals so the rich among us can have a swimming pool in there back yard or to grow more food that we dont really need. Everyone should try and lead a more green lifestyle and do there bit for the environment.

Ruben

[drummy]

Recently Anarctica has been getting COLDER.

Hi Reuben,

For the benefit of those wishing to enter the discussion, it would be useful if you quote the source(s) underpinning some of your statements, such as the one quoted above. Antarctica is a damned big place and there is considerable variation across the continent.

For example, there is considerable evidence from BAS scientists amongst other authoritative sources that...

"The west coast of the Antarctic Peninsula is one of the fastest warming areas of the planet, temperatures having risen by almost 3?C over the past 50 years."

http://www.antarctica.ac.uk/press/pr...ase.php?id=336

From my own experience of two years at Stonington Island in the early 70s I can tell you that the ramp which formerly attached the island to the North east Glacier has retreated substantially to the point where the island is now and island again. There is also the example of the Larsen Ice Shelf on the east coast of the peninsula which has broken apart. A comparison of my aerial photograph of Stonington in 1972 with that of jenny doctor taken 30 years later (both in the Fids gallery on this site) shows the extent of the retreat. I can also quote the example of the Wordie Ice Shelf on the west coast of the peninsula. I sledged over this ice shelf in both 1972 & 1973. Where I sledged is now open water.

I have no problem with anyone taking a sceptical or divergent view of whether global warming is man made or not. All I ask is that you quote the source of the evidence on which you base your view, so that we can critically assess it ourselves.

Regards.

Drummy

[PerfectTemp]

Wow, what a question. First, the earth is warming so technically the globe is getting warmer, but is that a bad thing? Should we be getting warmer or cooler. I think that is the main question that needs answering. Also, should be actually be doing anything to stop it? It seems to me that everytime man steps in the try to help, all we do is ruin everything. It scares me when I hear about how we are developing technology to combat hurricanes. While I wish that Katrina and other major storms never happened, the fact that we could stop such a force would have some serious consequences.