Are you concerned about global warming or do you feel it is more hype than fact?

1. 68

   davenmidtownposted 12 years ago

   Are you concerned about global warming or do you feel it is more hype than fact?
   
   There is a lot of information available about global warming, almost as though there is too much information available.  Does the "global warming" issue feel more like a marketing ploy or scientific fact? Are you concerned about global warming? Of do you just accept it as inevitable?

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2. 53

   whonunuwhoposted 12 years ago

   Global warming and the rise of sea levels around the world are a fact and we will , as a civilization, have to deal with each new problem as it arises. We are an intelligent race and are more than capable in adjusting to all new problematic issues facing society. Just as water shortages, which we will have to learn to desalinate sea water, food shortages, we will have to develop new and cost efficient food sources and environmental challenges will have to be met in new approaches, such as domed living quarters. We can prevail, if we set our minds to the tasks at hand.

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3. 90

   Doc Snowposted 12 years ago

   I'm highly concerned.  The science is deep--going back, I would argue, to a paper published in 1814--and broad--comprising studies in physics, meteorology, paleological studies of various flavors, oceanography, biology and ecology (again of various flavors) and probably more that I'm not thinking of right now.  I have Hubs on several of the outstanding early researchers, between 1826 and 1938.
   
   The public 'debate' is not a scientific one; it is a spectacle driven by a public relations exercise funded by vested commercial interests, just as the tobacco science public 'debate' was.  (And in fact, some of the same 'scientists' hired out to shill for Big Energy as for Big Tobacco.)
   
   However, while smokers suffer the most from smoking, we all are at risk from climate change--the younger and poorer, the more so.
   
   Further warming is inevitable; it takes a long time--decades--for all the warming effects of a given increase in atmospheric CO2 to be realized.  So temperatures will be rising for a while.  So will CO2, as we haven't yet managed to do more than slow down our emissions.  I suspect that we cannot save the summer Arctic sea ice; sometime in the next couple of decades--perhaps even in the next few years--it will melt out completely.  And when it goes, it will encourage even faster warming.
   
   However, there is always the difference between bad and worse.  And right now, while we may not be able to avoid all the bad effects of warming, we can still make them much less severe than if we fail to take responsibility for our collective actions.

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4. 57

   WD Curry 111posted 12 years ago

   The first I heard of this was in 1971 when they found a hole in the Ozone was getting larger due to fluorocarbons and greenhouse gases. That's when they changed the propellants in spray cans and the like. There is no doubt that the activities of man are having an adverse effect on the environment.
   
   We need to go BP . . . beyond petroleum and off the grid! Third world countries should not accept the antiquated notion of huge central power plants. They should break from the destructive patterns established by first world and second world nations.
   
   I haven't seen a bobcat around here in years, and they used to be all over the place. Foxes too. There are still plenty of hogs. Development should be called destructivement.

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5. 68

   Larry Fieldsposted 12 years ago

   I've written a very long hub about Global Warming, and I went into detail about the lack of data, among other things. Like you, I am very turned off by the Chicken Little aspect. That was one of my motivations for digging deeper. My academic background (analytical chemistry) was very helpful in sifting the wheat from the chaff.
   
   I'm guessing that the red light on your crap detector is blinking. And that's a good thing. Let's consider the following scenario.
   
   Suppose that man-made GW will cause The End Of The World As We Know It, unless all of humanity takes drastic measures. However Warmies are mainly setting the agenda in the EU countries and Australia.
   
   In contrast, China, India, Japan, and other major countries are very skeptical about the GW propaganda. Without them, any attempt to decrease anthropogenic carbon emissions will not work.
   
   Climate Fatigue is setting in almost everywhere. Warmies are well aware of the fact that they are on the losing side of history.
   
   Suppose for the sake of argument, that the Warmist propaganda is true. How would political leaders respond? In order to postpone the TEOTWAWKI panic for as long as possible, they would say,
   
   "There's nothing to see here folks; move along."
   
   Under this assumption, Climate Alarmism does not make political sense. Now, let's look at some recent history. The rhetoric about WMD in Iraq was equally shrill, and it turned out to be a Big Lie.
   
   In both cases, the real agendas are hidden in plain sight, and they have absolutely nothing to do with telling the truth, or with doing the right thing.

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6. 91

   cclitgirlposted 12 years ago

   I'm in the middle of a book called Hot, Flat and Crowded by Thomas Friedman.  I am completely freaked out by the amount of data that exists out there about global warming.  The world's leading scientists are sounding alarms about it.  I just can't believe that if billions of us are driving cars, using oil, throwing away tons of trash, having a hand in making animals go extinct, destroying forests, and more, how can this NOT have an impact?

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7. 58

   Eliminate Cancerposted 12 years ago

   I'm concerned about global warming, but I also think we will figure out a way to fix it.   Maybe.  Even if we wanted to, we can't maintain the Earth at a constant ideal temperature, it's going to change.  Global warming is just making it change at a different pace, and maybe in a different direction that it would have otherwise.
   
   Earth will survive.  Just all the species of plants and animals will change.  Humans will kill themselves off anyway - we're already doing so much to make ourselves sicker.  We eat junk.  We pollute our environment.  We go to doctors who give us drugs to fix illnesses, but also inconveniences like insomnia, anxiety or adhd.  Those medications cause problems that require more medication.   We get plastic surgery so we can look like the fake bodies of celebrities.  We replace hips and knees, and eyes... it won't be long before we're not recognizable as human...  perhaps more of a cyborg.
   
   So, we are polluting ourselves AND our environment.  I'm guessing we will kill off ourselves before Mother Earth.   When we are gone, she'll be scratching her head asking, "What was THAT all about?"

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8. 88

   Will Apseposted 12 years ago

   Depends on whether you want to believe reputable scientists or rogue individuals the political right in the US dig up.
   
   There was a Wall Street Journal piece recently where 16 scienetists (none of them specializing in Climatology) denounced the idea that Global warming was man made.
   
   The WSJ had previously refused a piece from 25 members of the American Academy of Science (some of the best brains in the world) which painted an accurate picture of climate change data and the potential consequences of ignoring it.
   
   With this kind of muddying of the water there is little hope of intelligent decision making.
   
   In Europe, the political Right has the same regard for scientific evidence as the Left (conservatives respect themselves as well as their constituency) so the debate is over.

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9. 59

   Davesworldposted 12 years ago

   I am extremely concerned about Global Warming.  I fear we will follow the hype and undertake drastic measures that will cause a great deal of harm over something that is completely out of our ability to rectify.
   
   You see, the data do not confirm the Global Warming hypothesis.  On the contrary, the data make more sense when explained by natural rhythms in the Earth's oceans, the sun and the Earth's orbit.  The Global Warming alarmists would have you believe that global temperatures have steadily risen in the past, are rising now and will continue to rise in the future - the data say otherwise.

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10. 40

    Bluebell Canyonposted 12 years ago

    I do believe in global warming, and global cooling, but I think it's a natural cycle that keeps itself in balance. I think all the hype about it being a big issue is all a marketing ploy to make money.

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11. 59

    skysposted 12 years ago

    I read much about Global Warming and researched well. There were two school of thoughts i.e. one marketing this issue and one against it. Both have strong points but If you will go deeply, You will find the Global Warming Issue nothing but a marketing plan for some big projects and products. When Coal Energy was our basic need we had never shouted about this issue but when we discovered Alternate Energy Sources like Canada Gifted a Big Dam, Nuclear Energy, Solar Energy and the Wind Energy, the product and project makers started making the Global Warming a Hot issue in Discussion just to promote their projects.
    If CO2 is really increasing at the rate told by scientists then the ratio in air should be about 30% CO2 but it's not so. It's just a cycle which sometimes makes the earth warmer for certain period and then come back to normal or gets cooler.
    Most of you may not agree with my point but this is fact and we can't deny it

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12. 73

    Infobrowserposted 12 years ago

    I have heard that the earth is warming in the short term cooling in the long term. The temperature apparently rises then dips continually. Scientists have also found there to be a hole in the o-zone layer on either side of the earth, with both taking turns to alternate in size. Perhaps more investigations should be done with more open minded approach.

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13. 61

    Jay Sposted 12 years ago

    There are definite signs that our climate is changing. The real question as I see it is, Is it caused by man or is it the natural evolution of our planet?

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14. 82

    Mr Archerposted 12 years ago

    Personally, I believe the whistle blowers are just trying to fulfill their own agendas, and create a job for themselves. The Earth was created a long, long time ago, and we were not always on it. Evidence shows quite clearly that the oceans have risen and fallen, and the climate has warmed and cooled over the eons, without our help, or our ignorance in how we treat it. This is not to say we are not helping it along, making things slightly worse slightly faster than it would on its own. The pollution we exude into both the atmosphere and waterways is unhealthy, but will cause more problems for ourselves and the creatures we inhabit the Earth with, than the Earth itself. Nature will survive, in one form or another. We may not, as a species, but Mother Nature has periodically chosen species for extinction without our contributions, so why should we expect her to change just for us?
    
    Our family practices recycling, but we do this as a choice for our children's future. If we have a choice, why not recycle things, rather than simply burying them in a hole in the ground? Eventually, we wil be standing on monuments to our greed and waste, and not on the Earth itself. This will also go a small distance towards slowing the warming process, but will never eliminate it. It is inevitable; Global Warming will occur; just as another Ice Age will appear. We as a people cannot change the unchangeable, we can only adapt and attempt to persevere.

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15. 90

    bankscottageposted 12 years ago

    I am concerned about the impact of humans on the environment, especially with our ever-growiing population.  But, global warming, I am not so sure about.  Why can't the people promoting global warming practice what they preach?  So many of these people (think Al Gore), live in very large houses, fly in private jets, and to me appear to do little or nothing to reduce their own carbon footprint.

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