They have also proved that cows farting contributes to global warming. Should we just wipe cows off the face of the earth? Your an idiot if you think there is anything we can do about global warming. Might as well set up a government agency, throw billions at it, and ask them to turn water into wine. Good lucky buddy.
wrong!! And since climatology grew out of a lot of other sciences it actually encompasses and links in with other sciences - like for example atmospheric chemistry (think THEY do not do experiments) Biology, ecology, marine biology and ecology, physics (of course known for not doing experiments) astronomy (who do you think is advising them about solar irradiation) agronomy, and just about every other discipline up to and including medicine (spread of tropical diseases) OF course some of the main experiments are around "modelling" the atmosphere and then observing how the actual temperatures match the models - and they have been reasonably accurate given the huge amounts of data the models require. Hard to fake too since the models are out there in the public domain and anyone can check on them This is why virtually every Scientific society in the world has issued a statement saying anthropogenic global warming is real wrong! and Oh! Dear Oh! Dear Oh! Dear! Have you never heard of the "null hypothesis"? In short the main hypothesis they have been trying desperately to disprove is that man is NOT responsible What? That list of opinion pieces and blatant cherry picked lies? You want me to believe twaddle like that from an easily disproven sources like the ones you quoted? And the one that was "neither pro nor anti" was DATED - been there proved the story a blatant attempt to discredit scientists
No but there are millions more cows on earth than there were a century ago - especially here in Australia. We could, and probably should have, years ago investigated the possibilities of farming kangaroo - no methane from roo's
Now, how many of that 97% believe it is solely due to anthropomorphic warming? The globe has been warming since the end of the last glaciation. The OP is one of the questions I ask over and over again and can never get an answer from the true believers. What should we do when this mild interglacial ends and the next glacial period begins, a cycle that has been ongoing for the last 450 thousand years in a 2.5 million year ice age. It was up to 5C warmer during the last interglacial and the seas were 15 to 20 ft higher so why do people think warming up 1 degree will be bad. In fact, it will be a good thing considering the alternative.
Okay let us start with the idea that because there has been some warming in the past humans are not currently responsible for THIS warming Now we have already seen the extinction of at least one branch of humanity because of what happened at the end of the younger dryas The question is - can we afford NOT to do something about global warming?
That still does not answer my question. During the last interglacial, it was as much as 5 C warmer than it is now which was not due to industry. The last interglacial eventually ended like all the interglacials before it so we can assume this one will too, leading into possibly a 100,000 year glacial period. So first, do you think this mild interglacial will end like all others have before it during the last 450 thousand years? No one has yet ever answered this question. Second, do you believe in a "tipping point", which is a solely imaginary point that the temperature runs away and everything on earth fries? Seeing that we have cyclical glacial periods, would it not behoove us to make sure we warm things up as much as possible?
Not really. Eemian interglacial period temps were basically the same as current temps. Far northern temps were a bit higher, while other temps were a bit cooler. No, we can't assume it, not when we change conditions. If we put enough CO2 in the air, there won't be a new glacial period. And by "no one", you mean "everyone". The interglacial won't end for 50,000 years, if CO2 emission patterns continue on their current path. Insufficient data, and not really relevant. That's an insanely stupid plan, because it's like saying we should heat the house in July because it's going to be cold in December. It's getting hot _now_. What possibly happens in 15,000 years can be handled at that time.
Actually, this interglacial is expected to end anytime, not another 50K since the interglacials don't even last that long. You did answer the question that you believe there is a "tipping point" that will override any natural occurrences or basically caused by CO2. That in itself is a belief without any real world proof. As it goes, temps in the northern climates tend to change more than Equatorial temperatures do. Yes, the Eemian temps were very similar but at times as much as 5C warmer than now with no human intervention. That in itself should give you pause before determining that the last 100 years determines the future in the current interglacial period of about 11K years or the 450 thousand year cycle of interglacials that could be determined during the last 2.5 million year ice age. Here you go.
Plenty of proof - because we can actually measure it happening - like the melting of siberia and the release of the methane Sorry but YOUR "proof" is a picture from "imageshack"? http://www.skepticalscience.com/climate-change-little-ice-age-medieval-warm-period.htm
It will be 50k years, should we push CO2 up to 700 ppm. If we pretend global warming doesn't exist and keep escalating yearly CO2 production, we'll hit 700 ppm in about a century.
Have we had previous warming cycles during the current interglacial, the Holocene? What created the Holocene Maximum? Why has CO2 been increasing in our atmosphere for 18,000 years? Why do increases in CO2 lag as much as 800 years behind temperature increases? How would eliminating all human caused greenhouse gases effect global temperature when they only account for about 0.28% of the total? What caused the earth to come out of an ice age into the current mild interglacial in the first place? What caused the Eemian interglacial and why did it end? The previous interglacial, the Eemian, lasted only about 16,000 years. The current Holocene age is approximately 12,000 years old. When will this current interglacial end plunging us into another 100,000 year ice age?
I don't see how with a 0.007 per-year degree C rise per year IF the current historical 100-year temperature data is to be believed.
Yes, but not like this one. The biggest previous Holocene warming cycle was about half a degree in about 500 years. The current rate of warming is half a degree in 30 years. Ice ages and inter-glacials are triggered by small changes in Earth's orbit called Milankovitch cycles, which cause orbital forcing of the climate. Since Earth's orbit can be computed for thousands of years into the past and future, we know that orbital forcing peaked 6000 years ago, right at the Holocene Maximum. But since then, orbital forcing has been cooling the planet. In other words, the current warming has nothing to do with ice ages or interglacials. Well, actually only about 8000 years, coinciding with the rise of human agriculture. There was a very slow increase of CO2 prior to the industrial revolution, most likely caused by deforestation. Since the industrial revolution, there has been a very rapid increase in CO2 caused by fossil fuel burning. CO2 and temperature are in a positive feedback loop: increasing either one causes the other one to also increase. This is because there is a lot of CO2 stored in the ocean, and warm water holds less CO2 than cold water. So if there is some external climate forcing -- like orbital forcing, as described above -- the oceans warm, which releases CO2, which causes more warming, which releases more CO2. You're confusing emission with stored amounts. It's the amount stored in the atmosphere which causes global warming, and that's the only number that counts when you compute the warming. The current level of CO2 in the air is 390 ppmv, which is a 40% increase over pre-industrial levels. That increase is entirely due to fossil fuel burning. Reducing CO2 emissions won't make it cooler -- we would need to actually reduce CO2 in the air to do that. But reducing emissions will prevent it from getting even hotter than it would have otherwise. See above: Milankovitch cycles and orbital forcing. See above: Milankovitch cycles and orbital forcing. Given our current interference with the climate, that is impossible to say.
But it is possible to say that it will probably happen again and that much of what we know about current warming comes from a very very short span of time of actual temperatures and plenty of speculation. To believe that it will never happen again and the earth will warm to previous temperatures before 2.5 million years ago means you have to believe in a man made "tipping point" that will overcome all natural occurences, which is some point that no one can identify but it sure sounds good for scaring the populous into social changes they may not welcome. There is plenty of reason to believe that we are contributing to warming, but there is no real consensus on how much or how much is actually natural. Most climate models need changing when new things are discovered, which means they were flawed in the first place due to ignorance. All, and I mean ALL, of the predictions are based on assumptions and computer modeling. No computer modeling today can simulate even a small part of the actual climate but must make generalizations based on best guesses. Those best guesses are limited by man's ability and the inability to "know everything".
Like I said about modeling and predictions. Earth's Polar Ice Melting Less Than Thought http://www.usnews.com/news/articles/2012/02/08/earths-polar-ice-melting-less-than-thought "Even with an eight-year estimate, it's not clear how far into the future you can project," he says. "A lot of people want to predict into the end of the century, but I think it's too dangerous to do that We don't have enough info to know what'll happen. There's some ebb and flow to these things."
Everyone knows global warming/climate change is a conspiracy invented by Al Gore and most of the respectable scientific community. [/sarc]
Actually it was started by a guy that is not even a climatologist who's fame is about creating a computer model of a planet he has never been on. Now back to the OP. What are the positive effects of Global Warming? Since the equatorial region changes little during warming and most of the effect is in the northern and southern hemisphere. That means that breadfruit could once again be grown in Iceland.
.007 Degree C per year for the past 100 years. (7 THOUSANDTHS of a degree). How much is contributed by human beings has to be almost negligible.
I wouldn't call it a conspiracy. Global warming has become an industry fueled by our tax-dollars and, like many useless 'black holes' into which our tax money flows, there are legions of folks dependent on government grants to keep their on-going research...well...on-going.
But one can say that about anything. Just because there's profit in something, doesn't mean it's not true. For it to be a "CONSPIRACY" you need proof of a combination of intentional dishonesty and fudged data.
I said I wouldn't call it a conspiracy...Geez do some of you people even read posts? GW is not settled it is on-going research (which I also said) yet we are lead to believe we need to spend our tax dollars thwarting something that hasn't even been proven. There is no profit. Like many government 'black hole' programs the money goes in and nothing comes out. Solyndra comes to mind.
Oh relax...you're not being personally attacked. But you did write: Global warming has become an industry fueled by our tax-dollars By saying industry, you did imply profit motivated business activity was part of your concern.
I didn't say I was 'personally attacked' I asked of you people actually read posts. Again you fail to properly address what is written. Industry is fueled by its own PROFIT not by our tax dollars. Where do some you people think profit comes from anyway? Gad it's worse than I thought!
It appears we are seeing more lies from the GW community http://www.usnews.com/news/articles/2012/02/08/earths-polar-ice-melting-less-than-thought http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2012/feb/08/glaciers-mountains?intcmp=122