Does human activity really effect climate change?

Hello,

Good question.

I don't think anyone will bother reading down this far, especially with all the great information (& some misinformation written above), but here goes.

It is well established in the scientific field that Global Warming does exist, and has existed as long as time, however the problem today is Accelorated Global Warming, which may, or may not, be artifically warming the lower atmosphere as well as the seas, plus accellorating melting polar ice. These are all measurable and well documented. These have in fact flutuated in time and are all part of the solar harmonics that helped created life as we know it on this planet.

I don't mean to ruffle anyone's feathers on either side of this issue however.

Let's look at the other side: Dr Carl Sagen has been quoted having said the atmosphere is like a coat of varnish on the globe which would represent a scale model of the earth. For years man has survived with tons of guilt, i.e. "if you sin, your crops will fail", "you are always punished for the evil deeds you do", etc., etc.

The issue is one of proportion.

After all the good arguments for both sides given above, you have to ask yourself: "Are man's activities sufficient to alter the weather?" Some people say no (and usher a lot of insults toward well-meaning people on the other side), while others say yes, we are tipping the balance toward Global Warming.

It is highly improbable that all the actions of mankind on this huge planet account for all the observed symptoms attributed to Global Warming today. We are painting mankind with God-like qualities when we give him absolute credit for the warming.

Mankind disagrees on a lot of things, and always will.

Global warming may not be the environmental catastrophe some people make it out to be, but it is worth taking reasonable precautions against making it any worse than it is.

There are always fools spoiling for a fight and this issue brings them out enmass. History bears that out certainly, working together to find the best solution to recognizable goals and needs will certainly be a better use of people's time and effort, than does the issuance of a load of grief.

Sincerely,

Will from IL

p.s. Don't get distracted over the hoop-la over Global Warming. Its certainly not the most serious environmental issue we face, and too many well-meaning people are ignoring far more serious issues of our time.

The layer of atmosphere that we live and breathe in is the smallest layer of the atmosphere. With the right wind pollution produced in China can be in America in a matter of days, and visa versa.

Human beings definitely have an effect.

For one thing, C02 increases the amount of water that air can hold.

C02 is heavier than air, so it weakens natural convection cycles which drive cooling in our layer of atmosphere. C02 production of humans is less than volcanoes, but is more continous, and has less chemicals that reabsorb the C02. In short, human pollution is worse than any form of natural pollution.

Deforestation complicates the problem as natural forests, reabsorb more overland C02 than almost anything.

Kyoto protocol was too weak to have strong effect on policies of government, consumers or industry. What is needed is some kind of massive public transportation system overhaul. No government is willing to fund that. Anything that requires the private individual to change by their own massive effort will also fail. So that leaves industry to make up for what government and individuals refuse to do. Industry won't change until it is profitable, however, and it may be very bad by then.

An unheard of solution, would be to have car exhaust filtered through lye and water vapor. This would remove C02 from the exhaust before it even reaches the atmosphere.

Yes, as is clear once you get the facts straight. Let's do that.

"Our atmosphere is made up of Nitrogen 78%, Oxygen 21%, Argon 0.93% and Carbon Dioxide poultry 0.036%."

Correct. However, Nitrogen, Oxygen, and Argon are not greenhouse gases. CO2 accounts for 9-26% of the greenhouse effect on Earth.

http://www.realclimate.org/index.php?p=142

"Carbon Dioxide levels have risen by .0072% since 1900."

Completely false and not even close. CO2 concentration has increased from about 295 ppm in 1900 to 385 ppm now. That's a 30% increase since 1900.

http://globalwarmingart.com/wiki/Image:Carbon_Hist...

"The biggest producers of this gas are natural phenomena. Super volcanoes such as Toba, Yellowstone and Taupo are big offenders."

Also completely false. Humans emit 150 times more CO2 than volcanoes.

http://www.geology.sdsu.edu/how_volcanoes_work/cli...

"Water Vapour accounts for 96% of the greenhouse effect"

Actually it's 36-66% of the greenhouse effect.

http://www.realclimate.org/index.php?p=142

"Between 1050 & 1400 the temperature was 0.75 degrees C hotter than it is now."

False.

http://climateprogress.org/2008/09/03/sorry-denier...

"Australia rates 19th out of 20 of the worlds worst emitters."

What the heck does that even mean? You're also 19th out of the world's worst 207 emitters.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_...

And in terms of per capita emissions, Australia is 13th in the world. Almost as bad as the USA.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_...

Though I'm not sure why we're talking about Australia to begin with.

So basically nearly every claim you made was completely false, which is why your conclusion that humans don't effect the climate is also false.

Yes, lets irrigate all of Western Australia because all that fresh water has no place in the ecosystem processes where it meets the ocean and of course all that desert is really a waste of space. While we're at it, lets cut down all that useless rainforest is south western Tasmania. After all that timber is a useful resource and the trees get in the way when you want to go to the coast. Maybe we should also take all the fish off the Great Barrier Reef and put them in aquariums for us all to look at them. That way they will become a useful resource.

I think, that rather than taking the egocentric view of the world as so many other humans do, go and educate yourself about environmental processes rather than cutting and pasting some of the most scientifically unsound drivel on the internet. Go and learn how to do undertake independent research to make truly informed statements.

Fred Singer is a glorified weatherman whose opinion on climate change is about as valuable as my electrician's opinion on my leaky taps.

Simple; turn off channel 7, Wipe out channel nine and stamp out ten burn the ABC, then BAN all talk back radio as media brainwash is the deadliest volcano of all. Perhaps tighter media Legislation would be a better solution than media brainwashing, the greatest fear manufacturing terrorists of all. How we all absorb the fear of Global warming then take it to extreme. While we are all scared to death of what never will be, never will be, these dangerous medias sell all the Global warming garbage then rake in their millions by doing exactly nothing but scaring the public daily then cash in on it; a great racket don't You\ think? What about humans farting everywhere,it producerss CO2 also but whosemonitoringg that?.

Hurrah! Commonsense at last. I remember many years ago watching the eruption of a mountain in Washington State live on TV here in UK. I thought then and still do that all man's puny efforts to make smoke could not come close to the tonnage of crap thrown up by an eruption.

Thus I believe that Global Warming is not happening but that instead we're having a small shift in what is best described as Climate Change.

One ancient scientist I saw on TV (and I do rather trust the Elders) told us that while the Northern Hemisphere is cooling down the Southern Hemisphere is warming up. Cannot remember how many degrees, but we're talking small shifts of .00 something over say ten years.

Here's some nice black smoke. What boy would not shout with joy at the sight of these - the awesome Big Boy locomotives of the Mighty Union Pacific Railroad Co.

http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=sOFD8FDaDI4&feature=...

Here in UK the people are not interested in high speed electric trains, what the people want are steam locomotives. Yes, proof positive, if it were ever needed, that we British are bonkers.

"Carbon Dioxide poultry 0.036%."

That doesn't sound like much now does it (unless you're a chicken)? Did you know that a paltry concentration of 0.0003% of cyanide in gaseous form is enough to kill you in a few minutes just as dead as a one of those chickens in the colonels deep fryers?

"According to Dr S Fred Singer" What? Somebody still quotes that guy? Hasn't he been discredited enough?

Sorry but a bunch of false facts do not make one reality.

Oh that's enough for tonight, my sides are starting to hurt.

Of course it does! Automobile exhausts, smoking, industrial emissions are the major contributors to global warming and greenhouse gases. Who else but humans are responsible for it?

No proof we do, no proof we don't. Not many meteorologists or climatologists (people who ACTUALLY know what they're talking about) are going to say that our actions don't effect the atmosphere at all, but they will say climate will continually change regardless of what we do or don't do.

Yes sweetie...does food effect your body? You are what you eat so Earth is what we do to it.