How could humans cause Global warming?

I don't believe what the media tells me about science because they are not experts in it. I believe what the scientists tell me because they have a long-standing history of knowing what they're talking about. And the only scientists that doubt climate change are those who are simply taking a responsible approach to the data...as any good scientist would. They are hesitant to state with 100% certainty they know *anything* about *anything* because that's how science works. Even gravity is "just a theory" because we know how it works but don't fully understand why (yet). But the numbers of scientists that outright deny humanity's effect on climate change are a vast minority.

Long before this turned into the idiotic debate it has become, scientists were giving us plenty of warnings. The nuclear arms race came to a halt once they made it clear that nuclear winter could be a reality. Countless calculations show that an all-out nuclear war would destabilize the environment in very real and dramatic ways. It's not too much of a stretch to imagine what billions of people, hundreds of millions of vehicles, and thousands of industries working in concert over several decades could do to a planet as delicate as ours.

If you need an example of what atmospheric destabilization can do, just take a look at Venus and Mars. Venus is closer to the sun and suffers from a runaway greenhouse effect. Mars is farther away and has lost most of its atmosphere. A little warmer and you get the insane environment of Venus; a little cooler and you get the inhospitable environment of Mars. We can literally point to our sister planets and say, "See that? That could happen to us!"

The reason they changed the name from "global warming" to "climate change" is due to simple logistics and the fact that it's far more accurate. After all, there are people that still don't understand what the word "theory" means, so imagine if they called it "global atmospheric and climate destabilization theory." People misuse terms all the time, and it was quickly becoming clear that the term "global warming" was misleading people to think that it was simply getting hotter. The reality is far more complex than that.

Accept it or not, humanity is playing a serious role in the continued degradation of the environment. There are *three times* as many people alive as there were just half a century ago, and that growth shows no sign of slowing. All of those people consume and produce waste, and their lifestyles require certain levels of consumption and waste production. Without regulation, everyone's self-concerned and short-sighted behavior is eventually going to catch up with us. We can either sit on our hands and debate it endlessly or we can be responsible humans and do something about it before it's too late to fix.

Think about this. What if the people who are claiming that climate change is real are wrong? What harm could come about from following their advice about reducing greenhouse gases, responsible fuel consumption, and alternate forms of energy? How is improving efficiency and protecting the environment even kind of a bad thing? Now think about this. What if the people who doubt climate change are wrong? What good would come about from unregulated greenhouse gas production, wanton fuel consumption, and a single (limited) form of energy? How is running out of fuel and exploiting the environment even kind of a good thing?

Politics and the virulent nature of memes are the only reason there is even a debate on climate change. The vast majority of people talking about it aren't even qualified to do so. Our opinions about scientific facts have zero bearing on the truth. Regardless of whether it's true or not, we are wrong to cast it aside as the rantings of financially- and politically-motivated people just trying to impose their will upon the rest of us. We may have become cynical over the past few decades, but that is no reason to justify irresponsibility just to prove a point.

The word "global" does NOT mean "universal". It refers to our globe, the planet Earth. I have seen no evidence that the climate on other planets is also changing due to human activity. If you have some, why not share it with us?

Humans could cause global warming by burning every single bit of fossil fuel we can dig out of the ground or pump from it, thus putting literally MILLIONS of tons of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases into the atmosphere *every* single day. Do you imagine we can just keep doing that forever without consequences? If so, then your imagination is a lot wilder than mine is.

Get a clue - it's really happening. It isn't some conspiracy.

edit:

"while water vapor is the green house gas that has the most effect."

Right, guess what the OTHER product of burning hydrocarbons is? Water vapor.

They changed the name from "Global Warming" to climate change because of people like Hannity saying things like "how can we have global warming when there are record cold temperatures in New York."

Also, there is no doubt that some of the climate changes are due to the Sun. Throwing that wrench into the argument doesn't change the fact that increasing carbon emissions also are having a detrimental effect.

Read about it...

And not on a pundit's blog.

The increase in CO2 over the past forty years has averaged about 12 billion metric tons, which is comparable to the estimated production of the stuff by human activity. But this is not conclusive; there is evidence that CO2 increases have followed, rather than preceded, episodes of warming over the past several hundred million years, and if that is the case, human activity cannot be held responsible. CO2 levels depend on the interaction between the atmosphere and the ocean, which contains fifty times as much CO2 as the air does.

Co2 Emmissions dont cause global warming. We have more CO2 emmisions in the past 10 years and the global temp has gone down. Hmmm wonder how that works. Our planet warms and cools on its own over thousands of years. WIth or without humans its done it this way for a very long time. We have had many ice ages were the planet froze solid in some cases for thousands of years at a time. Its also been through ages of warmer weather that lasted for thousands if not millions in some cases. we have a small impact on local events but on the grand scale i think humans have very little affect.

It's pretty obvious humans have made changes to the environment as in co2 emissions and destruction of forests. All of that means less oxygen and more carbon dioxide so it wouldn't surprise me if humans are at least part of the problem.

Regardless of whether humans cause climate change, large-scale manufacturing and other heavy industry puts a burden on people through its pollutants - air, water and ground. It makes no difference to me whether our activities cause climate change BECAUSE I see cutbacks in these pollutants as a good things, regardless of its climate effects.

However, they are slightly different problems and should be addressed in different ways. Personally, I think we should address the pollution problem first.

Btw: Why is this in R&S?

Global - refering to the globe, the planet Earth particularly

Universal - refering to the universe, many planets and the space between them

Human caused global warming is a result of bad science and has been used as a fear tactic to get people to do what they are told to do in order to do the right thing.

You misinterpret the word Global - pertaining to the whole world; worldwide; universal: the dream of global peace. Here it say Universal, not the universe.

Universal 1. of, pertaining to, or characteristic of all or the whole:

As in the whole planet.

Micah 7:13 "And the earth will become desolate because of her inhabitants, On account of the fruit of their deeds."