What does Global Climate Change/Global Warming mean to you?

I am not trying to sound like an alarmist here, but it is clear that the time for action on climate change is quickly running out. Atmospheric CO2 is considered a trace gas, and small changes produce large consequences. The current level has increased by almost 40% since industrialization. Most scientists believe that if we can keep the atmospheric CO2 concentration below 450 to 500 ppm, then the most serious consequences of global warming can be avoided.

Climate models are estimating the CO2 concentration by the end of the century to range anywhere from 450ppm to over 1200ppm. The reason why there is such a large range is because it is unclear whether humankind will limit our CO2 emissions, or if we will continue to produce increasing amounts of greenhouse gases. It is up to humanity to decide which greenhouse concentrations we will have, which will then influence the amount of global warming to come and will influence the kind of world we will be leaving for our children and grandchildren.

Now, when I say that time is running out, I am not talking about for America or western Europe. The west is rich and will probably be able to adapt to most any future changes. However, if does not act soon to reduce carbon dioxide emissions, then likely consequences of global warming will be[1]:

- 75-250 million people across Africa could face water shortages by 2020.

- Crop yields could increase by 20% in East and Southeast Asia, but decrease by up to 30% in Central and South Asia.

- Agriculture fed by rainfall could drop by 50% in some African countries by 2020

- 20-30% of all plant and animal species at increased risk of extinction if temperatures rise between 1.5 and 2.5C.

- Glaciers and snow cover expected to decline, reducing water availability in countries supplied by melt water.

I realize that most Americans couldn't care less what happens beyond their own backyard. That is the problem; people in rich countries who are producing most of the greenhouse gasses just don't care about the poor people of poor countries who will be most affected by climate change.

Urgent action is needed to limit global warming. Taking no action is irresponsible, immoral, and perhaps illegal (crime against humanity). Also the costs associated with mitigation and adaptation to climate change will be cheaper if action is taken sooner rather then later.

What we need is leadership on this issue, and no, it can not wait until 2020, when 75 million people across Africa run out of water. We need to stop subsidizing the oil, coal, and gas industries. These guys are having record profits anyhow. Let us use that money to wean ourselves from fossil fuels. With American momentum, we can solve almost any problem. The Manhattan Project: completed within years. A man on the moon before the decade (1960's) is out: done. Jimmy Carter's goal for energy independence within 20 years: ummm, still need to work on that—Reagan cut those goals and ripped the solar panels from the roof of the White House to prove a point that policy had changed.

We can start over though; create new goals to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. The technology currently exists to go green in almost every realm except for transportation. But, there is no reason why we can not have cars that get 100/miles to the gallon within 5 years, high speed electric trains, etc. -- if we invest in new technology. And we should invest in this technology, because if we don’t, then believe me, China and India will. They will be the one's holding all the new technology patents bringing a boom to their economies while ours continues to decline. America needs to show leadership on this issue if it wants to remain a superpower.

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"The worst [of the climate change projections] is not going to happen ... not that I think the projections aren't that [accurate], but because we can't be that stupid." -- <<James McCarthy, Harvard University oceanographer who studies how climate change affects marine life.[2]

There have been a prophecy, but instead a report of one of the strongest potentials that existed in our reality. These are events that we could see coming because you are slowly creating them. This is the ability for us to see the potentials of what we are creating that we cannot see. It was that the giant country was going to lose the stability of its largest corporations; the bastions of finance would fall over. It would start with insurance and it did.

And it’s important we understand why. There’s no punishment here. These businesses did’t fall over because they were corrupt. Neither did they fall over because they did something wrong. Really, it does not work that way. If that’s the way it worked on Earth, many things would have fallen over a long time ago. Instead, it was the beginning of the seeds of change in finance and banking that spoke of integrity. The consciousness of the masses decided to reinvent the way bankers work their banks, insurance companies work their money. The rules had to change and they are doing so! Many are still wondering what happened. There’s a financial pruning going on within this planet.

Now what are we going to do with this information? Can we see the picture here? Have we the courage, the maturity, and the insight to celebrate the recession? Can we say, that we are moving forward with a little more integrity in these things that we thought might even sink us. The conspirators will tell you that this and that are going to happen and we are all doomed. Ironically, the proof, is the recession! There still is no understanding that what we are actually doing is pruning the system for integrity.

The United States has a president of color. That wasn’t supposed to happen for many more generations. There simply was too much hatred, too much bias, too many issues and too many problems between races to allow for this. Yet it happened. With all the racial strife, perhaps we wondered how they would ever resolve those racial issues? Yet against all odds, they elected a man of color.

This can only happen with a consciousness shift. These are not esoteric events. These are events around us in real life.

Climate change is the changing season's, we have only been recording temperature for about 150 years, this Global Warming could just be the earth naturally warming over time. The fact is that science does not have enough time recording temperatures to make an accurate analysis of the so called Global Warming.

it means I'd better get busy & cut down that 60 acres of old red oak trees on the south east corner of my property & sell the wood for lumber & fire wood before the government or the U.N makes it illegal to do so.

getting a little tired of just paying taxes on it every year & getting no income from it & it looks like the government is going to use the global warming scam as an excuse to raise taxes again .

once I get it cleared I can use the land to grow corn to sell to the government subsidized ethanol plant.

I sure will miss those thousands of old trees though. some of them are more than a hundred years old.

I think that global warming is going to continue and get worse no matter what people do to try to stop it. From what I've read and what I believe, this has happened in cycles for so many millions and billions of years and the only difference is that now there is intelligent life (aka humans) to witness it, and companies to take advantage and make money out of people's fears.

According to the IPCC "for Northern Europe, climate change is initially projected to bring mixed effects, including some benefits such as reduced demand for heating, increased crop yields and increased forest growth.

I think its a load of crap to be honest.I mean the government tells you to look after the Planet blah blah blah while there's more cars on the road in the day than people. Scientists in 2000 believed that in 2005 the world would black and smokey - was it? Scientists believed in 1998 that the world would of disintegrated by 2006 and it wasn't was it? So that's why i believe scientists make the truth worse than it actually is.

It means that we never get thick snow anyone!! seriously, my Dad can remember the place coming to a standstill during the winter, now all we get is a dribble of snow and ice! im from ireland, and climate change is very visible!

thank u america and china!

mirth :(.

Heh not only are you smart you made me smile too! But for me the real meaning if global warming is like an evil Christmas one where the jokers and thieves in Europe and the UN try to enslave and steal from Americans. http://spqr-us.blogspot.com/

Anyone who actually believes in man made global warming is an idiot.

It means that we are slowly poisioning our planet and in fact poisioning ourselves. Already arid areas will become larger in area, tropical areas may become desserts, polar regions will become green , releasing even more carbon trapped under ice. Flooding will occur, land masses will disappear. Food shortages will appear , etc. It isn t a bright picture, but one that must be stopped and NOW.