Is global warming really a threat?

The science debate behind climate change

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Absolutely, respond most scientists, but they have only recently been able to approach a basic agreement about our changing climate. First, the Earth has gotten warmer. Since 1850, average global temperatures have risen about .6 degrees Celsius, the United Nations says. Greenhouse gases such as carbon dioxide released by humans burning fossil fuels and clearing land are the likely culprits. Sea levels have also risen about 4 to 8 inches during the past century, according to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. Second, the concentration of greenhouse gases (or GHG) in the atmosphere is near its highest point in recorded history. Since the Industrial Revolution, concentrations of carbon dioxide, a potent greenhouse gas, have risen 30 percent. Based on studies of air bubbles trapped in ancient ice, today's levels are higher than any time in at least 420,000 years, said David King, chief science adviser for the British government. If GHG concentrations rise, as expected, concentrations could cross what some consider a "dangerous" threshold, although that designation is contentious. Finally, almost every scientist agrees upon one thing: the future is highly uncertain. While most scientists support projections by the United Nation's Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change that temperatures will rise 1.4 degrees Celsius (2.5 degrees Fahrenheit) to 5.8 degrees Celsius (10.4 degrees Fahrenheit) by 2100, the scientific consensus shows cracks beyond this point.

Yes it is a threat.  Growing up how many times  do you remember not be allowed to go outside because of a smog alert.  Not to mention that natural disasters are increasing with every year and the number of fatalities caused by these disasters hold very scary numbers.

They (whoever they are) have been warning us to be conscious of what we have been doing for years now. But I think the time has come that we must take immediate steps to stabilize the climate. This means reducing global emissions of carbon dioxide (the most important greenhouse gas). There should be a sense of urgency that actions be taken to increase energy efficiency, especially in transportation, buildings and industry. I have heard a whole lot of talk in recent years about the greater use and development of renewable sources of energy, but I haven't seen much of it being done. What we will however see is more of Katrina.

Great topic by the way.

Evidence of global warming??

http://www.cbc.ca/story/world/national/2006/01/08/japan-snow-060108.html

and

http://www.cbc.ca/story/world/national/2006/01/08/delhi-frost-060108.html 

Look at the hurricane patterns that have changed in the Atlantic. Europe is experiencing colder and more extreme weather in the winter and hotter summers at the same time. Global warming is turning out to be a misnomer for what we are experiencing.

Debate on Climate Shifts to Issue of Irreparable Change

Some Experts on Global Warming Foresee 'Tipping Point' When It Is Too Late to Act        

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Now that most scientists agree human activity is causing Earth to warm, the central debate has shifted to whether climate change is progressing so rapidly that, within decades, humans may be helpless to slow or reverse the trend.

 
Climate Expert Says NASA Tried to Silence Him

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The top climate scientist at NASA says the Bush administration has tried to stop him from speaking out since he gave a lecture last month calling for prompt reductions in emissions of greenhouse gases linked to global warming.

Antartic Sheet Melting Quickly

A new report shows the Antartic ice sheet losing as much as 36 cubic miles of ice per year. Data for the new report was gathered by two NASA satellites called the Gravity recovery and climate experiment (GRACE). The report also predicts that by the end of this century lakes and streams on one-fourth of the African continent could dry up because of higher temperatures. Right now the evidence shows that the amount of water pouring into the ocean annually from the Antartic ice sheets is equivalent to the amount of water the United States uses in three months. Scientists are very concerned about the environmental impact this phenomenon will have on the planet.

The early arrival of robins and the early flowering of lilacs might gladden many hearts, but scientists aren???t cheering what they call "season creep."

They say global warming is causing the signals of spring to happen earlier than they used to, evidence that climate change is occurring faster than expected.

Until recently, most forecasts of global warming placed the impacts 30 or 50 years in the future. But new scientific work suggests the timing of the seasons is already being disrupted, says a U.S. report released Tuesday.

Prepared by Washington, D.C.-based Clear the Air, an education foundation, the report summarizes scores of recent studies examining the relation between climate and biological life. Some findings:

???Across the northern hemisphere, lilacs and honeysuckles have been blooming an average of six days earlier than they used to.

???Tree swallows are laying their eggs 12 days earlier than they did in the 1950s.

???Northern cardinals are singing 22 days early. Canada geese and robins are migrating earlier.

???Frogs are starting their mating season 12 days early.

???The marine food chain is being disrupted as plankton blooms arrive earlier.

???Maple syrup season is starting early.

Some of the changes seem mild but can cause havoc, said Jonathan Banks, policy director of Clear the Air and author of the report.

"All of this stuff is so interconnected. If the birds arrive early and their food source isn???t ready, or if the food source is coming out early and the birds don???t arrive, the birds start feeling the impact."

Much of the recent work relies on decades-old notebooks and journals from nature lovers, bird lovers and the like, combined with up-to-date scientific measurements.

"Since the late 1990s, it has become clear that (these) observations are an independent and highly sensitive measure of the impact of climate change on the biosphere," said Mark Schwartz of the University of Wisconsin at Milwaukee, in a teleconference.

Climate change is occurring far sooner than computer modelling predicted, said Banks.

"One of the things we are definitely finding is that the changes we were predicting 30, 40, 50 years out are showing up now.

"It is frightening to think about it, but it???s here already. The whole world is beginning to see the impact."
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Whether people want to believe it or not, it seems nature knows something is changing. I guess the animals are the smart ones, eh?

Scientists discover the main source of global warming.........................

well we are having global warming then how come we are having below normal temperature mmost of the time ???????



global warming is the wrong name it should be global destruction


and it a joke what they are doing to prevent it    all they are targeting is the working person   when most of the destruction are made by major industries, wars etc



  here is a couple of solution that would help   when they cut trees they should replace themwith the same kind of tree not one imported from another country

plane are major culprits and are petrol guzzling maybe putting smog control on them would help ..
ship   do you know how much *** is burned to run them


industries well just look around you will find their problems