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What do you believe about climate change?

What is your position on climate change?

  • It's not happening

    Votes: 2 3.4%

  • It's happening but it's naturally caused

    Votes: 18 31.0%

  • it's caused by man

    Votes: 32 55.2%

  • not sure

    Votes: 6 10.3%
  • Total voters
    58
M

Masterhawk

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Climate change has been a political issue in the US at least since the 1980s. However, for the next decade or so, there was a wave of climate change skepticism in which global warming either wasn't happening or was naturally happening. Now, things are starting to sway in favor of the ones who are concerned about global warming.

I would like to see this site's view on this issue.
 
I believe that climate change is mostly a natural process, but pollution is generally bad period. I believe that most of the ecosystem damage attributed to climate change is being caused by pollution and human activity having nothing to do with carbon. I believe that constraining carbon, however, will have the knock on effect of constraining pollution and growth of human activities so it gets us heading toward the right results even if it is not for the right reason.
 
There's nothing to "believe" in, as the science is quite clear.

The planet is in a warming trend and at the very least humans are contributing. At the worst, we are making the situation exponentially worse. Either way, we are negatively involved.

The other thing is that climate isn't the only issue. We are deforesting the planet and there is very little original old growth left, meaning a huge loss of biodiversity. The planet is being strip mined to provide goods for consumer capitalism that are temporary. Our landfills are sky high. Mass extinction is underway. Particulate pollution is at an all time high. We have incredible medical technology, but we also have rising chronic disease rates. Happiness quotients in most industrialized nations are declining. So we are trashing the planet and not even making ourselves happier for it.

To me, it seems pretty clear that evil is prevailing on this planet. Every system that collapses, they profit from. And the sad thing is that all of us just sit complacently and let it happen. If only 3% of the nation turned out to Capitol Hill to demand changes, the economy would suffer enough loss and there would be enough people that gears would stop turning. The government would have to listen. But will we do that? Nope.

We need a revolution badly. The evil people that are destroying the planet have names and addresses. They need to be held accountable.

Take the Amazon for example. Why does the President of Brazil get to decide what happens to a forest that provides 20% of the world's oxygen? He has no right.
 
Masterhawk said:
Climate change has been a political issue in the US at least since the 1980s. However, for the next decade or so, there was a wave of climate change skepticism in which global warming either wasn't happening or was naturally happening. Now, things are starting to sway in favor of the ones who are concerned about global warming.

I would like to see this site's view on this issue.
Click to expand...

I selected "happening naturally."

The Earth has existed for several billion years and it has been in constant change since it began to form.

All sorts of things affect it, from the gravitic pull of the other bodies in the Solar System, through radiation internal and from space, tectonics, volcanism, atmospheric changes, and the creatures that have developed on it.

Mankind is only one such. We are having an effect, but to blame us as the sole cause is a bit over-simplistic, IMHO.
 
Im on the fence. Climate is a complex system made of many variables, and its more than just changed by CO2. There has been some warming (1 degree to be exact and this took about 40 years), but this may just be a natural occurrence. The fact is we dont know a lot about it- anyone who claims the science is settled is lying. Also, the predicted climate catastrophe is most probably just a bunch of BS, fueled by politics and agenda.
 
Of course it's caused by man. If not for the greenhouse gases released into the atmosphere, the Earth would actually be in the process of becoming more cool.

Climate Change Is Reversing a 50-Million-Year-Old Cooling Trend | NOVA | PBS

In a study published Monday in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS), scientists report that a planet-wide cooling trend that began nearly 50 million years ago is reversing due to climate change.
Click to expand...
 
I voted "other". I think the climate has been naturally warming for the last 150 years since the end of the little ice age, but humanity is also contributing to the warming.

It's impossible to put a number on the relative percentages here, but my personal opinion is that it's about 60-40% humanity/natural causes. Mostly based on natural climate warming and cooling cycles over the last century. Those are probably caused by natural processes, while CO2's effect would be more-or-less constant.

A presumably "natural" cooling cycle can cause the overall warming to slow down or even seem to stop as in the period from 1940-1965 or the more recent one from about 1997-2015. So I figure the varying natural and constant anthropocentric forces must be roughly co-equal - maybe a little tilted towards the anthropogenic.

Just my opinion.
 
Masterhawk said:
Climate change has been a political issue in the US at least since the 1980s. However, for the next decade or so, there was a wave of climate change skepticism in which global warming either wasn't happening or was naturally happening. Now, things are starting to sway in favor of the ones who are concerned about global warming.

I would like to see this site's view on this issue.
Click to expand...

It doesn't matter what the opinion is of random people on internet forums, only the science matters. It is an undeniable fact that human activity is dramatically exacerbating climate change.

Captain Adverse said:
I selected "happening naturally."

The Earth has existed for several billion years and it has been in constant change since it began to form.

All sorts of things affect it, from the gravitic pull of the other bodies in the Solar System, through radiation internal and from space, tectonics, volcanism, atmospheric changes, and the creatures that have developed on it.

Mankind is only one such. We are having an effect, but to blame us as the sole cause is a bit over-simplistic, IMHO.
Click to expand...

It's not an either or. Literally nobody has said humans are the only factor. Human activity, namely the uncontrolled release of extremely high levels of a greenhouse gas into the atmosphere is dramatically exacerbating climate change. This is a scientific fact and your opinion and wishes are irrelevant.
 
RabidAlpaca said:
It doesn't matter what the opinion is of random people on internet forums, only the science matters. It is an undeniable fact that human activity is dramatically exacerbating climate change.



It's not an either or. Literally nobody has said humans are the only factor. Human activity, namely the uncontrolled release of extremely high levels of a greenhouse gas into the atmosphere is dramatically exacerbating climate change. This is a scientific fact and your opinion and wishes are irrelevant.
Click to expand...

Did you read the poll options?

They seem pretty clear-cut, no "wiggle room" as you've tried to create.

Question: What is your position on climate change? Option 3: it's caused by man.

That is an absolute statement, not nuanced like you make out in your reply.

What was my choice? Option 2: It's happening but it's naturally caused.

So whose response was more honest? Mine, which takes into consideration many of the factors that lead to climate changes, which are always occurring?

Or your "explanation" which uses terms like "dramatically exacerbating," etc. while minimizing the effect of all other factors.

BTW, human beings are part of the natural world, so that also supports my choice. :coffeepap:
 
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Captain Adverse said:
BTW, human beings are part of the natural world, so that also supports my choice. :coffeepap:
Click to expand...

By 'naturally caused' I am pretty sure the OP wasn't talking about emissions from industry/modern civilization. Pretty sure you knew that too as you posted your smug smiley.
 
Captain Adverse said:
Did you read the poll options?

They seem pretty clear-cut, no "wiggle room" as you've tried to create.

Question: What is your position on climate change? Option 3: it's caused by man.

That is an absolute statement, not nuanced like you make out in your reply.

What was my choice? Option 2: It's happening but it's naturally caused.

So whose response was more honest? Mine, which takes into consideration many of the factors that lead to climate changes, which are always occurring?

Or your "explanation" which uses terms like "dramatically exacerbating," etc. while minimizing the effect of all other factors.

BTW, human beings are part of the natural world, so that also supports my choice. :coffeepap:
Click to expand...

That's the difference, you're trying to compare my opinion to yours, when I'm pointing out its a scientific FACT that man is greatly contributing to climate change. I only assume you've got your head so far up Trump's *** you're starting to talk like a Trump-bot.

Geoist said:
By 'naturally caused' I am pretty sure the OP wasn't talking about emissions from industry/modern civilization. Pretty sure you knew that too as you posted your smug smiley.
Click to expand...

"Durrr durrr! Man is technically an animal so my outright denial of science in rejecting man's role in climate change is technically 'nature'!"
 
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Drawdown said:
I believe that climate change is mostly a natural process, but pollution is generally bad period. I believe that most of the ecosystem damage attributed to climate change is being caused by pollution and human activity having nothing to do with carbon. I believe that constraining carbon, however, will have the knock on effect of constraining pollution and growth of human activities so it gets us heading toward the right results even if it is not for the right reason.
Click to expand...

Perhaps the most correct answer is that it is natures way of responding to humans over populating the planet. Simply cause and effect, and nature will prevail in the end.
 
Masterhawk said:
Climate change has been a political issue in the US at least since the 1980s. However, for the next decade or so, there was a wave of climate change skepticism in which global warming either wasn't happening or was naturally happening. Now, things are starting to sway in favor of the ones who are concerned about global warming.

I would like to see this site's view on this issue.
Click to expand...

No reasonable answer on the poll.

My position;

That it has warmed up a bit. I am not sure that the degree of warming is as per the instrument record entirely as there are systemic reasons why some of the warming recorded may be due to changes in the methodology of the data collection.

That there is some element of human caused actual warming.

That this is a good thing. There have been no problems due to it.

That there seems to be no further problems of any significance expected due to the levels of warming predicted by the IPCC. See my challenge if you think you can shwo that there are indeed any significant problems, $100 to you if you show any.
 
Individual said:
Perhaps the most correct answer is that it is natures way of responding to humans over populating the planet. Simply cause and effect, and nature will prevail in the end.
Click to expand...

There is no over population problem.
 
I believe it's happening and that it's primarily caused by human activity. I also believe that it's a serious problem the world needs to take steps to address. I do not, however, believe some of the apocalyptic predictions that some people are making.
 
Captain Adverse said:
I selected "happening naturally."

The Earth has existed for several billion years and it has been in constant change since it began to form.

All sorts of things affect it, from the gravitic pull of the other bodies in the Solar System, through radiation internal and from space, tectonics, volcanism, atmospheric changes, and the creatures that have developed on it.

Mankind is only one such. We are having an effect, but to blame us as the sole cause is a bit over-simplistic, IMHO.
Click to expand...

So you disagree with science. What makes you so bold?
 
Individual said:
Perhaps the most correct answer is that it is natures way of responding to humans over populating the planet. Simply cause and effect, and nature will prevail in the end.
Click to expand...

Humans will be extincted as with all life on the planet. It is just a matter of the details.
 
Drawdown said:
Is he disagreeing with science or are you ignoring it?
Click to expand...

Why don’t you tell me? Here is the science:

“Earth's changing climate is a critical issue and poses the risk of significant environmental, social and economic disruptions around the globe. While natural sources of climate variability are significant, multiple lines of evidence indicate that human influences have had an increasingly dominant effect on global climate warming observed since the mid-twentieth century. Although the magnitudes of future effects are uncertain, human influences on the climate are growing. The potential consequences of climate change are great and the actions taken over the next few decades will determine human influences on the climate for centuries.”
-American Physical Society
 
1280px-Post-Glacial_Sea_Level.png


Phanerozoic_Sea_Level.png
 
Individual said:
How many more humans are needed?
Click to expand...

Needed?

For what?

The purpose of humanity is to spread to the stars. For that we want as many as possible. This earth, with our current technology can easily supporty 20 to 50 billion.
 
ataraxia said:
Why don’t you tell me? Here is the science:

“Earth's changing climate is a critical issue and poses the risk of significant environmental, social and economic disruptions around the globe. While natural sources of climate variability are significant, multiple lines of evidence indicate that human influences have had an increasingly dominant effect on global climate warming observed since the mid-twentieth century. Although the magnitudes of future effects are uncertain, human influences on the climate are growing. The potential consequences of climate change are great and the actions taken over the next few decades will determine human influences on the climate for centuries.”
-American Physical Society
Click to expand...

Yet you can't explain how any place in particular will be adversely effected......
 
ataraxia said:
So you disagree with science. What makes you so bold?
Click to expand...

^ Why do you deny science and believe that but for humans the climate and sea level would never change?
 
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