How many people seriously still believe global warming is real?

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Zach W

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theres is so much evidence pointing against it, polar ice caps on mars and jupiter are also melting...the sun is simply getting hotter. the UN has even taken the steps to change its stance from global warming to global climate change. I'm not saying that pollution is not playing a role in the climate change, simply that its not the primary cause. There's a lot of talk on capital hill about carbon taxing and thats why this global warming thing has been blown way out of proportion. does anyone else feel exploited by this?
 
The sun is not getting hotter but we apparently just saw the end of a Grand Solar Maximum and the sun is now nearly totally devoid of any sunspots. How much of the warming we enjoyed (yes I did enjoy the warmer temps) was due to the sun's output is unknown and with present technology it's unknowable. But the contribution of CO2, a trace gas making up .04% of the atmosphere and the lowest warming potential of any greenhouse gas is minimal at best. We could triple CO2 levels with minimal impact on global temp as most of the radiation in the 3 bandwidths of infrared that interact with CO2 molecules has already done so and water vapor interacts with the very same infrared radiation.

That being said, it's foolish to pollute the air and water and to squander petroleum by burning it up. We'll eventually run out and I'd rather transition away to renewables before we fight over the last few dozen barrels.Carbon credits are nothing more than a transfer of wealth from wealthy countries (and individuals) to poor, Unfortunately, the increased costs will be passed on to the poor in developed countries, but in the end the cost may force us to give up oil and make other energy sources more competitive. I'd much rather have Obama invest a few billion in solar and wind research and deployment, but I favor the carrot over the stick mentality.
 
I do believe global waming is real. The days are hotter in summer and in antartica evidence of ice melting. How can you not believe that it isn't real.
 
Benjamin's answer is a good one.

If the Sun was getting noticeably hotter, you'd expect our satellites to measure it. They haven't.

Also, Uranus is cooling[1]

This pretty strongly undermines any argument that it's the fault of changes in the Sun's direct output. It appears to be more likely that factors on individual planets are important. Like changes in Martian dust, or eccentricity of a planet's orbit.
 
"Global Warming" exploits the religious and altruistic nature of man. People have a natural inclination to believe man is an evil creature and is the source for everything bad.

"Global Warming" believer wrap their findings in pseudo scientific jargon and claim that it's real science. However educated people know that science cannot be used to predict the future.

"Science" has a better chance of predicting next weeks lottery numbers than accurately predicting the climate 100 years from now.
 
I do, and so do 97% of climatologists,[1] according to a recent survey.

And your evidence isn't evidence at all; it's just falsehoods and partial truths that you typically hear from the deniers.

A. Orbital changes, called Milankovitch cycles, and not the sun, are likely the cause of any climate change seen on Mars.[2] The Milankovitch cycles are also likely responsible for the beginning of ice ages and interglacial periods here on Earth as well.

B. Jupiter doesn't even have ice caps and there's no evidence that Jupiter is experiencing a "global warming". There is, however, evidence of warm spots on Jupiter, or rising storms. This is as likely to be local events as to be a global event. Also, Jupiter produces its own internal heat which affects climate more than any forcing from the sun. Climate on Jupiter is poorly understood, but this should not be used to deny climate change on Earth.[3]

C. The sun is not getting hotter. A 2006 study and review of existing literature, published in Nature, determined that there has been no net increase in solar brightness since the mid 1970s, and that changes in solar output within the past 400 years are unlikely to have played a major part in global warming.[4]

D. I'd feel like we were exploiting our children and grandchildren if we don't deal with this problem at this time.



Edit, I don't know where thg got his facts and figures from ("41% of climate scientists believe"), but it wasn't from the study that I linked. The problem with having a conversation with the deniers is that they often simply make stuff up.
 
Well, considering that the pollution we have is not going to simply disappear, and that we only have one planet to live on, I think we should be more conscious of what we're doing to the environment.
 
Most rational people and virtually all experts on the subject in the scientific community. I suggest you find some other subject to whine about though - the implementation of carbon abatement policies are now a foregone conclusion.

"does anyone else feel exploited by this?"

What you should feel exploited by is the relentless manipulation of the political process by business interests in the carbon fuel industry so as to bestow unto themselves literally hundreds of billions of dollars in direct and indirect government subsidies. I assure you, whatever the costs of carbon abatement, they will be much less than the unparalleled squander of resources we've undertaken on behalf of such interests. Or perhaps you believe we have military bases throughout the world in oil-producing regions for some reason other than the exploitation of fossil fuel resources?
 
I do! It is going on and we still need to protect our earth from it. The sun may be getting hotter as it grows older, but we still are partly the reason for it. All the pollution trap greenhouse gases on our planet causing it to be hotter. When more people realized it was real, it is starting to get better. But now we have to keep it this way, so keep on protecting, recycling, and conserving!
 
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