Hi All,
I have done some reading on Climate Change but do not claim any kind of expertise. In fact with all the arguments and counter claims, and counter counter claims.. its difficult to really have any kind of decent view.
The problem for me is that I dont really understand what are the major contributors to global warming.
I am not going to argue that at any point we should not be taking steps to use less fossil fuels, do less damage to the environment, decrease polution, make better use of resource and waste management through recycling but the feeling that I get is that these will have largely a very small impact on global warming (but still has profound impact on the quality of life and condition of the planet) which seems to be more of a macro problem that we are trying to deal with through micro responses.
As I said, I do believe that we need to take many of the steps that we have or are going to continue to take but I dont entirely buy into the lets not drive our cars because we will prevent the world from overheating and the glaciers from melting.
So, my questions are (assuming there are definitive answers):
What greenhouse gases cause the worlds average temperatures to rise? Do we know?
What actual contribution does man make to these figures? In what percentages and from what actions?
Confusion over the issues is by default the norm, unless you have studied the science to a great degree. I would consider my academic qualifications to be way above average, but still don't claim to really understand the fundamentals behind the science of GW. What I do know is the scientific process and the methodologies that have been established to promote good science. Theory and experimentation, publishing in peer-reviewed learned journals, more work, more refined theories, further results, more peer-review. Peers also going over your work to establish its veracity and perhaps push it further along or down different routes, and if they are successful then that is further evidence for the soundness of the basic premise.
And so it continues. I can't and won't argue over the science, in the same way that I wouldn't expect the majority here to argue over, for example, the mechanistic aspects of the cyclisation of benzil and some benzil analogues when treated with an excess of chlorosulphonic acid (chlorosulfonic acid for our american readers). But the science has been established and peer reviewed and accepted. It may go via an alternative mechanistic pathway, certainly, but as a predictive tool it works satisfactorily and as an explanation of empirical observations it is reasonable and logical.
So it is with global warming. The huge majority of the science stands up to review by its peer group and that fact alone should be enough for 'us' to accept it as valid. It is a huge subject, possibly one of the most studied areas of science ever and still it stands. You may be able to pick holes in small areas. You may be able to snipe at some aspects if you want, but if it was wrong, then the truth would rapidly be out. There is no room here for conspiracy theories that the government want an excuse to tax us. They don't need and never have needed a reason to tax us. You certainly don't want to pay attention to a minority of trolls who play stupid games with obscure areas of the subject and add political dimensions that just don't exist. GW Bush accepts it as a problem, every western government accepts it as a problem. Most heads of industry and academics throughout the world accept it as a problem.
The only people who don't accept it are those who don't care, don't know or are too selfish and looking for a reason not to change.
And if you come onto these forums and see a lot of posts that deny the veracity of the science, then you have uncovered the plague of trolls that live in this forum. But don't believe what these siren voices tell you. They are just bored with nothing better to do. And they live for a reaction to their rubbish. The stronger the reaction, the more excited they get. Every forum based website has them and these are the AVForums nest. If you should be tempted to believe anything they say, just remember that GW Bush, A. Schwarzneger of California and the US Senate all acknowledge the problem. They are bigger than trolls and so much more believable.
Finally a note about the forum itself. Stuart, the Big Boss says in his bit about the forum:
A note to people who do not believe that global warming is a result of man's influence, this forum is *not* for you. Arguments as to whether global warming exists or not; or that it exists as a result of man's influence or not are mute
- so you know the posts that deny it are trolling, without any shadow of a doubt. They are not welcome, this is not a forum for them, they are trolling. Their presence has meant this forum has descended at times into mayhem and nonsense, rather than a source of information on perhaps the most pressing issue of the 21 st Century. But we are kindly folk and have let them live. At times we may even have been guilty of encouraging them by feeding their sad need for a response. But things change. I say squash them all. Terminate them and their presence with prejudice. Don't accept any more lies or mis-information, or 'playful' needling. The time has come to take this forum back to what it should be.