Debate: climate change

[Izeroth]

 I thought I'd start a debate regarding climate change. It's pretty clear that climate change does indeed happen (climactic records have consistently shown temperatures rising recently, and we know that it was far colder in our prehistoric past), but what causes it? I personally believe that it's the result of human actions, but what do you think the causes behind it are? I understand that this can be a very volatile topic, so please try to stay polite and respectful of other people's opinions.

[Kitsune]

I said both. The climate changes on its own (i.e. the Ice Age did not last forever and there was no pollution to change it), but I think that pollution is a portion of the cause of climate change.

[Skyblade]

I agree with Izeroth. Interestingly, I saw a video regarding this topic in class today. Evidence actually shows that the temperature is increasing along with greenhouse gases. Look at the top right of this graph, and you'll see that I'm not even exaggerating.

[Jukka the Sling]

My honest opinion is that global warming isn't real. Sure, man-made pollution is bad, but it isn't causing global warming. There have always been ups and downs of climate throughout history.

There's a documentary on YouTube I saw quite a while ago called The Great Global Warming Swindle, which gives reasons for the notion that global warming is fake.

[Delthion]

^^^^ I mean, there is climate change, but it always goes back to the way it was or lower, and then it goes higher! (I don't know why, but I felt like laughing after posting that, so I put the smiley. And now that makes me want to smile so... )

[Mhera]

Maybe you should add another poll option?

I'm with the power couple . I mean, humans were created to be stewards over the earth, so unnecessary pollution should be avoided. But at some point you have to weigh cost/benefit, as well political motives and faulty science, in deciding the proper course of action.

[Kitsune]

The power couple?

[Izeroth]

 Climate change.. is indeed happening. Glaciers don't melt for no reason, and 2014 was the warmest year on record. (Though, at least where I live, it looked like a new ice age  )

[Delthion]

The power couple?

She mean's Jukka and me...

[Kitsune]

The power couple?

She mean's Jukka and me...

Ah, I see. Thank you.

[Jukka the Sling]

The power couple?

She mean's Jukka and me...

Ohh... I actually thought she was referring to a poll option at first...

[Mhera]

Oh, I guess Plugg and Sky both posted here too. Sorry for the confusion .

Edit: This is probably a dumb question or something, but you want a debate so here's something to start with (in case it wasn't clear I'm on the climate change denier side). So:

According to Sky's graph the global temp is 0.6 degrees C (1.1 degrees F) higher on average than it was a century ago (assuming I'm reading the graph right). How can that temperature change be enough to melt any arctic ice? As long as the tempature is below freezing the glaciers shouldn't melt.

'Nother edit: Realized that I asked the wrong type of question. The debate you want is one that assumes global warming happens and now you'd like to see what others think causes it. The question I asked is about wether or not global warming exists period. So disregard my comment if you don't want to get into that debate .

[The Skarzs]

I would just like to note that a single volcanic explosion pumps out more carbon dioxide and materials harmful to the atmosphere than people have in the span of fifty years.
So. . . Mother Nature often does more damage to herself than we do.

[Rusvul]

...No... This isn't a debate... When we put lead in gasoline, the atmosphere filled with lead. When we put trash everywhere, hey, guess what, trash went everywhere. When we put a significant portion of the world's fossile fuel into little tanks of metal and burn them ceaselessly and in mass quantities, we fill the air with their smoke and their carbon emissions.

   Some people talk about observational science and historical science. Regardless of the problems with that model, even if you were to work within it... It's still not much of a question. We have been observing and observing, and it's gotten hotter and hotter. And we've been burning and burning away in our metal boxes and our bigger concrete boxes.

Semirelevant XKCD:

[James Gryphon]

I don't claim to know all the facts, though personally, I suspect that when it's all done, man's activity tends to be very much overhyped in terms of its impact of global warming. Regardless of whether our activity is the primary cause of something or not, though, we still need to stop damaging the environment. Environmentalism is a Christian perspective. People shouldn't worship the planet, but they are required to be good stewards of it, and I don't think anyone can fairly say that polluting half the world, ocean and all, fits with that. I do think it's sensible to take steps, even if they temporarily damage the economy, to prevent further damage to the ecology, and (at the risk of bringing politics into this) given a choice between the Democratic party's position and the Republican party's position, I would side with the donkey on this issue.