Anthropogenic Climate Change (global warming etc.)

[Uma]

Here's the wikipedia link that explains the subject heading: LINK

What are your thoughts about anthropogenic climate change?
How's the weather wherever you are?
Have you noticed any unusual weather changes?

[Visitor]

Hello Uma.
Weather here is much the same as usual, meaning that I have seen unusual weather changes in my lifetime, but when I look at the local weather history, I notice unusual changes have happened since weather records were being kept for nearly 200 years now. So, for me, it may seem unusual in the short term, but then it seems usual in the long term.

The problem for many is that they don't comprehend "systems" or cannot see that the ecology is one vast system (a huge collection of functionally interrelated components with its internal feedback loops and controls. A change made in one part will bring about many changes elsewhere through those relationships.)

We, humans, are part of that ecology not, as some assume, masters of it. Climate is also part of the ecology.

It would be simply daft to claim that humans don't impinge on the ecology at all. Raze a forest and the air currents above it change. Every action, small and large will cause the ecology to adjust to a new level. As is pretty evident now, what happens with climate in one part of the world will affect climate everywhere else.

So if we force the ecology to adjust to even a small extent it will eventually appear in adjustments to the climate.

Science tends to deal with snapshots and isn't at all good with systems unless they're very small. Ecological studies of any value tend to be neglected because they involve many years before any useful predictions can be made and politics don't have the endurance to oversee them consistently.

But it takes "systems thinking" to recognise that whatever humans do to their environment will have complex repercussions throughout, including to themselves. It's only part of the story obviously because, yes, Nature has Her own internal controls that affect and adjust things as they happen but don't let's pretend that humans don't interfere with those controls.

We worry about climate change - but with an exponentially increasing world population perhaps we should be worrying about where the oxygen's going to come from every time we witness another forest cut down.

[Jenny Crow]

I live in Ontario, Canada and this winter has been one of the longest, coldest winters on record. So, apparently, 'global warming' isn't happening here

Skeptics like to bring up Time Magazines' global cooling scare as evidence which is illogical but, the 1970's global cooling scare had no scientific consensus and was badly spun for the purposes of selling a story. The cooling was predicted to end, not become an ice age and the cooling itself was largely impart to aerosols in the atmosphere which reflect shortwave radiation back into space.

When shortwave radiation hits the ground it is absorbed and released as long wave radiation. Greenhouse gases (CO2, Ch4) absorb long wave radiation, vibrate and thus increase the temperature.

Solar forcing has been disproved as well as another qualified skeptic's theory.

There is a consensus that Earth is warming and it's due to humanity's industry but, the question I've yet to concluded is how long we have before it enters a terminal phase or has entered a terminal phase with positive feedbacks on the rise.

There is an 800 year lag time between greenhouse houses and temperature rise but, current temperature rising seems to be exponentially rising at a higher rate than studies have shown to have had happened in the past.

As for critics disregarding climate change because of record breaking winters, there is a scientific explanation for that and I'd suggest researching the topic and climate change in it's entirety for yourself in an unbiased manner from both proclaimers and skeptics with the figures and data speaking for itself and using rationality and logic to interpret your findings.

[SemperVI]

As for me, I move around to much to notice if the weather is changing that much. It is certainly reported more now than it was 20 years ago. I am from Phoenix though and it does seem hotter there than it was when I was kid. I learned this was a result of the city's heat shield effect. Once you leave the concrete island it does drop about 10 degrees

Originally Posted by SemperVI

As for me, I move around to much to notice if the weather is changing that much. It is certainly reported more now than it was 20 years ago. I am from Phoenix though and it does seem hotter there than it was when I was kid. I learned this was a result of the city's heat shield effect. Once you leave the concrete island it does drop about 10 degrees

I lived in Phoenix from 2008-2012 near Glendale and 19th Ave then moved near southern and 35th ave, I did about 10-15 mile walks outside the the city and pretty much lived in the outskirts. Temperature was the same or minimal difference during the day but, at night there was a huge difference, temperature drops are especially noticeable in the summer months.This is a direct affect of geology/soil degradation however, and is common in most desert climates. I observed it in the Mojave as well.

[Uma]

A great Facebook site about this topic: LINK

[Clover]

Interesting you bring this up,Uma. We had record temperature cold and snow fall this year in our state,and according to scientist,this polar vortex theory was a direct result of global warming. A break in the polar regions that released this cold air to us,according to news.

[Uma]

Originally Posted by BlueClover

Interesting you bring this up,Uma. We had record temperature cold and snow fall this year in our state,and according to scientist,this polar vortex theory was a direct result of global warming. A break in the polar regions that released this cold air to us,according to news.

At first I was so relieved that we had a "normal" winter again (although it was extreme) but when I heard about polar vortex it brought me down to reality again. The fact that the polar ice caps are melting are really scary. It's just getting hotter and hotter.