One of these arguments is that there has been no detectable warming during the last sixteen years and Skeptical Science made a video (below) to show why this is false. It's well worth watching whatever your views on the science.
More detail about the 16-year claim is available on the Skeptical Science website.
No room for doubt - The temperature trends are very clear and the rate of fossil fuel burning is still rising year on year. Some countries are reducing their output already, but most are not. It's already far too late to prevent serious effects, but these will become even worse if we just carry on as we are.
Global warming sceptics have repeatedly clutched at every straw they can. Again and again they have attempted to find fault with the measurements, the reasoning or the conclusions and every time the scientists have show that the sceptics are the ones with the faulty reasoning. The 16-years argument is one of the most recent of these insubstantial straws.
Take a look at Skeptical Science's website for more information on all aspects of the data and discussions. It's also worth referring to the Wikipedia article on the continuing controversy. The great majority of climate scientists agree that global warming is happening and is caused by human activity.
Questions:
- Who will best understand global warming data, professional climate scientists or the media?
- Climate warming may be severe, is it wiser to make cuts or just carry on as usual?
- Are there simple things you could do to reduce your own, personal energy use?
See also:
- Climate in 2012 and 2013 - Journeys of heart and mind
- Global warming - National Geographic
- Global warming - Wikipedia
- Global warming and climate change - New York Times, Science
- Intergovernmental panel on climate change (IPCC) - Wikipedia
- IPCC
Listening to all the talk of global warning made me think I was imagining things when I remembered the being told there would be a new ice age when I was at school. Then someone else mentioned it and I realised that I really had been told that was a possibility.
ReplyDeleteIf global warming is something that will encourage us to be good stewards of the earth's resources then there is no problem with maintaining that position. Doing the right thing for the right motive makes for good actions
If it is used as a form of environmental terrorism forcing people to do things that harm them and their businesses without any real associated benefits then it becomes a menace. If it is just a means of controlling people to get them to do things that are not entirely righteous to fulfil purposes that are not entirely genuine or righteous then we need to be wary of this approach.
Here is the confusing bit. I can see both the good stewardship and the ungodly control aspects in the way that people are responding to the concept of global warming.