Climate Change

Iceberg

The global warming debate has been happening for years and years. Scientists have issued various reports that either have dire predictions for global change or predictions that show less global impact scenarios. Here are some recent videos and news posted on yahoo.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20070406/sc_nm/globalwarming_scientists_dc

http://news.yahoo.com/photos/ss/events/sc/120203climateissues;_ylt=Ao3LNYLwnu5X2jbvWh0nEqwiANEA

;_ylt=Ao3LNYLwnu5X2jbvWh0nEqwiANEA

Confused about global warming? You’re not alone.

So how do you tell fact from opinion?

Obtaining unbiased and accurate climate science information isn’t easy due to the rhetoric associated with the issue. Media, lobbying groups, companies, activists and politicians from all sides have long used climate science to further their policy goals.

A good rule to follow

  • Consider whether the information source has a BIAS.
  • Reports originating in a peer-reviewed science journal or from research institutes should be given more credence than a report distributed by an advocacy-oriented organization or individual.

Peer-reviewed journals:

· Where scientists share their research results with one another as well as with the public.

· Before and article is published in peer-reviewed journal, it is subjected to vigorous review by other scientists to verify methods and findings.

· Science publications such as Nature, Science and Geophysical Research Letters routinely publish major climate change studies.

· Most reputable science reporters base their stories on the peer-reviewed literature.

  • Some groups exist to cast doubt on global warming
  • Some environmental groups as well as some climate researchers have been criticized for publicizing only the BAD scientific results.

In an effort to sway public opinion, some companies fund scientists and interest groups that play down the global warming threat. The mission of many of these groups is to publicize the views of a small minority of scientists who cast doubt on the mainstream climate science consensus that the Earth is warming primarily due to human activities, and that further significant warming is likely in the near future.

Major policy research groups in
Washington, also known as ‘think tanks,’ have played a role in boosting the voices on both sides of the debate on what to do about global warming. The major groups involved on the skeptic side include the Competitive Enterprise Institute and the George C. Marshall Institute. Key environmental groups include the Natural Resources Defense Council and Environmental Defense.

There are a few skeptic news outlets that exist to emphasize the uncertainties in climate science. These include the web sites ‘junk science’ (www.junkscience.org), whose founder is also a Fox News columnist, and ‘Tech Central Station’.

Global Warming 101

  • An overwhelming majority of climate scientists agree that the Earth’s climate is warming.
  • The main culprits are emissions of greenhouse gases (such as carbon dioxide, methane, water vapor and nitrous oxide) from the burning of fossil fuels such as coal and oil.

Greenhouse gases warm the Earth by absorbing and redirecting heat that otherwise would escape through the atmosphere into space.

  • The surface has warmed an average of about 1 degree Fahrenheit globally between 1900 and 2005, with the greatest rate increase taking place in the past two decades (1980-2000).
  • Most projections are for significant further increases in the global average temperature unless actions are taken to reduce greenhouse gas concentrations.

Not all areas of the globe have warmed · Due to inherent variability in the climate system.· Scientists refer to overall climate shifts and their impacts by the more general term ‘global climate change’ to reflect the wide range of effects and regional variations.

The warming seen thus far is already leaving its mark with:

  • Decreases in Arctic sea ice cover
  • Changes in the chemical composition of the oceans
  • Changes in ecosystems and possibly more frequent extreme weather events.
  • Future warming is predicted to intensify these trends and result in other serious impacts, such as a rise in global sea levels

What are your thoughts about global warming?

 

Who do you believe?

Do you believe people who make movies, write books, and make presentations that jump to comclusions of one thing causing the other without actually having the evidence that supports that argument, and may show innacurate and skewed data in order to sway people toward their belief system.

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Do you take what they say and investigate the data for yourself and come to you own conclusion.

—–A website that has an animation, plus other climate information. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/6320515.stm

 

Here is a video taking you on a tour of the Earth’s Cryosphere.

The cryosphere consists of those parts of the Earth’s surface where water is found in solid form, including areas of snow, sea ice, glaciers, permafrost, ice sheets, and icebergs. In these regions, surface temperatures remain below freezing for a portion of each year. Since ice and snow exist relatively close to their melting point, they frequently change from solid to liquid and back again due to fluctuations in surface temperature. Although direct measurements of the cryosphere can be difficult to obtain due to the remote locations of many of these areas, using satellite observations scientists monitor changes in the global and regional climate by observing how regions of the Earth’s cryosphere shrink and expand.