almostaskier
Active member
Yes, it is... Temperature fluctuates, yes, there was a "mini ice age" in Europe during the middle ages, but the overall trend has been increasing since the last ice age. Global Warming IS, in fact, happening: average temperatures for the whole earth are warming, by 0.4 degrees for some, and up to 1.2 degrees for others; it is still warming, indisputably.
Again, the debate is what whether or not humans have had any impact on the trend... We have seen large spikes in temperature for the last 100 years since the industrial revolution, does that mean that we have caused it? Well, there also hasn't been typical volcanism in those 100 years, so we've been without the cooling effects of eruptions for as long, so that could also be a great factor, since volcanoes release more greenhouse gases than humans can ever dream to. So there's that to consider.
Then there's the effects. Will the arth just warm and hit another ice age, only quicker? or will it runaway? Obviously what we are putting up in the atmosphere (like CFCs) are not a good thing, could we imbalance the system? THOSE are the topics up for debate, not whether or not the climate is actually getting warmer, which it is, in a long-term trend.
Again, the debate is what whether or not humans have had any impact on the trend... We have seen large spikes in temperature for the last 100 years since the industrial revolution, does that mean that we have caused it? Well, there also hasn't been typical volcanism in those 100 years, so we've been without the cooling effects of eruptions for as long, so that could also be a great factor, since volcanoes release more greenhouse gases than humans can ever dream to. So there's that to consider.
Then there's the effects. Will the arth just warm and hit another ice age, only quicker? or will it runaway? Obviously what we are putting up in the atmosphere (like CFCs) are not a good thing, could we imbalance the system? THOSE are the topics up for debate, not whether or not the climate is actually getting warmer, which it is, in a long-term trend.