So I've just spent the past hour arguing with someone who was attempting to make the point that global warming doesn't actually exist. He said that the world is actually getting colder and is just following its natural cycle of things, a cycle which has occured over thousands of years etc etc. He used the melting of the glaciers as an example, saying that they aren't melting any faster than they have been in the past.
Can someone provide me with a link or proof that I can just print off and hand to him? I can't deal with the stupidity any more This, of course, followed a debate where he argued that we should have the right to torture anyone we think has knowledge which would prevent another terrorist attack. Sigh
There are obviously natural cycles involved, but human activities are creating positive feedback situations...ah hell...I am not going to get into another scientific debate. Sorry.
tnf wrote:There are obviously natural cycles involved, but human activities are creating positive feedback situations...ah hell...I am not going to get into another scientific debate. Sorry.
I figured, no problem. Google can be my friend in this case :icon26:
Just tell him that the majority of the world's scientists agree that human activity is altering the global climate, accelerating warming, etc. If he thinks he is smarter than all of them, more power to him. But ask him why in the hell he will listen to a doctor when the doctor says "go take this pill for this problem" but when a PhD in environmental science tells him human activity is causing problems with global warming, he suddenly feels qualified to disagree....
There is not enough evidence to completely support global warming, even the obvious evidence that we have is hard to interpret, despite what you might think. Most scientists agree that humans are having some effect on the climate but none of them can accurately calculate how much impact we are having. Some say it’s less than 1%, which is quite insignificant if you really consider how much the natural cycles create, other say it’s slightly more. I say it’s in between and that the people proclaiming global warming as a big threat are only doing it to bring attention to the issue.
Just to note I’m not a crazy republican or anything, I used to believe that there was a huge problem with global warming but then I did research on my own and came to this conclusion. There is definitely a rise in temperature over the last hundred years, but it’s not necessarily global warming.
ahem. apparently he was kidding and only playing devil's advocate because he had gotten me so riled up about the torture part (my dad is an excellent debater, so he's pretty good at getting me riled up). bah, well at least he wasn't being serious about it
It is the hight of human arrogance to think we are destroying the earth. We are simply killing ourselves, making the planet inhabitable to ourselves. Bacteria are the only significant life on earth.
As far as the earth is concerned we're most likely in the midst of another ice-age. The only thing you can count on on this planet is mass extinction...and we're well over due for another one.
7zark7 wrote:It is the hight of human arrogance to think we are destroying the earth. We are simply killing ourselves, making the planet inhabitable to ourselves.
To be fair, I think this is what most non-braindead people mean when they chortle "WUR KILLIN DA EARTH!"
I bet you also think we are cutting down all our forests.
look the world's scientific community disagrees with you including the climatologists etc.
if you want to present some evidence backing up your position it would be greatly appreciated
I can tell you haven't read much about global warming because the world's scientific community does agree with me. The evidence you probally looked at is not very scientific at all and exaggerates the cause and outcome. How about you provide me with evidence that there is an immediate danger from global warming.