The Truth About Global Warming

Global warming was once an uncommon term used by a few scientists who were
growing concerned over the effects of decades of pollution on long-term weather
patterns. Today, the idea of global warming is well known, if not well understood. It is
not unusual to hear someone complaining about a hot day or a freak storm and
remark, "It's global warming."

Well, is it? This article will address what global warming is, what causes it, and what
the effects could be. Not everyone is convinced that global warming is happening;
and even if it is happening, some aren't sure it's something we need to worry about.

So what is global warming and how does it happen? To understand the global
warming phenomenon, first we have to learn about the difference between weather
and climate.


Weather and Climate
Weather is local and short-term. If it snows in the town where you live next Tuesday,
that's weather. Climate is long-term and doesn't relate to one small location. The
climate of an area is the average weather conditions in a region over a long period
of time. If the part of the world you live in has cold winters with lots of snow, that
would be part of the climate for the region you live in. The winters there have been
cold and snowy for as long as weather has been recorded, so we know generally
what to expect.





















It's important to understand that when we talk about climate being long-term, we
mean really long-term. Even talking about a few hundred years is pretty short-term
when it comes to climate. In fact, changes in climate sometimes take tens of
thousands of years. That means if you happen to have a winter that isn't as cold as
usual, with not very much snow -- or even two or three such winters in a row -- that
isn't a change in climate. That's just an anomaly -- an event that falls outside of
the usual statistical range but doesn't represent any permanent, long-term change.

It's also important to understand that even small changes in climate can have major
effects. When scientists talk about "the Ice Age," you probably envision the world
frozen, covered with snow and suffering from frigid temperatures. In fact, during the
last ice age (ice ages recur roughly every 50,000 to 100,000 years), the earth's
average temperature was only 5 Celsius degrees cooler than modern temperature
averages [ref].

Global warming is a significant increase in the Earth's climatic temperature over a
relatively short period of time which some believe to be a result of the activities of
humans.

In specific terms, an increase of 1 or more Celsius degrees in a period of one
hundred to two hundred years would be considered global warming. Over the
course of a single century, an increase of even 0.4 degrees Celsius would be
significant.

Natural Changes in Climate
It can take the Earth thousands of years to warm up or cool down just 1 degree
when it happens naturally. And it does happen naturally. In addition to recurring ice
age cycles, the Earth's climate can change because of volcanic activity, differences
in the plant life that covers much of the planet, changes in the amount of radiation
the sun gives off and natural changes in the chemistry of the atmosphere.

The Greenhouse Effect
Global warming is caused by an increase in the greenhouse effect. The greenhouse
effect is not a bad thing by itself -- it's what allows Earth to stay warm enough for life
to survive.
You can think of the Earth sort of like your car sitting out in a parking lot on a sunny
day. You've probably noticed that your car is always much hotter inside than the
outside temperature if it's been sitting there for a while. The sun's rays enter
through your car's windows. Some of the heat from the sun is absorbed by the
seats, the dashboard and the carpeting and floor mats. When those objects release
this heat, it doesn't all get out through the windows. Some is reflected back in -- the
heat radiated by the seats is a different wavelength than the light of the sun that
made it through the windows in the first place. So a certain amount of energy is
going in, and less energy is going out. The result is a gradual increase in the
temperature inside your car.





















When the sun's rays hit the Earth's atmosphere and the surface of the Earth,
approximately 70 percent of the energy stays on the planet, absorbed by land,
oceans, plants and other things. The other 30 percent is reflected into space by
clouds, snow fields and other reflective surfaces [ref]. But even the 70 percent that
gets through doesn't stay on earth forever (otherwise the Earth would become a
blazing fireball). The things around the planet that absorb the sun's heat eventually
radiate that heat back out. Some of it makes it into space, and the rest of it ends up
getting reflected back down to earth when it hits certain things in the atmosphere,
such as carbon dioxide, methane gas and water vapor. The heat that doesn't make
it out through Earth's atmosphere keeps the planet warmer than it is in outer space,
because more energy is coming in through the atmosphere than is going out. This is
all part of the greenhouse effect that keeps the Earth warm.

The greenhouse effect happens because of certain naturally occurring substances
in the atmosphere (Carbon Dioxide, Nitrous Oxide, Methane). Unfortunately, since
the Industrial Revolution, humans have been pouring huge amounts of those
substances into the air by burning fossil fuels, decomposition of garbage, etc..

Some people don't think Global Warming is happening at all.
There are several reasons for this:
1) They don't think the data show a measurable upward trend in global  
temperatures, either because we don't have enough long-term historical climate   
data or because the data we do have isn't clear enough.

2) Some scientists think that data is being interpreted incorrectly by people who are
already worried about global warming. That is, these people are looking for   
evidence of global warming in the statistics, instead of looking at the evidence
objectively and trying to figure out what it means.

3) Any increase in global temperatures we are seeing could be a natural climate
shift, or it could be due to other factors than greenhouse gases.

Some scientists recognize that global warming does seem to be happening, but they
disagree that it is anything to be worried about. These scientists say that the Earth
is more resistant to climate changes on this scale than we think. Plants and animals
will adapt to subtle shifts in weather patterns, and it is unlikely anything catastrophic
will happen as a result of global warming. Slightly longer growing seasons, changes
in precipitation levels and stronger weather, in their opinion, are not generally
disastrous. They also argue that the economic damage caused by cutting down on
the emission of greenhouse gases will be far more damaging to humans than any of
the effects of global warming.

So is Al Gore right about Global Warming?
Many activists and politicians have been quick to blame industrialized countries for
Global Warming, painting a doom and gloom scenario of melting polar caps that will
cause catastrophic flooding around the world.  The Al Gore endorsed film
An Inconvenient Truth is full of these unprovable scenarios.

Perhaps the most valid conclusion a reasonable person can make, regarding
Global Warming, is that at this time in history we DO NOT have enough valid
information to make a valid conclusion.

Although Man Made Global Warming, if it exists, is still debatable on several levels,
one truth still remains: politicians will forever use whatever tactics they deem
necessary to steal your trust, your vote, your money, and eventually your freedom
Beware!!

What's your opinion?
Go to the top of the page and click on "How to Post Stories & Commentaries"     
Get Your Business
Off The Ground
And Start Making
  A Profit

Stop Wasting Your
 Money On  
Expensive Pay Per
Click Advertising

When You
Advertise On
WeeklyAmerican
You Pay A Low
Fixed Rate Fee.

Your Ad Runs
24 Hours A day,
7 Days  A Week.

The Thousands Of
People Who Visit
WeeklyAmerican
Will See Your Ad
 Prominently   
  Displayed.
Get Going Today!!

 CLICK HERE
Cheap Websites
If you don't have a
website for your
business, you're losing
sales and money.
A website puts your
business ahead of those
who don't have one.  Get
the exposure you need.  
It's smart and
inexpensive.  Best of all, it
brings in more business.
CheapWebsites2007.com