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December 26, 2007 at 10:47:30

Global Warming: Are Both Sides Right?

by George Washington Page 1 of 2 page(s)

www.opednews.com

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Liberals tend to believe that global warming is man-made.

Some on the right believe that global warming is from natural causes.

Is it possible that both man-made and natural factors are causing global warming, making for a "double whammy"? If so, might that help explain why global warming is progressing faster than the models predicted?

This essay explores that possibility.

Man-Made

It is obvious that there are many signs that the Earth is getting substantially warmer. As just two of many examples, polar sea ice has failed to re-form for the second year in a row. And carbon dioxide levels are soaring (carbon dioxide raises the Earth's temperature since it is a "greenhouse gas" -- that is, it traps heat in the planet's atmosphere in the same way that greenhouses trap sunlight and keep the plants warm).

And if global warming heats up the oceans enough, then the "great conveyor belt" of warm ocean water can shut down. Here's a drawing of the great temperature conveyor belt.

If that happens, then the climate can abruptly change, and a new ice age could begin.

Sound far-fetched? The Pentagon doesn't think so.

In fact, there is evidence that the great conveyor belt is already starting to fail. See also this article; and this one; and this one.

Natural Warming

It is possible that we are still coming out of the last "little ice age", and much of the warming we are experiencing is part of a normal cycle.

Moreover, a recent study shows that increased output from the Sun might be to blame for 10 to 30 percent of the global warming that has been measured in the past 20 years.

Another study shows that solar activity variations have a "marked influence" on the Earth's climate.

And a third demonstrates that a dramatic thinning of the Earth's protective ozone layer above the Arctic last year was the result of intense upper-level winds and an extra dose of "space weather".

Scientists have also found that cosmic rays linked to global warming are increasing. The sun is simply getting hotter. Indeed, solar output has been increasing steadily ever since scientists have been able to measure it.

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George Washington

George Washington is a pen name. I am using the pen name, with the approval of the publisher, because I have received death threats due to my 9/11 research and writing. I am using a pen name to protect myself and my family.

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6 comments

George Washington

George Washington is a pen name. I am using the pen name, with the approval of the publisher, because I have received death threats due to my 9/11 research and writing. I am using a pen name to protect myself and my family.
George WashingtonGeorge Washington

George Washington is a pen name. I am using the pen name, with the approval of the publisher, because I have received death threats due to my 9/11 research and writing. I am using a pen name to protect myself and my family.

Do you believe that

we might be experiencing global warming from both man-made and natural causes?

by George Washington (79 articles, 25 quicklinks, 178 diaries, 187 comments) on Wednesday, December 26, 2007 at 12:16:09 PM

Dr. John Moffett is an active research neuroscientist in the Washington, DC area, who has published over 45 scientific articles on the nervous and immune systems. Dr. Moffett is also the author and webmaster of the political opinion website www.Factinista.org, and is a Managing Editor at OpEdNews.com.
John R MoffettDr. John Moffett is an active research neuroscientist in the Washington, DC area, who has published over 45 scientific articles on the nervous and immune systems. Dr. Moffett is also the author and webmaster of the political opinion website www.Factinista.org, and is a Managing Editor at OpEdNews.com.

Hi George,

Yes, of course both sides are right. The earth has been without polar ice caps, and with ice caps that almost reached the equator (look it up). This all happened without human intervention. Also, everyone should look up “the mini ice age”, which occurred between 1300 and 1850 or so. World temperatures went way down on average, and crops across northern Europe failed repeatedly. We are still coming out of the last big ice age (for the last 20,000 years), and we are arguably still coming out of the mini ice age.

Man is speeding up the natural rise in temperature, and we have no idea if we are adding 10%, or 90% to the current increases. My guess is about 50/50, but much more research is needed to try and find out.

I am more worried about deforestation, destruction of habitats and the oceans, and stripping mountain ranges away for coal. These may be irreversible near term changes, rather than long term, reversible changes. The Earth recovered from horrible ice ages, and “hot house” slow cooker periods. Whether we will recover from killing off 2/3 of the Earth’s species and most of their habitats is another question. Human-based habitat destruction is the unprecedented variable in the equation.

by John R Moffett (83 articles, 17 quicklinks, 2 diaries, 649 comments) on Wednesday, December 26, 2007 at 2:06:25 PM

I thought it time for a revision to the biography. Where I seem to have "disturbed" a fair number of posters here at OEN to the point they've asked me not to write about their comments, feel free to call me "troll", "shill", "neo-con lapdog", "jack-booted thug", or "bad hat Harry". They've all been applied to me over the past year because I have challenged people to think beyond the emotions of an issue and review all the available data – not just the cherry-picked stuff. Of course, this appr...

to see more of bio, click on member name
Tom MurphyI thought it time for a revision to the biography. Where I seem to have "disturbed" a fair number of posters here at OEN to the point they've asked me not to write about their comments, feel free to call me "troll", "shill", "neo-con lapdog", "jack-booted thug", or "bad hat Harry". They've all been applied to me over the past year because I have challenged people to think beyond the emotions of an issue and review all the available data – not just the cherry-picked stuff. Of course, this appr...

to see more of bio, click on member name

Yes, they are both right, though it's not about sides

I was surprisingly in agreement with your article, up until the point where you felt compelled to somehow magically link 9/11 with global warming. Tsk, tsk, tsk because you were making sense but shadowed your previous assertion with such silly linkage. The link only justifies your dividing of the issues into "sides" for ulterior and political motives.

But... I do believe that both natural and man-made sources could be pinpointed for the observed global warming trend, but Nature is by far the rider on this horse of global warming.

"Some people argue that variation of earth's climate is natural, and has been occurring for millions of years, so we have nothing to worry about."

I don't think that these people (which I count myself as one) claim we have nothing to worry about. Rather, we claim that Nature is far bigger and more powerful than us (at this point); so, why should we alter drastically our processes under the presumption that we could actually influence Nature on a global scale? This is nothing more than a colossal hubris on humanity's part.

As Nature tends to demonstrate its power over not just us but itself, one good volcanic eruption or collision with a decent-sized asteroid will quickly reverse any global warming concerns. While this doesn't mean we do "nothing", neither does it mean (like Mr. Gore is often want to do) we need to act now, today, Good Golly Miss Molly It's Too Late Already (e.g., James Lovelock)!

Prudent and practical measures should be taken, while an increased number of data points are established, more accurate measurements obtained, and computer models further refined. All of these actions will better tailor our response to a global issue in a more meaningful manner.

by Tom Murphy (3 articles, 4 quicklinks, 13 diaries, 1798 comments) on Wednesday, December 26, 2007 at 10:53:30 PM

Cliff Carson
Cliff Carson is a retired Quality Engineering/Management Professional living in Arkansas. He is an MS Operations Management Graduate of the University of Arkansas and is a Senior Member of The American Society for Quality. He and his wife are taking it easy and enjoy visits by their children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren.
Cliff CarsonCliff Carson
Cliff Carson is a retired Quality Engineering/Management Professional living in Arkansas. He is an MS Operations Management Graduate of the University of Arkansas and is a Senior Member of The American Society for Quality. He and his wife are taking it easy and enjoy visits by their children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren.

Global Warming - who knows

The case for Global warming might not be as dire or as certain as many portray it to be. For example, reading the August 2007 issue of Scientific American containing an Article “The Undeniable Case for Global Warming” on page 67 there is a chart showing the almost directly vertical upturn in Carbon Dioxide, Methane, and Nitrous Oxide, but when I converted those changes to percentages the results didn’t seem so dire. Carbon Dioxide went from about 275 to about 375 parts per million –WoW!! causing an almost straight upturn on the chart. This is what that giant of a scientist, Gore, calls the “hockey stick curve”. Oh, but the devil is sometimes in the details. Not what could be wrong with that chart? Well the horizontal value (Time) was over 10,000 years while the vertical value is shown about 40% of the scale of the Horizontal but represents just about 1/100th of 1% of change, and no doubt was done that way to save paper (you know hug the trees). So Carbon Dioxide has exploded up .01%, that’s not much of a blip in true scale. And similarly Methane rose about .01% and Nitrous Oxide about 1/1000th of 1%. But I do think human activity has helped cause a “Teeny bit” of the Global warming taking place. I don’t think I going to worry about burning up. I think the asteroid Apophis has a better chance of hitting us in 2029 or on its next swing thru the Solar System in 2036 than any danger we have from Global Warming. So if the infinitesimal bit that human activity has done to contribute to Global Warming is significant long term, we do have the ability to control what we contribute toward destroying ourselves. Why don’t we do that? Who knows. Mother Nature probably won’t notice anyway.

by Cliff Carson (7 articles, 0 quicklinks, 0 diaries, 22 comments) on Thursday, December 27, 2007 at 8:18:37 AM

I am an individual who is interested in exposing the true events of the 9/11 attacks.
CB BrooklynI am an individual who is interested in exposing the true events of the 9/11 attacks.

"Man Made" Global Warming is Propaganda

The propaganda is designed to make us think there's no way out of it. The real problem is weather modification via chemtrails / HAARP. See my blog for more information:

Extermination of the Human Species

by CB Brooklyn (0 articles, 0 quicklinks, 0 diaries, 424 comments) on Thursday, December 27, 2007 at 9:44:10 AM

Bill Cain is a professional travel photo-journalist who writes primarily for the Concord Monitor in Concord, New Hampshire. He's visited all seven continents, countless countries and his travel experiences have contributed to and are reflected in his world views.
Bill CainBill Cain is a professional travel photo-journalist who writes primarily for the Concord Monitor in Concord, New Hampshire. He's visited all seven continents, countless countries and his travel experiences have contributed to and are reflected in his world views.

Propaganda

Yes. Any intelligent discussion about global warming and climate change is incomplete without acknowledgement of the continuing, massive aerosol spraying program of the atmosphere that anyone can see if they pay attention to the skies overhead. It was evident here in New Hampshire just yesterday.

by Bill Cain (2 articles, 0 quicklinks, 0 diaries, 328 comments) on Thursday, December 27, 2007 at 10:28:38 AM