The climate has been changing since the earth was formed. To think man has anything to do with it is pure arrogance.
Changes in solar activity and intensity have more to do with earth's climate than anything we do. If the sun farts, we are nothing but a flaming marshmallow hurtling through space.
http://www.usnews.com/news/articles/2013/04/11/sun-emits-largest-solar-storm-of-2013
What to drive a MMGW alarmist nuts? Tell them science is still studying the issue, and it is not settled science. To anyone that believes that science has concluded MMGW is settled knows nothing about science. They believe in the religion of MMGW.
Let it be clear that I'm not aboard the latest version of the liberal "green" bandwagon... despite the obvious diminishing polar ice and other alarming trends in climate, I think we've just been enjoying a fairly cool period on this planet since the last Ice Age, and now the planet is just going through some changes, as it has many times before. I also remember climate experts in the 70s shouting that our emissions would plunge us into
another Ice Age by the turn of the century, due to the blocking of solar energy due to smog, etc.
But I do see some merit in at least posing the question: Could humanity's output of gaseous carbon be a contributing factor? We definitely have the
potential to do significant global damage, with emissions and all forms of pollution; heaven knows we have made great strides in decimating smaller ecosystems, and they are all interdependent to some degree... so I think the debate is worth having. And building our energy future on a resource that is effectively finite (fossil fuel) is just plain stupid. At some point, we will run out, and have to sit and wait a few million years for more of the stuff... doesn't seem like a good plan to me.
Personally, I think our contribution to
global climate change, if any, is minimal... so far. But world population is still growing, average lifespan is increasing, and even the Third World is demanding more and more resources of every kind. Meanwhile, if there comes a winter or two with no ice at either pole, major ocean currents could shut down... at which time, we are basically screwed. That, more than any part of the climate change scenario, scares the bejeezus out of me. Still not convinced it's our fault, not by a long shot, but it's a very serious problem. We need to do more about that than argue about whether climate change data is real, or whose fault it is.
"The Environment" is worth caring about even if the only species one cares about is homo sapiens... the idea that our sheer cleverness and techno-power will guarantee our survival (because we are not part of the system like any organism) is pure hubris, IMHO. We are literally in the same boat as trees and cockroaches and all the rest.
