Global Warming Poll (2010)

[YOyoYOhowsDAjello]

First of all, I apologize for making yet another thread about global warming / climate change.

I searched for previous threads on the matter, and found one from 2003 and another from 2007. Unfortunately, the fusetalk polls no longer show up, and I believe that a significant portion of people must have changed their minds in recent years or even recent months.

With so many threads out there on the subject and some hostile people out there on both sides, I suspect that a lot of people avoid posting their opinions to avoid the mess that these threads often create. So, make your vote and move on without fear of ridicule. I'll try to remember to make the poll private.

I'm going to take inspiration from Locut0s's thread from 2007 by dividing the issue into a series of camps covering a range of opinions. I'm doing some slight modifications though. Thank you for making these initial descriptions, Locut0s.
http://forums.anandtech.com/showthread.php?t=62125

Note: Please consider "Global warming" and "Climate change" to by synonymous for the sake of simplicity here.

Camp1: (Real and future is horrible) Global warming is definitely real and we are headed for a nightmare scenario. Nothing can be done to stop it. The polar ice caps will melt completely inundating all low lying cities, most animals will go extinct due to the inability to adapt quickly enough. Human society will break down due to economic and political collapse, war will break out. We will be sent back centuries.

Camp2: (Very likely real, future is bad, global warming is man made) Global warming is almost, but not necessarily 100%, definite. While not all the facts are in, the ones we have all point to the same outcome and things don't look good. While the world won't necessarily fall apart like in Camp1 it isn't going to be pretty either. This is going to cost us billions/trillions of dollars no matter what and if we don't start acting soon it will cost us much more, not just economically. We will see a sharp rise in the extinction rate but things won't be as bad as in Camp1, some animals may even benefit. Disease rates, agriculture, and population demographics will all be effected. While things don't look good, there is time to stop or slow things down if we react NOW. There are good signs but we are not moving anywhere near fast enough.

Camp3: (Very likely real, but probably not caused by humans, future impact unknown) Evident points to a recent rise in global temperatures, but it is unlikely that humans are to blame.

Camp4: (Evidence lacking, this is part of a natural cycle) The evidence for Global warming is scattered at best, biased and poorly researched at worst. We don't understand the climate nearly well enough to say that things are going to go one way or another. The data clearly shows that the climate has been both warmer and colder in the past, we are likely just seeing another natural climate cycle. No need to cry wolf over something that is natural. We will do more harm than good by enacting most of the changes suggested.

Camp5: (Not real, politically driven agendas) There is absolutely no evidence for Global Warming, scientists who publish these papers are biased politically and simply going after research grants. Even if it were real the progress of human society outweighs any harm we may do to nature.

Camp6: (I don't know enough about it, undecided) I don't know enough about the issue to draw any meaningful conclusion.

 

[ShawnD1]

None of those options suit me. It's real, it's likely caused by humans, impact is not a big deal.

 

[Inspector Jihad]

i think its very real, most likely man made, but i think the future is going to be fine. so i guess i'm camp 2.5?

 

[YOyoYOhowsDAjello]

Sorry I didn't add in an option between 2 and 3

I'm pretty sure I can't add anything new at this point

 

[lxskllr]

Dos

 

[Inspector Jihad]

Sorry I didn't add in an option between 2 and 3

I'm pretty sure I can't add anything new at this point

its ok, i'm not gonna spank you for that.

 

[JulesMaximus]

Camp 2

 

[YOyoYOhowsDAjello]

its ok, i'm not gonna spank you for that.

 

[steell]

Camp2: (Very likely real, future is bad, global warming is mad made)

Mad made? as in Mad magazine, Mutual Assured Destruction, or just some P O'd dude ??

 

[evident]

2. although i think there are political agendas to it, being more environmentally conscious is never a bad thing.

we've been raping the environment and exploiting it for the last 200 years without thinking about the consequences, so being more conscious about our energy usage just makes us more responsible citizens of the earth.

 

[Linflas]

2. although i think there are political agendas to it, being more environmentally conscious is never a bad thing.

we've been raping the environment and exploiting it for the last 200,000 years without thinking about the consequences, so being more conscious about our energy usage just makes us more responsible citizens of the earth.

Fixed that for you.

 

[YOyoYOhowsDAjello]

Mad made? as in Mad magazine, Mutual Assured Destruction, or just some P O'd dude ??

Sorry, I think I already fixed that.

 

[0roo0roo]

honestly don't care.
those that whine the most get on their high horses then turn around and fly around the world for their vacations
without a break through in tech alternative energy is a joke.

 

[GTaudiophile]

May I suggest a Camp 7:

I don't really care about the politics nor whether GW is man-made or not. What I do care about is that I become more responsible and a better steward of the limited resources of this earth. I believe I should use what resources I have to the absolute fullest, that I should re-use and recycle as much as possible, and I should minimize waste as much as possible. I believe that I should strive to have a more sustainable lifestyle that is more healthy for myself, my family, my children, and my neighbor's children. I also believe that the search for renewable, domestically-produced energy sources will also have a positive impact on our trade imbalance, GDP, employment rate, and our national security as less money will go to terrorist-sponsoring nations.

 

[Jeff7]

Camp 2.5: (Very likely real, future is unpredictable - which we consider to be bad, human activity aggravates part of a natural cycle.)

 

[FelixDeCat]

The climate is changing faster than it otherwise normally would as a result of man made pollution.

 

[FoBoT]

camp 3.5
it is clear from past evidence that the earth goes into ice ages and out again into warmer times
it is clear the last ice age receded from north america several thousand years ago, i expect glaciers to return to north america, eventually, over time , within the next hundreds of years

i believe the sun and its cycles of output are the main drivers of surface temperatures on earth and the cycle of ice ages and warmer periods

the amount of carbon dioxide is a minor factor compared to the heat input from the nearest star (Sun)

 

[Analog]

http://churchofglobalwarming.com/

 

[BoomerD]

Camp 9.

Global Warming/Climate Change is a real thing, and while it MAY not be all man-caused, I think we're contributing to it with our polluting ways.

However, I also believe that much of the hype on both sides is money-driven...those who want to make money on carbon-caps and those who think that any type of regulation that will cost industry money is bad.

Do we need to modify our habits? Yes, but how to do it without crashing the world economy involves decisions made far above my pay-grade.

As an individual, I try to conserve water and electrical consumption, try to minimize how much driving I do, try to reduce my input into the waste stream and recycle what can be conveniently recycled. (if recycling isn't convenient for most people, they won't do it.)

Is GW/CC man-made? Probably not, but we're definitely making the effects worse with too much CO2, ozone, pollutants in the air, water, and soil.

 

[SunSamurai]

I would say we need a new choice or two.

I believe that it is a natural occurring thing, and that humans have some effect on it but it is minor, and it will end up costing billions and trillions over than next 100 years in differing costs (hot or cold related). I also think the evidence is highly prone to agendas, and very difficult to ascertain whats actually happening, thus I believe it is fragmented at best.

 

[F1N3ST]

2. What one do you belong to?

 

[GodlessAstronomer]

You know what's weird? In USA the issue seems to be almost perfectly divided along party lines. There is absolutely no reason this should be a political issue. I'm not sure what caused this (maybe the fact that a former Democratic VP is a public face of the issue?) but it pisses me off.

 

[destrekor]

Good news everyone, we have to go to Camp 1.
Yes, we will surely die there.


in truth, I think it is very real, but there is truly so little we actually understand about the current climate. The problem is, we have very little history to study, and the variables are constantly changing.
We may be causing this, though I like to imagine we are merely causing the current cycle to shorten and are hastening the next stage, rather than causing it out of nowhere.
One of the variables I'll use that is always changing, however, is land mass configuration. Specifically, the shape of land surface on the Earth in comparison to the water.
What we see right now, might be permanent ice caps, due to the shape of the Earth's surface at this time. Ice was hardly permanent, and in fact, likely non-existent when the continents were closer to the super-continent configuration. When our planet's surface is comprised of a great percentage of water as it is, the land configuration has a huge impact on the paths of currents.
Atmosphere composition changes with time too, even without our help.

What we need to figure out, are the current uh.. currents, required for climate balance, or can an ice-free Earth (with new ocean surface shapes thanks to a loss of ice coverage, and their temperature impact through their reflection of the sun, etc) exist and establish new currents in the altered salinity levels.

Whatever the case, there will most certainly be change. The question shouldn't be the cause, but rather, the impact. How do we survive when the Earth will change in ways that impact us, regardless of what those impacts may have on us? The Earth's climate changes may provide an even more hospitable world for the human population, or it may kill billions over time. We don't know, because hell, we have limited knowledge and only a few guesses as to what is currently driving any said change, and what changes the future will bring.

 

[K1052]

I'll go with a hybrid of camps 2,3, and 4.

It is certainly possible man's activities are affeting climate but to what extent is unknown. Our overall understanding of planetary climatology is still pretty narrow for us to be throwing absolutes around either way.

Efforts should be made to curtail greenhouse gas emissions but that should be part of a larger project to move away from fossil fuels (particularly coal and oil) and their consequent political problems (and eventual depletion). I'm more interested in reducing the amounts of harmful elements being spewed into the biosphere that can make their way into the food chain (like mercury for example) or have drastic effects on soil chemistry and plant life.

 

[CRXican]

Numero 4

jumping to conclusions