How is global warming a man-made process?

Answer 1

Yes, it is agreed by just about every climate scientist, and by the United Nations' IPCC (Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change) that two things are responsible for global warming,

• Deforestation (removing forests world-wide) and
• Burning of fossil fuels (coal, oil and natural gas).

Forest destruction means that the great "carbon sinks" that take carbon dioxide out of the atmosphere and store it away are no longer there.

Burning fossil fuels like coal, oil and natural gas, as we do in industry, transport and electricity generation, releases millions of tonnes of carbon dioxide (CO2) that has been hidden away underground for hundreds of millions of years, since before the dinosaurs. This EXTRA carbon dioxide is gradually building up in the atmosphere making the earth warmer every year. This global warming is causing climate change.

Answer 2

Two hundred and fifty years ago man began burning fossil fuels (coal, oil and natural gas). This released carbon that was stored underground 300 million years ago, during the Permian Period.

Releasing it now, as we do, adds carbon dioxide that is extra, and more then the natural carbon cycle can manage to remove from the atmosphere.

Another human activity which has increased carbon dioxide in the atmosphere is deforestation. By cutting down forests we remove the trees that can absorb vast quantities of carbon. Half the weight of a tree is carbon.

Carbon dioxide is a powerful greenhouse gas that has increased from 280 ppm (parts per million or 0.028%) to its present level of 394 ppm. That's an increase of 40% and that is what is causing the accelerated greenhouse effect that is causing global warming.

Answer 3

It is.

Global warming is caused by the burning of fossil fuels (coal, oil and natural gas) in industry, transport and the generation of electricity, which releases carbon dioxide (CO2). Deforestation is another cause. Man is responsible for both of these. Carbon dioxide builds up in the atmosphere absorbing heat. This is the greenhouse effect. We now have an enhanced greenhouse effect which is warming the planet and causing climate change.

A:It isn't.

We have no idea if it is or is not a man made issue. We know that it was not at the beginning of the cycle. We also know that we have had steady warming from 1850 until 1979.

We also know that is was followed by years of cooling, just as we are now seeing cooling since 2010. Most science organizations agree that man is not the sole cause, but many agree that he is adding to the warming though, through the use of fossil fuels.

Some very big name climatologists say that the warming we have experienced has nothing to do with man. Dr. R. Spencer, a climatologist at NASA and the man responsible for the satellites watching our global temperatures is one of many that say the planet is going through a natural cycle.

Some groups disagree. Some 60 science experts from the United Nations looked at the data and concluded we are the warming portion since 1979.

Answer 4

The natural greenhouse effect is not man-made. The earth's carbon and water cycles keep enough greenhouse gas in the atmosphere to warm the planet so that life can exist. This has happened for millions of years.

The enhanced greenhouse effect is man-made. By burning fossil fuels and by deforestation we have been adding extra greenhouse gases to the atmosphere since the beginning of the Industrial Age (around 1750).

Answer 5

It does not matter whether global warming is natural or man-made!

Some people seem to think that the regular warming and cooling cycles of the planet must be harmless because they are natural!

Yet any big change in climate is disruptive, perhaps catastrophic, to human well-being, and to all the rest of the living things on the planet. How many billion people are living off the produce of this planet today? How many will there be in 20 years, 40 years? How will they all manage with drought, flooding, extreme storms, and the spread of insects and disease?

Whether you suffer a natural famine or a man-made famine doesn't change the outcome. As they say, dead is dead!

There have always been natural warming and cooling cycles. Some plants and animals are wiped out, some species diversify to fill their niches. Just because something is natural doesn't mean it won't destroy you. And there is no reason you can't try to stop it, or at least slow it down!

Evidence shows that this latest warming cycle is moving much faster than usual. Whether it is natural, man-made, or a combination of both, anything we can do to moderate it is worth trying.

Answer 6

The cause of climate change is global warming. Climate scientists around the world all agree that this is a man-made phenomenon, caused by our deforestation and burning of fossil fuels (coal, oil and natural gas) in industry, transport and the generation of electricity.

Answer 7

Global climate change is man-made.