Global Warming: 10 Myths and Facts Everyone Should Know

Climate change on the Planet Earth is a big topic of discussion lately, with scientific evidence being presented as fact, with detractors then denying these facts, and presenting their own facts, in what has become “The Global Warming Debate: Fact Or Fiction.”

So to help make better sense of this all I have assembled 10 myths and facts about global warming so you can try to make sense of it all, and get a better grasp of the situation on our planet.

1). Myth. Scientists have indicated that global temperatures from the 1940s to the 1970s were in a cooling trend, so how can global temperatures be rising if there cooling?

Fact. The Industrial Revolution brought about numerous processes that produced massive amounts of pollution. The burning of coal to provide electricity allowed an extreme amount of particulate matter to be spewed into our atmosphere. This pollution and particulate matter had the effect of reflecting the sun’s energy and radiation back into space, just like ice at the polar caps and clouds in our atmosphere currently do. But since 1975 the earth has experienced a warming trend, and it is said that parts of the Arctic, Eastern Russia and Western Canada, the temperatures have increased 7°F over the last 50 years.

2). Myth. According to the Oregon Institute of Science and Medicine, 31,000 scientists say there is “no convincing evidence” that greenhouse gas emissions can cause catastrophic heating of the Earth’s atmosphere and disruption of the Earth’s climate.

Fact. 97% of “climate” scientists surveyed agree that quote global average temperatures have increased unquote during the past century, and that human activity is a significant contributing factor in the increase in mean global temperatures.

3). Myth. Our Planet is getting colder, not hotter. How can the planet be warming when we had the coldest winter on record last year.

Fact. Localized individual temperatures from smaller regions around the earth do not indicate long-term trends of global warming. Temperature readings from multiple points on the planet are assembled, and an average of the current rise in global temperatures over any specific period is correlated.

4) Myth. Global warming can only be caused by natural factors, human activity on the planet cannot be the driver of global events.

Fact. Climate change globally is due in part to natural events happening on the earth, as well as human factors. Scientific evidence points to the fact that the rise in global temperatures over the last few decades has been exacerbated by the release of greenhouse gases. 36 billion metric tons of CO2 have been released into the Earth’s atmosphere since 1990, and 90% of this is attributable to human activities.

5). Myth. The sun is to blame for the earth heating up, as solar flares and CME’s are the reason our planet is heating up.

Fact. The sun has actually showed a slight cooling trend over the last 35 years, while the climate of the Earth has been heating up steadily.

6). Myth. There is no clear consensus on whether or not the planet is actually experiencing a warming trend.

Fact. 97% of climate scientists acknowledge that man-made global warming is happening, with the majority of them abandoning arguments over what the causes are, while trying to inform the planets population that global warming is indeed happening.

7). Myth. How dangerous could CO2 emissions be anyway, plants and trees absorb it all the time, and give off oxygen in return. It can’t be all that bad.

Fact. Yes it is true that plants absorb CO2 emissions, and this is called photosynthesis. But CO2 emissions are being absorbed by our planet’s oceans, and this acidification of the seawater is killing coral reefs all over the world. 72% of the planet’s surface is covered by water, so the majority of the CO2 in our atmosphere is being absorbed by the oceans. This has been changing the pH level of the ocean from an alkaline base, to being very acidic, and the results may have bearing on the commercial fishing industry, as well as the coral reefs as I said earlier.

8). Myth. There’s been a lot of talk about the Antarctic ice melt recently, and ice covering much of the continent of Antarctica has been expanding, contrary to the belief that the ice cap is melting because of global warming.

Fact. Yes there has been some ice gains on the continent of Antarctica recently, but this is different than the ice melts in terms of land ice versus sea ice. While there has been some additional ice frozen to the land structure of Antarctica, DC ice around the periphery of the continent is melting at a frenetic rate, due to the warming of Southern oceans.

9). Myth. Scientific climate models and data are full of assumptions and loopholes that can make them fit with just about anything a scientist wants to reveal as true or false.

Fact. Scientific data in regards to global warming are based on fundamental physics and chemistry, that allow them to make their predictions about global warming with relative certainty.

So there you have it. I have presented these myths and facts not to try and change anyone’s mind about the causes of global warming, only to show people that it is in fact happening and we need to do something about it before it gets completely out of hand, allowing something of epic proportions to befall our planet.

Many people stand on either side of these facts and myths, pointing fingers at each other over the reasons why one or the other of these groups appears to have a personal agenda with regards to global warming, pro-or con.

But the people of planet Earth probably don’t care about the causes of global warming, whether it’s because of CO2 emissions or not. They only care that it is actually happening, with most people wanting to do something about it before it ruins our planet.

Article by Jim Donahue