Global warming - The Hot Potato

[Marineboy]

What is your view, opinion or blame for Global Warming?
Has this happened before in earths history? Just what is fortold in religious belief? Is mankind totally to blame? Is it merely a global hiccup? Is there any way back? What does the future hold? What was the turning point for the earth - the industrial revolution, the rise of man, or some yet unexplained or unaccepted natural wobble? Do you maybe see it at as a good thing? Are we all doing enough? Is it too late? Is your local council doing all it can - recycling, energy efficiency/waste? Is your local council, school, business, neighbour, scout group, etc doing anything that makes them stand out in the unvoiced global warming combat champions?
Yes, a very hot potato at the moment, and a subject that is not going to be swept under the carpet. Maybe we are all tired of it? . . . oh, no not again syndrome?
One for a good debate though! Any comments . . . ?

[naturelover]

i shall more than likely get told i dont know what i am talking about but this is how i think it is,it has happend befor,its all part of how things are over the years,ok we dont help but the sea chucks out more gases than we do and there is nothing you can do to stop that,i also think the woods and forests should have been left alone because that dosnt help either,when you think how small we are in this world i canot belive we have done it all,its a mixture of things in the past thats caused it,wars,steam trains,coal fires,factory chimneys,just to name a few,we have stopped it all now but the dammage was already done and i dont think there is any turning back no matter what we do,we shall just have to take it as it hits us and live every day as though it was our last.

[Marineboy]

I believe that the industrial revolution was a key turning point for the earth, and that man has contributed to the situation we know as global warming. But no matter what we do, the earth is in a cycle that we can not stop. And man has accelerated it.
Here in the UK, in geological history we have evidence that we were once in the grip of an ice age. Fossil records however show that we were home to some really exotic tropical species. The UK we know today is mid way between those two extremes. There is evidence held in the deep polar ice that the oxygen content of the atmosphere was greater than it is today - does that not suggest that there have been swings in the composition of gases in the air before?
All through geological history species have died out and others have risen. If the dinosaurs were still alive, would man be where he is today? Or would we just be one step lower down the food chain? Man has undeniably been the cause of many extinctions on this wonderful blue green planet, but the earth goes through times of change, a natural wobble.
This is not all mans' doing, but we have the records, we can see the evidence, and we have the intelligence to realise that things are changing. I am not saying to give up on recycling etc. Far from it. We are the temporary guardians of a beautiful planet. As such, we have a duty to look after it.

[Precious]

Originally Posted by Marineboy

...
This is not all mans' doing, but we have the records, we can see the evidence, and we have the intelligence to realise that things are changing. I am not saying to give up on recycling etc. Far from it. We are the temporary guardians of a beautiful planet. As such, we have a duty to look after it.

It's not all man's doing but I suggest it is because of our intelligence that we find ourselves able to shortcut natural systems like the carbon cycle and thus make things much worse than they would otherwise be.

Precious...
but not as precious as our world