Global Warming? Yes, But Not Caused By Man

I just posted this on MSNBC here:


http://boards.msn.com/MSNBCboards/thread.aspx?threadid=336924&BoardsParam=HIPDelay%3d1%26PostID%3d8359643

The entire debate about global warming comes down to the question of "is mankind causing it by producing carbon dioxide"? Upon consideration of all of the elements that go into the equation, and the known climate history, the answer continues to be NO, negative.
Peter

GeoPete
Message #5 - 07/08/07 03:58 PM
Friends,
Heat in, heat out........simply speaking, that's what we're talking about. In reading this discussion, what strikes me as interesting is how little the Earth's atmosphere changes in temperature over time. Look back at history, hundreds, thousands, tens of thousands of years. Think about what we know and agree on, (a lot actually). Apparently just a few degrees change and we go from ice age advance to warming and glacial retreat, but the overall temperature (climate) never really varies much.

These changes we see on a daily basis are weather, not climate. "Record" heat, cold, rain, snow......these are normal everyday occurrences. They do, will, and have always happened and have nothing to do with climate.

Think about the size of the Earth, its atmosphere, landmasses, lakes, rivers and oceans, all elements that interact to create what we call our "climate". Think of all the dramatic events that have occurred, do occur and will continue to affect climate. I mean things like changes in the solar energy input, volcanic eruptions releasing gases and particulate matter, and of course the continual volcanic activity taking place every day, all day and night along the mid-ocean ridges, un-seen by us, estimated to be approximately 50,000 miles long!

Tremendous changes are continually taking place, yet the Earth's atmosphere manages to maintain it's temperature in a relatively narrow range. It has been doing this for a long, long time, otherwise human beings could not have survived as long as we have.

Somehow, the Earth's atmosphere regulates itself. When it warms.....things, (more clouds, rain, snow, etc.) take place that cause it to cool. Cooling goes on for a while, then there are actions that cause it to warm again. Note of course that all of this takes place quite handily without the miniscule input of humans.
Think of a pot of boiling water, as long as it is open to the atmosphere, you can add all the heat you want and the temperature of the water will never exceed 212 degrees F, (100 degrees C).

It is always worth playing an old trick by betting friends around the campfire that you can boil water in a paper cup. It's true....as long as there is water in the cup it will never get hotter than 212 F, which is too low for the paper to catch fire. (Don't let your mother catch you doing this.)

Is global warming true? Of course it is. The Earth's atmosphere is always warming or cooling. Is man causing catastrophic global warming by adding carbon dioxide to the atmosphere? Highly, highly unlikely. The Earth's atmosphere will regulate itself, as it always has.