Thursday, May 8, 2008

About Global Warming

Well, global warming, it is all around us. It is on the weather stations. It faces us when we decide to purchase a new car or even a cleaning product. The real issues come when trying to learn about global warming. There is a lot of conflicting information on the internet and there is not one group that can agree on all aspects of the global warming debate.

Over the past century, with out a doubt, global temperatures have risen. While the rise in temperature has been only a degree or so, the concern is whether the Earth's temperatures will continue to rise and what impact that will have on the environment. The controversy about the warming of the earth is a result of conflicting evidence.

The fact that global warming also occurred in the prehistoric era is a scientific point. Some think a large meteor hitting the planet caused a big change in the earth's temperature. Is that what killed the dinosaurs? Science cannot prove this conclusively yet. The political and industrial lobbies further complicate conversations about global warming. The contention of these groups is that, we currently do not know enough about the effects of global warming to limit industrial emissions.

The facts about global warming differ according to which group is publishing the information. Unfortunately this translates into a myriad of confusing ideas and theories that the average citizen must muck through in order to determine the truth. Scientists continue to perform studies and monitor global temperatures but until there is a published analysis of the results that is completely definitive, then there will be doubt.

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