Posted by Art Aigner on April 22, 2005

Q: I have heard many different opinions about "global warming". I also heard that the facts don't support the theory of global warming. Can you shed some light.

A: You sound like a person with an open mind and also one who wants accurate information, not hearsay - we all need to be careful where and how we obtain our information. There are lots of people saying one thing and another and this certainly confuses and complicates this whole issue.

To begin with, global warming is a fact (as much as any scientific information can be factural), not a theory! Scienctists have been making all kinds of measurements now for decades and can quickly and accurately show that our world is indeed warming. I don't think that a single reputable scientist disagrees on this - the data are very clear. However, there are many who disagree with WHY it is warming - is it caused by humans, is it a natural phenomena, or is it a combination of human and natural phenomena.

Most scientists, not all, believe that human actions have at least accelerated, if not caused, the warming we currently see. We do need to keep in mind that the world has warmed and cooled in the past long before it was being influenced by human activities so we can't automatically assume that current warming is human-induced and this is partly why it is so difficult to know what's going on this time. In obtaining our "facts" we must be wary of information that might be biased so information from an oil company, for example, would not be a reliable source for global warming information, in my opinion.

But, knowing that the world is indeed warming and also knowing that greenhouse gases that humans are spewing out at a phenomenal rate do help the earth retain heat, makes me quite suspicious of our role in this process. If we wait until all of the "facts" are in on global warming, it will probably be much too late to stop its effects. I personally am one who thinks we should act now to reduce what we know can accelerate, or at least contribute to, global warming while we still have time to make a difference.

None of us wants to think our activities are causing the earth to warm but if we don't face up to our responsibilities now, future limitations may be much, much more dire for everything living on this planet. Thanks for your question.

John Wiessinger ( April 22, 2005)