[–] [deleted] 0 points 3 points 3 points (+3|-0) ago
[–] Phoenix_MD 0 points 3 points 3 points (+3|-0) ago (edited ago)
I'm a physician and I do not think humans are causing climate change. I do not have an agenda or bias. I just don't think the limited data we have rules out the much more plausible cause which is natural cycling of the weather.
[–] joseremarque 0 points 1 point 1 point (+1|-0) ago
Can you point to any specific theories that better explain the existing weather data?
[–] Aragorn_ 0 points 2 points 2 points (+2|-0) ago (edited ago)
For one thing humans don't cause climate change. The world has been in a warming trend since 20,000 years ago when Chicago was under 3 miles of ice. The argument is over whether humans affect climate change and if so to what degree. It's pretty obvious that the world is warming faster than it would absent any human activity. There is scientific theory that predicts this and scientific evidence that verifies it. It's less obvious whether the way in which human activity affects climate change is significantly harmful to human life.
[–] Avnomke 1 point 0 points 1 point (+1|-1) ago
There are people who spend a lot of time going over the data, and the overwhelming consensus (97%) among them is that we're causing it, or at the very least, making it worse. We're definitely causing it. And there is evidence showing that earth is warmer than it's been in the past 2000 years. Reports from the IPCC state that the second half of the 20th century has a >90% chance of being the warmest 50 year period in the last 500 years and a >66% chance of being the warmest in the last 1300 years. It's not a coincidence that this is also when we started pumping carbon dioxide into the air - CO2 levels and global temperatures are very closely linked. There is evidence of climate change raising sea levels (r=.99) in addition to many other harmful effects, which are laid out in detail by the IPCC. Also in that last link is what we can do about it.
Climate change is real, dangerous, and not up for debate anymore.
[–] ChaoticNeutral 0 points 1 point 1 point (+1|-0) ago
There are definitely natural cycles at play in our environment. That doesn't mean we aren't affecting them in ways that have never happened before. Humans are causing the climate of this planet to change.
[–] Aragorn_ 0 points 1 point 1 point (+1|-0) ago (edited ago)
I agree with you except the part that humans are causing the climate of this planet to change. The climate of the planet changes with or without humans. The question is whether humans are causing the climate to change differently that what it already is.
[–] voatforgoat 1 point 4 points 5 points (+5|-1) ago
Absolutely sure it's human. 97% of scientists (I believe was the latest statistic) believe climate change is caused by humans - that's more than agree with evolution as a theory of human development. There is no doubt that the copious amounts of greenhouse gases we put into the atmosphere are accelerating climate change to a much greater degree than it should naturally, and inevitably causing major problems for our own societies, which are already being felt across the world but, unfortunately, the burden is often largely shouldered by third world countries, in sub-saharan Africa, for example, where droughts are causing major issues, but there are also issues in developed countries as well. If we want this to stop we need to appreciate this fact now, and it annoys me that politicians can just continue to act so ignorant about this issue as if it's not universally agreed upon by the scientific community, as if it's still in debate in scientific circles.
[–] Phoenix_MD 0 points 2 points 2 points (+2|-0) ago (edited ago)
The hesitancy to act is not directly linked to whether humans cause it or not. The politicians should act only if there is a high likelihood that action would significantly alter the future course of events.
And remember, >97% of experts used to agree that the world was flat.
[–] Aragorn_ 0 points 1 point 1 point (+1|-0) ago
People who bandy about that 97% figure are like people who keep saying women earn 77% of what men earn or that 10% of the population is gay. The figures have been so throughly debunked by now but they've heard them so many times they keep repeating them.
[–] theoldguy 0 points 1 point 1 point (+1|-0) ago
I think people are driving climate change, but I think most of whatever change we're undergoing has natural causes, including solar activity. The ruckus is mostly due to whether we should throw trillions of dollars into what may or may not be true. Naturally, the people standing to benefit from receiving trillions of dollars are pushing climate change, and the people who don't want their pockets picked are against it.
[–] Aragorn_ 0 points 2 points 2 points (+2|-0) ago
Both.