<p>I don't see any apostrophe errors. Please feel free to point them out.</p>
<p>"What!! I was sure they had a few pieces of ET down in Area 51!"</p>
<p>Maybe we should save that one for another day...it could get ugly. </p>
<p>One of the biggest arguments against global warming seems to be that the earth is just experiencing a warming trend. This is a perfectly valid assumption. However, I find it strange that scientists have been finding an increase in CO2 content and have seen the Earth get warmer since shortly after the beginning of the Industrial Revolution. Coincidence in timing? While the Earth does have warming cycles, one would think it is all too obvious that mankind is helping to speed up the warming process. From Encarta:</p>
<p>As early as 1896 scientists suggested that burning fossil fuels might change the composition of the atmosphere and that an increase in global average temperature might result. The first part of this hypothesis was confirmed in 1957, when researchers working in the global research program called the International Geophysical Year sampled the atmosphere from the top of the Hawaiian volcano Mauna Loa. Their instruments indicated that carbon dioxide concentration was indeed rising. Since then, the composition of the atmosphere has been carefully tracked. The data collected show undeniably that the concentrations of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere are increasing.
Scientists have long suspected that the global climate, the long-term average pattern of temperature, was also growing warmer, but they were unable to provide conclusive proof. Temperatures vary widely all the time and from place to place. It takes many years of climate observations to establish a trend. Records going back to the late 1800s did seem to show a warming trend, but these statistics were spotty and untrustworthy. Early weather stations often were located near cities, where temperature measurements were affected by the heat emitted from buildings and vehicles and stored by building materials and pavements. Since 1957, however, data have been gathered from more reliable weather stations, located far away from cities, and from satellites. These data have provided new, more accurate measurements, especially for the 70 percent of the planetary surface that is ocean water (see Satellite, Artificial). These more accurate records indicate that a surface warming trend exists and that, moreover, it has become more pronounced. Looking back from the end of the 20th century, records show that the ten warmest years of the century all occurred after 1980, and the three hottest years occurred after 1990, with 2005 being the warmest year of all.</p>
<p>Greenhouse gas concentrations are increasing. Temperatures are rising. But does the gas increase necessarily cause the warming, and will these two phenomena continue to occur together? In 1988 the United Nations Environment Program and the World Meteorological Organization established a panel of 200 leading scientists to consider the evidence. In its Third Assessment Report, released in 2001, this Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) concluded that global air temperature had increased 0.6 Celsius degree (1 Fahrenheit degree) since 1861. The panel agreed that the warming was caused primarily by human activities that add greenhouse gases to the atmosphere. The IPCC predicted in 2001 that the average global temperature would rise by another 1.4 to 5.8 Celsius degrees (2.5 to 10.4 Fahrenheit degrees) by the year 2100. </p>
<p>You've got me on Mars thing...your guess is as good as mine.</p>
<p>The way I see it, even if there is still uncertainty, it is better to be safe than sorry. Why continue to contribute to global warming? Whether mankind is completely responsible for the Earth warming cannot be confirmed at this time, but it would be ignorant to assume that the current consumption of fuels does not hasten the process. It is a difficult decision though as it will effect the economies of many nations, and as GW realized, the US would have to really change the way it used energy. </p>
<p>In time, I believe we'll have to do something. Even if it were caused by the Earth's natural cycle, we're only hurrying the process and digging ourself deeper into a hole.</p>