What are the skeptics' views on global warming?

Answer 1

A: There is no one skeptics' view on global warming. Some examples are:

• Some skeptics say the world is not warming at all. In fact a few even say that the world is cooling, although this flies in the face of meteorological records.

• Some say that if the world is warming, that is great. They think that global warming means warmer winters and more agricultural production, with no ill effects.

• Some say that if the world is warming, they realise that there will be winners and losers, but we expect to be among the winners. Losers could include inhabitants of Pacific Islan nations and Bangladesh, and perhaps some of our own coastal communities, but a lot of winners will live in richer nations.

• Some say that if the world is warming, there is nothing we can do about it. Variations on this include denying that atmospheric carbon dioxide is contributing to global warming, or that we are too powerless to stop rising levels.

• Some accept that global warming is real and that greenhouse gases are contributing to it, but say that rising greenhouse gas levels are not the result of human activity.

• Some claim that the short-term economic cost of halting global warming is more important than the long-term cost of climate change. A variation on this is to say that the evidence for global warming is still unconvincing to some, so why pay a cost now for a future benefit that might not materialise.

A:

Some think it isn't happening at all. They claim that more recent temperature readings are tainted by the Urban Heat Island effect.

Others think even if it is happening, humans bear very little, if any, of the responsibility for it.

They also point to NATURAL cycles of the Earth, the Sun, and our solar system's movement through the galaxy.

Others think that, whether it is caused by humans or not, the results are not nearly as bad as predicted.