Is Global Warming A Real Problem or Not?

One group of well-educated and well-intentioned scientists warn that the world’s population needs to act immediately to stave off the possible devastating effects of a warmer planet. And they have a lot of photographs and scientific documentation to back them up.

Another group of equally well-educated and well-meaning scientist warn that taking up arms against global warming is not only a waste of resources but could do more harm than good.

Who do we believe?

Arthur B. Robinson, who led a team of scientists at the Oregon Institute of Science and Medicine in researching the hypothesis of the Kyoto Protocol, claims his research shows that greenhouse gas has a very negligible effect on global warming. He even goes so far as to say that increases in atmospheric carbon dioxide have been beneficial to the environment. Robinson’s report outlines sharp increases in growth of forests in the United States and the Amazonian rain forests, arguably due to the increase in carbon dioxide emissions; trees respond well to carbon dioxide fertilization.

The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), a group of the world's leading climate researchers, sees a greater than 90% likelihood that most warming over the last 50 years has occurred because of human-caused emissions of heat-trapping greenhouse gases.

At the core of the argument is not if the planet is warming but what is causing the higher temperatures. Throughout millennia the earth’s climate has gone through temperature changes. Warming and cooling is a natural cycle of any living thing. Your own body goes through this cycle. Earth’s oceans go through this cycle. Why are we raising such a overblown fuss with this particular natural phenomena?

Is it just human nature that when the number of participants gets larger the less likely the chances of agreement on any topic? Is this what we are seeing?

If there is proof that humans are not causing global warming and there is proof that that humans are causing global warming, where do we go from here?

There are some conspiracy theorists that claim that Chicken Little scientists created the scare in order to get more people involved in caring for the environment. Sounds a bit implausible but not entirely impossible.

While these two camps duke it out in the scientific arena, and the remainder of the world population that cares to chooses sides, the rest of us will go about living our daily lives enjoying the Summer sun, admiring Autumn’s changing colors, lamenting Winter’s freezing temperatures, and welcoming Springs promise of new life.