[bjl584]

I don't think that we have enough data to say one way or the other if man is causing global climate change. We have around 200 years of data. The Earth is around 5 billion years old. That is a blip on the radar in the geologic time scale. The Earth's climate has been warming and cooling for eons. The earth was much warmer during the time of the dinosaurs, and there have been several ice ages all before man walked the earth. There are a lot of things at work with the Earth's climate other than CO2. The Earth's axis and wobble that it cycles through, Sun Spot activity, and Ocean currents to name a few.

There is also the argument that the scientific instruments that record this data can not be relied upon due to the fact that many of them are subject to outside forces. (They are placed in direct sunlight, they are near to a heating duct on top of a building, etc.) There is also an argument that since the instruments are much more accurate and sophisticated today, that the older instruments that were used years ago may not have yielded accurate results. (Pre computer, etc.)

Then there is the argument that even if mankind completely stops CO2 emissions, will it matter? A large volcanic eruption can put more CO2 and other gases into the atmosphere than the entire Industrial Revolution.

I'm all for protecting the environment, but I also don't want to jump to conclusions. I do think that the Global Warming argument has become much more political than it is scientific.