Climate Change is Real. Is Global Warming Real?

The chart shows factors that influence climate change.

Global warming is a hotly disputed topic. This article attempts to expose "myths" about global warming. Let's look at some of the myths.

* Earth has had many cycles of warming and cooling.
This isn't a myth. Earth's climate changes. The Sahara was once wet. Antarctica was home to a diverse range of tropical plants including Baobab trees, ferns, palms, and rainforest trees.

* Earth's climate is cooling.
This certainly is not true for recent history. The decade of 2000-2009 was the hottest on record.

* Weather records only go back to about 1900.
NASA bases climate change on a 136-year record. Records of weather were kept in England that go back to the 17th century.

The England and Wales Precipitation series, which measures rainfall and snow, goes back to 1766. The Central England Temperature series has kept weather records since 1659.

"They were kept on a personal basis by amateur meteorologists," says Sancha Lancaster, a spokeswoman for the Met Office. "We have an archive here of thousands of people's weather diaries. Many don't just record the weather, they also record the effects on wildlife and plants. It takes years to quality-control them and put the data on to a computer." (From here.)

Local weather records have been used to develop computer models that suggest global warming, at least in the Northern Hemisphere.

According to NASA, 16 of the 17 warmest years in the 136-year record all have occurred since 2001, with the exception of 1998. What happened to make 1998 different? This marked the completion of Earth's axial precession, a cycle of about 25,800 years (Earth's Great Year). We don't have records going back that far.

In the cycle of Earth’s Great Year the line off the North Pole axis (extending toward Polaris) scribes a complete circle in the heavens about every 25,800 years. A complete cycle takes between 25,000 and 28,000 years, depending on the amount of Earth's wobble. One cycle is Earth’s Great Year (also called a "Platonic Year.") Climate and atmospheric changes appear to become more acute toward the end and beginning of a new year.

* There is no consensus among scientists on global warming.
Scientists agree that Earth's climate changes. They don't all agree that we are faced with a catastrophic global warming. It is estimated that 97% accept the theory of global warming as a reality.

*Global warming may have positive effects.
Regions of the Earth, such as Greenland, may benefit from an extended growing season. Other regions may see an expansion of deserts, though many factors contribute to desertification.


Related reading: Kansas Bill Calling for Objectivity in Science Fails; Climate Cycles Indicate a Dynamic Earth