I got the idea for this thread from Rocketgirl's comment about having to put the heating on in July, in the "Tonight I" thread.

I am becoming increasingly sceptical of this whole global warming thing. The deeper you dig, the more it looks just like a scam or the latest eco-fad. I mean, it wasn't long ago that scientists were telling us we were heading towards another ice age. The fact that the government are using it to slap extra taxes on flights, etc, says a lot to me. There are a lot of scientists and weather experts out there who agree that global warming is nothing but a con. What's worrying is that there seems to be a kind of suppression of information occuring. Melanie Phillips of the Spectator has some interesting things to say, especially in this excellent in-depth article:

http://www.spectator.co.uk/melaniephillips/550481/the-mammoth-global-warming-scam.thtml

It's fairly long and takes a while to get through but it's worth it.

And article by Dr. Martin Keeley:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/sci/tech/4066189.stm

"Global warming is indeed a scam, perpetrated by scientists with vested interests, but in need of crash courses in geology, logic and the philosophy of science.

It provides the media with a new scare story, which has been picked up by the focus groups and turned into the new religion, offering us hell if we don't all change our ways. However, believing in anthropogenic global warming is not enough, but that is all it can offer."

John Coleman, a scientist and founder of the Weather Channel, calls global warming the greatest scam in history:

"Some dastardly scientists with environmental and political motives manipulated long term scientific data to create in [sic] allusion of rapid global warming. Other scientists of the same environmental whacko type jumped into the circle to support and broaden the "research" to further enhance the totally slanted, bogus global warming claims. Their friends in government steered huge research grants their way to keep the movement going. Soon they claimed to be a consensus.

Environmental extremists, notable politicians among them, then teamed up with movie, media and other liberal, environmentalist journalists to create this wild "scientific" scenario of the civilization threatening environmental consequences from Global Warming unless we adhere to their radical agenda. Now their ridiculous manipulated science has been accepted as fact and become a cornerstone issue for CNN, CBS, NBC, the Democratic Political Party, the Governor of California, school teachers and, in many cases, well informed but very gullible environmental conscientious citizens. Only one reporter at ABC has been allowed to counter the Global Warming frenzy with one 15 minutes documentary segment.

I have read dozens of scientific papers. I have talked with numerous scientists. I have studied. I have thought about it. I know I am correct. There is no run away climate change. The impact of humans on climate is not catastrophic. Our planet is not in peril. I am incensed by the incredible media glamour, the politically correct silliness and rude dismissal of counter arguments by the high priest of Global Warming.

In time, a decade or two, the outrageous scam will be obvious."

And a very interesting extract from "The Global Warming Scam" by Derek Kelly PhD:

http://www.globalwarming.nottinghamshiretimes.co.uk/

Also from the Nottinghamshire Times archives, here's a list of global warming myths:

http://www.globalwarming.nottinghamshiretimes.co.uk/Globalwarmingmyths.html

There's a lot of other interesting information there too if you follow the links on the left.

I'm swaying towards scam, myself. What say you?

Dont know about 'scam' as such. But, I have in the past read up scientists and wotnot who said that global warming, carbon monoxide in the atmosphere, ozone problems etc. are natural phenomena and our planet has had peaks and troughs over millenia.
I go with that. It makes the most sense to me. Sure, people dont help much with their car fumes and such, but I think its just mostly a case of There's Big Money To Be Made By Scaring People.
There is no doubt that fish and minibeasts etc. are dying out, changing due to pollutents created by man, but as to 'global warming', ice age coming etc. Yeah it probably *will* happen in a few million years time. Not that I dont care about my great x 1000 grandchildren....well actually truth is, of course I dont, its too far into the future for me to be imagining myself caring about the welfare of someone who wont exist for another 1 million years, even if they are my blood relations - I doubt much will be left of any of the whole universe by then, let alone Earth, we will no doubt before that f**k it all up by then anyway.

The term 'Global Warming' I think is misleading.

I reckon the weather as time passes will not be just warmer, but rather more extreme and out-of-character weather.

For example, the shitty weather we are having right now, when it is supposed to be the height of summer.

I don't think that it will just get hot, but will equally get colder at quite erratic times.

It can't be a load of old bollocks though, what is happening to the planet cannot be denied, you only have to look around you.

Bah.....its all a load of tommy-rot.

We have a long hot summer - 'they' say its due to global warming (or global cooling, or el nino effect, or whatever happens to be latest trendiest thing to latch on to - we'll call this factor "WLBSAE" - Whatever is the Latest BullShit about the Environment)

We have floods - 'they' say it's due to the WLBSAE

We have no winter snow, just rain - thats because of the WLBSAE

Changeable weather? Thats because of the WLBSAE

'Normal' british weather?.....Ooooh watch out! It'll be a sign of impending WLBSAE

The funny thing is that we dont see other countries going on about how their weather has dramatically changed due to WLBSAE, just the occasional natural disaster, like a Tsunami, or earthquake, or monsoon, or hurricane etc etc

Quick everyone, put your hand in your pocket for the government to pump us for a bit more of our hard-earned cash in the name of WLBSAE!
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Hmm, I can't say that it is obvious why the change is happening, like you say, it could be natural, or it might be something else.

I'm just pissed off cos I have used up 2 weeks holiday this year so far, to watch it piss down with rain......

Not read what is in this thread, but Global Warming is there BUT its natural, The Milankovitch Theory says that the tilt of the earth can effect the climate, hense the ice ages etc etc, The degree of the tilt of the earth changes, and thats what is going on now, but we are speeding up thing with carbon dioxide in the atmosphere, the reason for global warming is a mixure of both factors. Obviously carbon dioxide cannot effect the tilt nor can the tilt effect the carbon dioxide. But if the CO2 wasn't there, we'd still be getting warmer.

Sorry if I went on and on, god knows if it makes sense. But in my head I understand the milankovitch theory lol

And didnt that tsunami in asia on boxing day a few years back tilt the earth on its axis? A nano-degree away from the sun?

you may have a point moose - i mean my theory is the credit crunch is just an excuse to get more funding for the 2012 olympics.who knows whats really going on tho? guess we just need to put our faith in the scientists

Ah but the scientists that I know (only a few admittedly) will say ANYTHING to get funding so they can pursue their own agendas/daft beliefs.

I reckon there was a scam, perpetrated by a coalition of oil companies, automotive manufacturers and elements of the military/industrial complex with the tacit backing of the US government --- it was called the Climate Coalition and is still a non-government organisation set up to resist US ratification of the Kyoto treaty.

The main activity of the Climate Coalition was the spreading of disinformation to journalists challenging the irrefutable evidence of human generated climate change.

I say was because now even the US government is worried, especially since China seems to be using global warming as a political lever.

Evidence of global warming in Britain :
* Record breaking summer after summer.
* Floods in summer.
* No snow in winter - as a kid I remember snow every year.
* Strange insects in my garden that only ever used
to live in France.
* The Daily Mail says it isn't happenning !

But enough of me -- http://www.terradaily.com/Climate_Science.html

"but it's a natural occurence and human effect on it is miniscule".

From having read scientists on both sides of the fence, that pretty much sums up my thoughts.

The Great Global Warming Swindle is part of a long-standing pattern. Channel 4 upsets all sorts of people, and it has every right to do so. On all other issues it appears to do so in a random fashion, sometimes attacking people on one side of the debate, sometimes on the other. But one polemical position has kept recurring over the past 18 years: a fierce antagonism towards environmentalism. Some of these programmes have used misrepresentation, distortion or fabrication to sustain claims that environmental concerns are the fantasies of self-serving scientists. It is arguable that no organisation in the United Kingdom has done more to damage the effort to protect the environment.