This is an article that debates xo7JoA7ox's article from last week "Why Can't We Be Friends?" I want people to realize the other side of the Global Warming debate and realize that not every thing xo7JoA7ox wrote is necessarily what everyone believes. I'm not writing this to be negative to xo7JoA7ox or anyone else, I am simply sharing my opinion on the matter.

While AIDs, famine, poverty, and war appear to be a threat to humanity, the leaders of the world seem more concerned with the issue of Global Warming. The only real truth behind Global Warming is that the Earth is indeed getting warmer. The scientific community is divided as to whether the cause is man-made or due to a natural cycle. There is also debate of how much harm an increase in Earth's temperature really is to its inhabitants. In this article I plan to explore both sides of the argument that scientist and politicians have been fighting for years.

For strong believers out there, Global Warming is man-kinds' punishment for putting the economy before the environment. Their theory behind the Earth getting warmer is because of pollution (Carbon dioxide, Methane, and CO2) that is being released into our atmosphere. Surely everyone has noticed the giant hole in the Ozone layer whenever you look at the sky? Earth's atmosphere is a natural green house, unfortunately, foreign gases are heating the Earth like never before. Because of these dramatic increases in temperature (a rise of 0.6 degrees Celsius in the last 20 years) the Polar Ice caps have begun to melt causing what may be the extinction of polar bears (oh my!). At this point many people are convinced that by not using any thing with CFC and switching to Hybrid cars the temperature of the Earth will go back to normal and we will have successfully saved the next generation. But what if the cause of Global Warming isn't us?

Studies show that during the Industrial Revolution (when fossil fuel filled the sky 24/7) the temperature of the Earth decreased and didn't rise again till the late 1970's. Since the Earth has been around its climate has always been changing. Many scientists believe that the warming of the Earth is a natural cycle that has been occurring long before man began to pollute the air. There is no way to prove that there hasn't always been a hole in the Ozone. Obviously the Earth has warmed up before since we're no longer in an Ice Age! I believe that Global Warming is occurring, however, I do not think that man has anything to do with it.

Please discuss your opinion in the BBS.
Robin38