10 indicators of a human footprint on climate change

[LongTomH]

This recent post at the Climate Progress blog gives the ten most convincing indicators that human beings are affecting the planet's climate:

The NOAA State of the Climate 2009 report is an excellent summary of the many lines of evidence that global warming is happening. Acknowledging the fact that the planet is warming leads to the all important question: What’s causing global warming? To answer this, here is a summary of the empirical evidence that answer this question. Many different observations find a distinct human fingerprint on climate change:

Science isn’t a house of cards, ready to topple if you remove one line of evidence. Instead, it’s like a jigsaw puzzle. As the body of evidence builds, we get a clearer picture of what’s driving our climate. We now have many lines of evidence all pointing to a single, consistent answer – the main driver of global warming is rising carbon dioxide levels from our fossil fuel burning.

– John Cook, Skeptical Science.

JR: I would add that, as science adviser John Holdren often points out, in order to refute the theory of human-caused global warming, you would not merely have to come up with an alternate explanation for all of the above observed changes. You would have to figure out what unknown factor was blocking or negating greenhouse gases from causing them.

Other recent posts at Climate Progress indicate that even some former skeptics are catching on to the reality of global warming: CNN meteorologist Chad Myers, and the UK's Daily Mail.

Climate Progress also posted results of a Stanford University poll that indicates, contrary to other recent polls, that the vast majority of Americans know global warming is real!

[BrklynLiberal]

1. GREAT post! thanks. I am bookmarking for future use.

[jpak]

2. but..but..but.. the stolen emails *proves* global warming is a fraud and NOAA is lying about the oil

!!!!1111

[wtmusic]

3. The risk of alienation from the scientific community is becoming a problem

for most skeptics. About time.

Great post, K&R

[Nederland]

4. There is little dispute that AGW is real

What is in dispute is whether or not the results will be catastrophic. As usual, the global warming alarmist gloss over this detail and act as if the debate is something other than it is.

[petronius]

5. That may be a topic of discussion in the scientific community, but that isn't

the position we see the self-described skeptics propagating. The impacts and mitigation discussion is precisely what the deniers are trying to avoid having by spouting all the 'hoax' rhetoric...

[BeFree]

6. Really?

So, then, what changes can we expect to see?

I mean, as if you know it all, what changes are coming?
Hint: start first with the changes you already have seen.

What changes are you, Nederland, cognizant of?

[Nederland]

7. Global temps will increase 1 or 2 degrees C...

Sea Levels will rise maybe a half a meter, coral reefs will see an increase of certain species and a decrease of others. All in all, significant changes, but nothing drastic. Compared to the list of other environmental concerns we have right now, global warming is pretty far down the list. Probably in the top ten still, but nowhere near #1. For example, if you assume that events like the BP oil spill will occur with greater and greater frequency unless we find an alternative to oil, the direct destruction that we see from those types of events will be far worse than what global warming brings.

[guardian]

8. There you go again

being rational and reasonable. Prepare for a virtual tongue lashing from the doomers.

The idea of addressing real ecological problems is anathema to the hand-wringing, hyperventilating doomers. They rather stand around shouting "LOOK AT ME...I'M IMPORTANT...I KNOW BETTER THAN YOU" than actually doing something constructive that actually improves the planet in a substantive way.

The mind of the doomer is a strange beast.

* Send money to help stop poaching of endangered species? Oh no...too busy protesting against the use of charcoal grills and lawn mowers because they contribute to global warming.

* Try to stop dumping of garbage, raw sewage, and industrial waste into the oceans and waterways? Oh no...rage about how SUVs get lower gas mileage and contributes to global warming.

* Bring attention to uncontrolled pollutants in the atmosphere that have led acid rain, dissolution of the ozone layer, smog ... especially in developing countries? No way. Too busy looking at doomer data showing a 0.287463537854968687 degree increase in temperature over the same day last year.

* Show concern for unsustainable agriculture practices, siltation, pesticide runoffs, loss habitats? Nope. Too busy patting myself on the back for using a CFL lightbulb and reducing CO2 so next year when I'm staring at my doomer data the temperature difference might only be 0.287463537854968686 degree different than the previous year.

* Figure out how to get clean water and modern sanitation to billions of impoverished around the world? No the doomers are too busy trying to prevent 3rd world countries from getting electricity and technology that would lift them up, save lives, and improve the quality of life. After all the doomers all admire the very low carbon footprint of the 3rd world nations. I'm sure they appreciate the 'sacrifice' of 3rd world nations in keeping their carbon footprint so low.

* Help prevent habitat loss and uncontrolled deforestation? No doomers are too busy feeling all smug about themselves as they wax their Prius in front of their house so the whole neighborhood can see.

* Fight against genocide, female circumcision, slavery, oppression, or any number of ills in the world? Nope.
Time to watch the "Inconvenient Truth" "2012" and "Day After Tomorrow" marathon again on cable while they pop open their carbonated beverage and do some online shopping.

* Think rationally? Nope. EVERYTHING and I mean EVERY FUCKING THING EVER is tied to global warming somehow.

[BeFree]

9. Oh?

Is that 1 degree a year? Half meter rise each year?

What time span, then?

What about the temp extremes? The loss of habitat?

The feedback loops and the other forced GLOBAL changes?

Acidification of the oceans?

Methinks the deniers who think that GLOBAL changes do not really mean GLOBAL need rudimentary lessons in what GLOBAL really means, but I fear they can't much see past their noses.

The changes being forced are making for a very different WORLD than the one that has been more or less stable for thousands of years.

I know the reality really scares the shit out of the deniers, just look at how silly they act. Besides that they will never take responsibility for their actions, otherwise they'd all be environmentalists a long time ago, and the shit like BP in the Gulf would have never even happened because they took action a long time ago. As it is they have their thumbs up their asses, eh?

[Nederland]

10. Sorry, my bad

All the numbers I used were for what changes we would see over the next 100 years.