Global Warming skeptic [View All]

A friend and I were recently discussing Global Warming - she read some book in which she says it explained how Global Warming was just a big hoax and that it was footnoted, etc.

I sent her a Washington Post article on Global Warming, her response:

Since time began, the climate has been changing. Ohio
was once covered by glaciers. We didn't have global
warming when they disappeared. Maybe it's natural for
the climate to change and nothing we do can stop it.
Maybe it doesn't make sense to pour millions of
dollars into a losing battle. Look at the stats in
this article - 1 degree increase in 30 years (you
could probably read 10 articles with 10 different
degree changes, like the 4 degree increase in the
Canada article), ice masses are actually gaining mass,
what has melted on the perimeter could measure a .008"
increase in sea level? Also, they don't tell you that
the ice has been melting for the last thousand years
and at what rate and if there has been a rise in the
sea level. The articles are also full of words like
uncertain, potentially, likely, could, possible.
Doesn't sound like a disaster to me. These articles
create fear without fact.

I want to respond with - of course the climate has been changing since time began but not at the same rapid pace as it is today - if anyone has a link to a graph that shows historical changes could you let me know? (I saw a graph at a presentation by Al Gore - i haven't been able to find it but it shows how it went up gradually then we experienced the Ice Age and now the rate is just increasing off the charts.

I also wanted to point out to her that of course you are going to have differences in the average changes based on lattitude, etc.

Of course Ohio was covered by ice - as a result of climate change!!!!

to address the melting ice and rising sea level - a chart showing the gradual increase as opposed to the current and projected rapid increase would help.

Her comment about the words possible, likely, uncertain - well, since it is a prediction of course they will use those words.

I would appreciate any help / links you could provide for a response -
Thanks!