We're headed for the ice age...?

It's perfectly true that the Earth's climate has probably been changing since the beginning and it continues to do so naturally. However, there seems to be little doubt that our actions are impacting negatively on our environment. Whether becoming environmentally aware and taking the appropriate actions is enough to significantly affect the climactic changes ahead I don't know but even if it doesn't do any good it certainly can't do any harm! To be honest I have little patience with people who try to dismiss it all as a fuss about nothing. I suppose they could be right but there again they could also be very wrong so why take the chance? I think you've touched on part of the reason for many people being apathetic about it in your OP. We've become so used to hearing sensationalised "news" - not just about the next ice age or global warming but all kinds of other issues too - that we've become desensitised to it all. Also as we are so often hearing conflicting statements it's difficult to know what to believe. In this instance though I think it's wiser to err on the side of caution and do what we can to change our ways.

The climate is changing a bit but to think that man has anything to do with it is really projecting the human race way beyond it's importance on the world stage. We are as significant as a wart on the back of an elephant! More energy is expended in one hurricane/typhoon than all the world's power station outputs in a year. Man's total contribution to CO2 is 2.5% - the other 97.5% is totally natural and way out of our control. CO2 makes up 5% of the worlds greenhouse gasses - the main gas is water vapour (clouds). We have tried to interfere with one cloud to make it rain by 'salting' it with crystals with limited success. One volcanic erruption spews out more CO2 than man's contribution in a year. Currently there are 20 volcanos errupting and some have been spewing out CO2 since 2005. Check here - http://volcano.und.edu/vwdocs/current_volcs/history.html Much as we would love to think that we are the big cheese on this 25% land mass of earth we live on, we are really a spit in the ocean.

No biggie. It is over-hyped by the liberals and the media. The earth will always go through cycles of extreme heating and cooling. I wonder who the liberals will blame when the next ice age comes around? They put the blame on man for over heating, which is a load of you know what. It is all guesswork, as many would like us to believe that science knows all. Liberals are anti business and wealth, so it is easy for them to shoot down big business as the cause for global warming. When Al Gore gives up his mansion and goes green, maybe I will buy the drivel he is spouting.

I belive due to the ever-increasing pollution the global temperature is going up by 0.3 degree centigred per year , and thus the ice at the caps are tending to melt after a few years the temperature will increase in such a tendum that there will be total presipitation of the polar ice , and the world will be under water. This theory is supported by the fact that every year the coastal lines are getting into the water by average of 55cm, into the oceans and seas.

The only thing that is Permanent in this Universe is Change. Everything is in a flux, including the Weather. Thank God we are now having Global Warming! Imagine if it was Global Cooling! Seems like Science has to have a Study to worry about, and Its got to be Drastic or the Public will loose interest. THis one is making the scientists very happy. Because there is no way to prove them wrong. I'm sure in 10 years Global warming will be completely forgotten. Global Warming you say? Whats that?????????

i say it probally will be in the future

I was taught that in school, too. No, I am not a green person. I am saving energy though because I do not want to pay more than necessary. I have not noticed a change in climate. For me everything is as usual. I always have liked animals and nature. So I try to treat them as good as I can but it has nothing to do with the preaching of certain groups that are strong these days. There is always people who like to threaten us. There was the cattle disease, or AIDS or global warming, you name it. Funny thing is I am still alive. And this is why I do not believe these people who like to scare others.

Well, just as all planets do, we go in a cycle that changes how the wheather is in winter and summer. The changes dont affect the moon as much, so weird wheather like huricanes are formed. The carbon and other things our specias produce can affect this. The reason I say there is no global warming is because we would not know what it would be like if we didnt polute. So really there isnt a status quoe to follow that we can say the planet is warming up. We should never worry about what could happen, because it wont happen.

well let us consider this..human have been altering the chemical composition of the atmosphere by using invention that spew out of millions of tons of gases,these gases are said GREENHOUSE EFFECT resulting in the warming of the atmosphere.warmer temperature are expected to cause other problem,snow cover in the northern hemisphere has been decreasing a 1,250 square mile, ice shelf artartica collapsed in early 2002,sea levels could rise significantly in this century.since a third of the world's population lives near the sea this could eventualy result in loss of homes and farmlands.

Depends on who you talk to. The ones who say the earth is going to evaporate in the next week, are definately off base. The ones who say, hey we do have a problem and need to make some changes or else its going to be a bigger problem-- well they seem to be right. There is evidence of change and in some cases damages from the change. And that the change is continuing. So that does not mean we should all panic, or go live like the Amish. If the hero who films in your town of Cardiff, Doctor Who was real we could send him back to help along the Electric or Hydrogen cars-- but we do need to make some changes, personally and as a people. We need to use cars/autos a lot less, and this until we get some good alternate fuels. The bio fuels are a step, but really, only a transitional step since they do emit greenhouse gasses, just not as much as say, gasoline--

I think that global climate change is a natural occurrence, HOWEVER, increased CO2 emissions may cause this cyclic change to stop. I think maybe the earth would just start heating up without going back down. Maybe people are upsetting the balance. Its hard to know though.

Global warming is a real threat. Although no one can predict exactly when is the tipping point, but the ingredients to global warming are more present today than when we were younger. Just observe the ratio to cars and trees, cars are growing in number while trees are dwindling fast. We all know what cars, and trees do to environment. It is not visible to us ordinary citizens the melting ice caps because we were never there. But scientist don't lie about these kinds of stuff. If they say its melting then there is little reason for us doubt about it. Although I must say that some scientist say that climate change stems from several causes not just CO2 emissions. Some say that it's a natural phenomenon, and I'd say that we should hear them too. But then again, doing our part to go green is never a bad thing if it means human survival for the next hundreds of years.