In our environment today we have many different contributors to the growing amount of CO2 emissions. Now, is there actually a climate change happening? My answer would be no; where's the proof. If everyone is saying that there is something that needs to change, they can't prove it. When you look at the scientists graphs they really don't have enough data. They only have data back to just before the 1900's. Now if you want to make a factual statement about a climate change I would suggest that you get more data.
Now Assuming that the data that they have is real and enough data there is something else happening. All of these people say that there is global warming everywhere, well based on the graph we are coming back from our hottest period ever. This suggests by the data that we are actually going into a cooling period. Climate change? Yes. Human caused? NO

I agree with you, Joe; climate change is definitely occurring today. Yet, there is not enough evidence to prove that it is caused by humans; climate change is simply nature. The Earth has gone through many cycles of heating and cooling prior to the existence of humans and is continuing to do so. For example, Earth has gone through many ice ages, and at this moment, Earth is going through a heating phase. One cannot blame humans for something that has been happening for millennia, especially when there isn't any evidence to prove it. Yes, pollution may be a problem because it is causing the air to become toxic, but this has nothing to do with climate change. Therefore, climate change is definitely happening; although, it is not human caused.

I find this post very true and relateable to many people including myself.  I think that humans do have some part in climate change, but not impacting it greatly.  But I do agree quite a bit about the part where scientists don't have that much data so far on our CO2 emissions.  I would have to say most of the statistics that scientists say about our global footprint is not from these past few decades, but much earlier when technology was first brought into use and had huge amounts of CO2 coming out of it.  But other than that, humans have been getting very good at reducing our global footprint, but we can still do better.

I have mixed emotions about this topic too. In retrospect the world is and will always be a much bigger organism than a human. Yes there are a lot of humans on earth but compare to the size of earth it really isn't much. How can we, as tiny, little humans that could easily be killed by a tsunami, ever do cause so much damage to the earth that its climate starts to change. I do however sometimes think about the small damage we have done and wonder if we could make a huge impact on the entire earth, but I would say my main answer would be no. No humans have not caused climate change. We may have helped speed up the process a little, but not cause it.

I believe some of it is human caused. Though most of it is just climate change. this is a very controversial topic and I understand what you mean

I strongly believe that humans are one of the main contributors of our most recent climate change. Yes, the earth has phases of cooling and heating that were not caused by humans, but with our extreme carbon footprints and not environmentally friendly ways of living, I think we are mostly to blame for the rising temperatures on our planet. Humans are single handedly responsible for the extinction of over 300 species of animals, so even though we are small compared to our planet, I think our habits can have a detrimental effect on the environment. Is it a coincidence that the temperature has risen 0.74ºC over the past 100 years, while our CO2 emissions have passed 400 ppm in the atmosphere? I don’t think so.

I agree with you Eden. I believe that there is substantial evidence to indicate that humans are the primary cause of the huge increase of CO2 in our atmosphere, and thus a contributor to climate change. Although we do not have a time machine, scientists are able to measure the CO2 levels in the atmosphere from thousands of years ago by analyzing air bubbles trapped inside ice sheets. CO2 emissions have never been as high as they are today in the past 800,000 years, based off of this insightful graph: http://www.climatecentral.org/news/the- … xist-15938. Without human activities, I do not believe CO2 concentration would be this high today. Also, I do not understand your point about the ice age, could you please expand?

True but at the same time there was the ice age and then there wasn't so

Well you see for the longest time we had this period called the ice age and of course there were mammoths and then years and years later it all started melting and the mammoths died out which of course could be due to evolution but people weren't around then so we didn't cause it.

Yes, the ice age was a period of natural climate change, which humans did not cause. Natural climate change definitely occurs, but right now, I believe that humans are the main cause of why our average world wide temperatures are increasing.

I agree yet disagree. I'd say half and half

Summer, it's true that the most recent ice age wasn't caused by humans; in fact, there are multiple conflicting theories of what actually caused it. However, it's unclear to me how this relates to the human's hand in climate change. I think it's also important to note that although mammoths went extinct during the ice age, climate change was in no way the catalyst (http://news.discovery.com/animals/endan … nction.htm). In fact, some scientists even theorize that mammoths were hunted to extinction by none other than humans.

As for the original topic; yes, climate change exists, and yes, humanity is the primary reason for it. To continue to perpetuate the misconception that humans are not contributing to climate change is dangerous, Joe, and it is crucial that mankind assume responsibility and take action. If the overwhelming evidence that Alyssa and Eden provided still isn't enough for you, I invite you to look at the US Environmental Protection Agency's website, http://www.epa.gov/climatechange/ghgemi … s/co2.html.

Carbon dioxide  and methane withhold heat in the atmosphere, which is not up for dispute. In 2012, the US alone emitted approximately 500 billion metric tons of CO2, all of which were from "human activities." It is as clear as day that not only does climate change exist, but also that humans are to be held responsible for it.

Well of course its real. And really?

I never knew that