Debate: Is global warming an issue?
Side: Yes

Well well well, where do I start? Before you go talking about the basic facts of science, you should learn some for yourself.I know plenty about science, and I have friends who do research for Universities in the field. I've also taken a bunch of classes in Astonomy and Earth Sciences. Moreover, all of the basic facts I've mentioned are also the basic facts accepted by NASA, who, I'm assuming probably know more about science than both of us.-Ice caps are, in fact, not melting. At all. They are increasing. Arctic ice has gone up 50% since 2012. That's 1.7 million square kilometers.Not true, at least, according to NASA and every other credible scientific source in the world, and pictures of the ice caps from space. If you think you know more about science than NASA, I don't know what to say to you. http://climate.nasa.gov/evidence/-Instead of talking about other planets, why don't you talk about Earth, THE PLANET WE LIVE ON and also know the most about.The reason I brough up Venus is to show that the greenhouse effect is not some strange anomaly that only happens on Earth. So, I WAS talking about Earth, but I mentioned Venus to illustrate that the greenhouse effect happens other places too, and it universal.-To say that the fact that CO2 contains heat is not up for debate is just ignorant. Earth's atmosphere is 0.03% CO2 and approximately 1% water vapor. Water vapor has a higher specific heat. A high specific heat means that it takes more energy to heat something up, thus maintaining that heat for longer. A low specific heat is the opposite. So if water vapor maintains heat for longer and there is exponentially more water vapor than CO2, why isn't water vapor something to worry about?CO2, does not contain heat. CO2 TRAPS heat, and it does it on every planet that has CO2 present in its atmosphere, like Venus and Earth. It is actually ignorant to deny that. Here's what those "idiots at NASA" that you seem to think you know more about science than say about it. I am assuming that you just do not understand the science behind it. Please read what NASA has to say and how they know what they know: http://climate.nasa.gov/evidence/-Yes, CO2 comes out of cars and factories. This is simply a fact with no further explanation.Okay. So you DO see the problem then. Even with those so-called increases in CO2, it is still only 0.03% of the atmosphere. THAT, by the way, is a fact.Those "so-called increases" are actually measurable. Here's what NASA scientists say about it: http://climate.nasa.gov/evidence/-The temperature of the Earth has not changed in 17 years (since 1997).Actually, the general upward trend in the Average Global Temperature (AGT) continues, just as it has since the Industrial Revolution and the advent of burning fossil fuels on a large scale. Here's what NASA scientists have to say: http://climate.nasa.gov/evidence/-Those that say the polar ice caps are melting, polar bears are dying, and the sea level is rising are completely wrong. I mentioned above about the polar ice and how it has increased 50% in only two years. As for the polar bear population, it has more than doubled in the past thirty years. As for the sea level rising due to the ice caps melting, it is impossible. Even though it is a proven fact that the ice caps have expanded rapidly, let's just say for argument's sake that they were melting. Imagine that you have a half of a cup of water. Now add some ice to that water. You will notice that the water level will rise. Well when that ice melts, the water level goes back down. It would be just silly to say that the cup will overflow from the melting ice.You're wrong that the polar ice caps are not melting. They ARE in fact melting, and we know that because we can see it happening. The ice in a cup of water analogy is an over-simplification intended to make the rising sea levels (something we've measured) from seeming like it could be happening, but it is, and the ice caps ARE melting, and so are the glaciers and permafrost, which is what is actually adding to the sea level rise. Here's what NASA scientists say about it. Please read what they have to say. They are brilliant scientists who have a higher level of knowledge about science than you: http://climate.nasa.gov/evidence/-Scientists predicted about 15-20 years ago that in the near future, we would have to wear special suits to protect us from the heat. We are obviously not walking around with crazy suits to protect us from heat.I do not recall that. Do you have a source? Any reputable scientists knows that it is happening, but not as quickly as that. Here's what NASA scientists have to say, please read it so that you understand the science about this. They know more about science than both of us: http://climate.nasa.gov/evidence/-Those who claim that Earth is a giant greenhouse are also wrong. Earth is by no means a greenhouse. A greenhouse is surrounded by glass and traps heat inside. Earth is obviously not surrounded by glass. When clouds form, they reflect heat back into space. This is Earth's way of cooling itself down. So we could not heat up the Earth if we tried. This is why when you are outside on a hot summer day and a cloud rolls over your head and blocking the sunlight, it instantly feels cooler. The heat is being reflected back into space by the clouds.That's not how it works entirely. You've oversimplified how the environment works. No one is saying that the Earth is a greenhouse. The Greenhouse Effect is something that happens, but the earth is not a greenhouse. The greenhouse effect is something scientists have named the effect that CO2 has on trapping heat on a planet and keeping it warm. If we did not have a natural greenhouse effect, it would be uninhabitable and cold at night, and too hot during the day to live. So, the trapping of heat that happens naturally with the Earth's geology is why the planet has maintained a habitable temperature. -If you're wondering why the THEORY of global warming has become such a widely accepted theory, go ahead and look into Climategate. It is a scandal literally showing that scientists have lied about global warming.Why did you type "theory" in large letters? Anyone who knows anything about science (something you've tacitly claimed to know more about than me), knows that a theory is actually one of the highest standards something in science can attain. So, calling something a theory is saying, "it's true." You're thinking of a HYPOTHESIS, and Global Warming is NOT a hypothesis. It was a hypothesis back in the 1890s before they had data to back it up with, and now it's a theory. Scientists are not lying about global warming. It's happening. Some right wing political interests are lying about global warming to ignorant people who do not understand science. Here's what NASA scientists have to say about it:http://climate.nasa.gov/evidence/-Don't believe everything you've ever heard or what has been brainwashed into peoples' brains.Science is not a lie. Science is not made-up. Science is not a "liberal" conspiracy. Science is man's epistemological study of the universe which uses a method that relies on empirical evidence. The opposite of science is superstition. Scientists are not there to lie to you. Scientists are there to learn and research using factual, empirical evidence. It is not politically-driven. In reality, credible scientists are not even debating if this is happening, or if CO2 traps heat in an atmosphere. To actual scientists all around the world, that's not a debate. Only people like you are debating it. So, before you go telling other people to "learn some basic facts of science," you should probably take a few community college science classes so that you can learn how science works, or at least read what experts in science have to say so that you understand the whole idea before you attack it: http://climate.nasa.gov/evidence/Sadly, I am afraid you're more politically driven, than interested in how science works. Please, look at the NASA link. Any other reputable science website that is about science will agree with their findings. This is not a secret conspiracy to take your gas-guzzling truck. It's science. If you think science is an international conspiracy, or if you think that you know more about science than the brilliant scientists at NASA, or anywhere else in the world, I'm not sure I'll be able to lead you out of the cave though (that's a Plato reference).