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We hear the term 'global warming' on nearly a daily basis. News media and other sources like to inundate us with news and information that, despite being obviously biased and flawed, is often taken as fact. It is sometimes difficult, however, to separate the fact from the fiction, in part because actual facts are more seldom used than emotional sensationalism.

So what are some of the facts and fictions?

Fiction: Global temperatures have increased greatly in a very short time.

Fact: Worldwide temperatures have increased a few tenths of a degree in the last century, which is well within the amount of increase that has been found over the past three centuries. Many proponents for the belief in global warming state that the increase has actually been over a degree, however there is no data that supports this. What actually happens is that atmospheric and oceanographic changes have been measured, and those changes have been happening for over 4 billion years. This means that for one area that has a year or more of warmer than normal temperatures, there is another that has the same period of colder than normal temperatures.

For instance, Antarctica remains the coldest place on Earth, with wintertime lows that are far below zero with nearly constant 100 to 200 mile an hour winds, and summertime highs are below the freezing point of water. Another example, for the period of 2006 through early 2008, much of the US has experienced record setting winter low temperatures, along with far higher than normal snowfalls.

Fiction: Global warming is due to the activities of man.

Fact: While man does pollute, he doesn't have the ability to produce the amounts of greenhouse gases, including water vapor, carbon dioxide, sulfur dioxide, and methane that natural sources produce. One moderate volcanic eruption or large forest fire, produce more of these substances than man produces in a year. Yet, at any given time, there are 13 to 17 volcanic eruptions occurring planet wide, and each year there on an average of at least a dozen major wildfires in the US alone.

Fiction: Carbon dioxide is the greatest cause of global warming.

Fact: CO2 is absolutely necessary in substantial quantities in order for life to exist on this planet. Carbon forms the basis for all life. Also, in regard to the potency of each greenhouse gas, water vapor is a much more powerful substance and is found in far larger quantities than carbon dioxide.

Fiction: Most scientists around the world believe that there is a catastrophic

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