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A definition of 'global warming'

An increase in the average temperature of the earth's atmosphere, especially a sustained increase sufficient to cause climatic change.

As discussions on climate change continued at the global summit in Copenhagen Thursday, some local folks weighed in with opinions on the issue of global warming.

"I think there are knowledgeable people on both sides of the debate, but I don't think anyone is sure about global warming," said James Addison, of Devola. "Temperatures on this planet have varied before. We've had ice ages, but there have also been very warm periods, and we've only been keeping good climate records for the last 150 years.

"We shouldn't completely ignore the issue, but I'm skeptical that we can really do anything about it," he said.

Kristina Vineyard of Marietta doesn't lose sleep over global warming.

"It may be a big deal, but it's not constantly occupying my thoughts," she said.

Belpre resident Richard Briggs noted that global warming has generated a lot of discussion.

"The whole thing is controversial at best," he said. "But I think those who are convinced global warming will be our final end are mistaken. They need to take a closer look at the research.

"And I don't think we should keep reducing our carbon footprint until we're all living like cavemen," Briggs added.

Marietta High School sophomore Chris Prescher, 16, said he and fellow students pay attention to global warming and related issues, and noted that the Copenhagen summit is a good way to get everyone working on the same page.

"It's not an immediate concern, but it is an issue that should be taken seriously," Prescher said. "And global warming will continue to affect us in the future."

Prescher said even in history class students learn how decisions to use certain materials in the past may have had an effect on the current climate change problems.

He's also doing his part to help reduce negative environmental impacts that contribute to global warming.

"At school, each class has a cardboard box where paper is placed to be recycled," Prescher said. "Our family also recycles, and I walk to school or ride my bike to save on gas."

Eric Fitch, director of the environmental science program at Marietta College, agrees that global warming should be taken seriously.

"The science on this issue is about as solid as we can get," he said. "It says yes, the climate is changing; yes, human activity is a driver of that change; and yes, something has to be done."

Fitch said global temperatures have fluctuated widely throughout the planet's history, with ice ages followed by periods of more temperate climate and then more cooling.

"But civilization only started about 10,000 years ago, when the best possible climate developed for building human civilization," he said. "And that climate is what we want to keep going."

As humans began using fossil fuels like coal and oil and other chemicals, especially after the Industrial Revolution, carbon dioxide, methane and chlorofluorocarbons have been released into the atmosphere, causing a "greenhouse effect" that allows solar radiation to penetrate the atmosphere and warm the earth, but traps most of the resulting heat radiation from moving back out into space, which causes global warming.

Fitch said although global warming can occur naturally, the release of carbon dioxide, methane and other chemicals into the atmosphere by humans has accelerated the process.

"It's like turning up the thermostat or putting on a third or fourth blanket when it's not needed," he said. "We want some heat kept in, but not all of it. It's a matter of maintaining a proper balance."

There are three basic camps of thought on climate change, according to Fitch.

"One is made up of scientists who say yes, this is happening, and yes, do something about it," he said. "The second group are people in industry whose oxes would be gored (by climate change legislation) and the scientists who would lose out if they did not support industry. And the third camp is made up of people who believe the whole thing is false and by nature are skeptical of science."

But Fitch believes people should get serious about addressing global warming, and noted that the Copenhagen summit is a way to get world leaders to at least put something on the table toward that goal.