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By admin, January 21, 2009 12:28 pm

Can anyone help me find good on articles on global warming that takes a middle ground?

I have to do a persuasive speech on the issue of greenland ice melting (ie global warming) and I absolutely hate it, I’m just so confused on whether global warming is even happening (as opposed to global cooling) or if its a big deception, and if it is true whether it is caused my man, or by natural causes.

Why not just go back to the raw data:
Satellite data since 1979 on Global Temperature Anomalies (+0.5 K):

http://www.ssmi.com/msu/msu_data_description.html#msu_amsu_time_series

The same data applied to a world map (Most Warming in the Arctic): http://www.ssmi.com/data/msu/graphics/plots/MSU_AMSU_Channel_TLT_Trend_Map_v03_2.png
A similar map for 1940-1970 for comparison (Most cooling in the Arctic): http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Global_Cooling_Map.png
Compare CO2 with temperatures from Greenland ice cores for the last 420 millennia (CO2 clearly lags temperature): http://www.brighton73.freeserve.co.uk/gw/paleo/400000yearslarge.gif

Then, check out this BBC interview with Phil Jones, a CRU scientists that tracked global temperatures (No statistical reason to believe our era is unusual temperature wise.): http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/8511670.stm

Next, check out historical sourceslike the Viking adaptation to the Medieval Warm Period (They grew barley in Greenland): http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Greenland#Norse_settlement

Then, there are journal articles such as this one about world temperature anomalies for the last 2000 years. (It has been both colder and warmer.) http://multi-science.metapress.com/content/dxk28g4662481342/

Try to remember, the object is to give a good speech, not an unbiased one, nor a correct one.

Edit @Pegminer:
Yes, the IPCC is a good source for information, but it is hardly an unbiased one. Consider their mission statement:

“The role of the IPCC is to assess on a comprehensive, objective, open and transparent basis the scientific, technical and socio-economic information relevant to understanding the scientific basis of risk of human-induced climate change” – http://climatechangeskeptic.blogspot.com/2007/05/ipcc-not-neutral-or-unbiased.html

For something more unbiased on sea level, consider the raw data again (3.2 cm/decade): http://sealevel.colorado.edu/

Edit @Pegminer:
Having read the other answers, I have to concede your point; except for the part about denial of AGW being an extreme view. I guess you should consider me an extremist.

Global Warming – Persuasive Speech – Daniel Sauble