The global warming debate has always baffled me.  While I can understand the argument that Global Warming may not be solely caused by man, inferring that Global Warming is something that is a side effect of current solar activity, I have always considered this a weak argument and more of a cop out to relenquish responsibility for our actions.

Aside from the heavy polluters, the oil and coal industry especially, I can't understand why everyday citizens are so vehemently opposed to the idea of Global Warming.  I assume that it is the eventual rise in costs in products and services, such as manufactured goods and electricity, but that is extremely selfish.  I have little doubt that humanity is generally selfish, but this is just too much considering the overwhelming evidence supporting global warming.

What confuses me most of all are those that simply deny the fact that global warming even exists.  While arguing the root cause of global warming deserves at least some acknowledgement, ignoring all the signs that it is not only happening but accelerating is something I only attributed to the most ignorant of society and those bought by the polluters (such as Drudge Report and Fox News). 

Lets start by laying out some facts.  I will do my best to try and cite scientific resources that we can avoid partisan discussions.

What is Global Warming and what are its root causes?

The main human activities that contribute to global warming are the burning of fossil fuels (coal, oil, and natural gas) and the clearing of land. Most of the burning occurs in automobiles, in factories, and in electric power plants that provide energy for houses and office buildings. The burning of fossil fuels creates carbon dioxide, whose chemical formula is CO2. CO2 is a greenhouse gas that slows the escape of heat into space. Trees and other plants remove CO2 from the air during photosynthesis, the......

The global warming debate has always baffled me.  While I can understand the argument that Global Warming may not be solely caused by man, inferring that Global Warming is something that is a side effect of current solar activity, I have always considered this a weak argument and more of a cop out to relenquish responsibility for our actions.

Aside from the heavy polluters, the oil and coal industry especially, I can't understand why everyday citizens are so vehemently opposed to the idea of Global Warming.  I assume that it is the eventual rise in costs in products and services, such as manufactured goods and electricity, but that is extremely selfish.  I have little doubt that humanity is generally selfish, but this is just too much considering the overwhelming evidence supporting global warming.

What confuses me most of all are those that simply deny the fact that global warming even exists.  While arguing the root cause of global warming deserves at least some acknowledgement, ignoring all the signs that it is not only happening but accelerating is something I only attributed to the most ignorant of society and those bought by the polluters (such as Drudge Report and Fox News). 

Lets start by laying out some facts.  I will do my best to try and cite scientific resources that we can avoid partisan discussions.

What is Global Warming and what are its root causes?

The main human activities that contribute to global warming are the burning of fossil fuels (coal, oil, and natural gas) and the clearing of land. Most of the burning occurs in automobiles, in factories, and in electric power plants that provide energy for houses and office buildings. The burning of fossil fuels creates carbon dioxide, whose chemical formula is CO2. CO2 is a greenhouse gas that slows the escape of heat into space. Trees and other plants remove CO2 from the air during photosynthesis, the process they use to produce food. The clearing of land contributes to the buildup of CO2 by reducing the rate at which the gas is removed from the atmosphere or by the decomposition of dead vegetation. Source: www.nasa.gov

Thousands of icebergs float off the coast of the Antarctic Peninsula after 1,250 square miles (3,240 square kilometers) of the Larsen B ice shelf disintegrated in 2002. The area of the ice was larger than the state of Rhode Island or the nation of Luxembourg. Antarctic ice shelves have been shrinking since the early 1970's because of climate warming in the region. Image credit: NASA/Earth Observatory

How do we know that Global Warming is happening?

• Average temperatures have climbed 1.4 degrees Fahrenheit (0.8 degree Celsius) around the world since 1880, much of this in recent decades, according to NASA's Goddard Institute for Space Studies.
• The rate of warming is increasing. The 20th century's last two decades were the hottest in 400 years and possibly the warmest for several millennia, according to a number of climate studies. And the United Nations' Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) reports that 11 of the past 12 years are among the dozen warmest since 1850.
• The Arctic is feeling the effects the most. Average temperatures in Alaska, western Canada, and eastern Russia have risen at twice the global average, according to the multinational Arctic Climate Impact Assessment report compiled between 2000 and 2004.
• Arctic ice is rapidly disappearing, and the region may have its first completely ice-free summer by 2040 or earlier. Polar bears and indigenous cultures are already suffering from the sea-ice loss.
• Glaciers and mountain snows are rapidly melting—for example, Montana's Glacier National Park now has only 27 glaciers, versus 150 in 1910. In the Northern Hemisphere, thaws also come a week earlier in spring and freezes begin a week later.
• Coral reefs, which are highly sensitive to small changes in water temperature, suffered the worst bleaching—or die-off in response to stress—ever recorded in 1998, with some areas seeing bleach rates of 70 percent. Experts expect these sorts of events to increase in frequency and intensity in the next 50 years as sea temperatures rise.
• An upsurge in the amount of extreme weather events, such as wildfires, heat waves, and strong tropical storms, is also attributed in part to climate change by some experts.Source: news.nationalgeographic.com

The Scientific Community (those who truly understand global warming) overwhelmingly support the idea of Global Warming.

The most respected scientific bodies have stated unequivocally that global warming is occurring, and people are causing it by burning fossil fuels (like coal, oil and natural gas) and cutting down forests. The U.S. National Academy of Sciences, which in 2005 the White House called "the gold standard of objective scientific assessment," issued a joint statement with 10 other National Academies of Science saying "the scientific understanding of climate change is now sufficiently clear to justify nations taking prompt action. It is vital that all nations identify cost-effective steps that they can take now, to contribute to substantial and long-term reduction in net global greenhouse gas emissions." (Joint Statement of Science Academies: Global Response to Climate Change [PDF], 2005)

The only debate in the science community about global warming is about how much and how fast warming will continue as a result of heat-trapping emissions. Scientists have given a clear warning about global warming, and we have more than enough facts — about causes and fixes — to implement solutions right now.

Source: www.edf.org

I am not going to go into some of the more obvious arguments, such as the fact that C02 is in fact a greenhouse gas and that humanity is increasingly pushing more and more C02 into the earth's atmosphere. 

What is causing all the confusion?  Where exactly are the points of argument?  As has been said, you can argue the fact that we aren't 100% sure that we are the primary contributors to Global Warming, but denying its existence is ludicrous.