Just to reiterate the point MostlyHarmless makes, there is almost universal consensus among those scientists who actually do real research that human influenced global warming is real. The supposed "controversy" among scientists is bogus.

Nearly all of the "scientists" who are quoted as denying global warming either have little or no real qualifications to speak about climate, and/or are not publishing their alleged data in mainstream peer reviewed climate journals. Note that the Mr. Casey in the original post in this thread is neither a climate scientist by training nor has a publication record in the field of climatology.

See Phil Plait's article: Climate Scientists Overwhelmingly Agree Global Warming Is Real and Our Fault
Quote:
So, the bottom line: The vast majority of scientists who conduct climatological research and publish their results in professional journals say humans are the cause of global warming. There is essentially no controversy among actual climate scientists about this.

Of course, if you read the Wall Street Journal or the contrarian blogs, you might think the controversy among scientists is bigger. But you’ll find that the vast majority of people writing those articles, or who are quoted in them, are not climatologists. You’ll also find many, including politicians so vocally denying global warming, are heavily funded by fossil fuel interests, or lead institutes funded that way.

Because deniers tend to go to the OpEd pages and TV, rather than science journals, the public perception is skewed in their favor; people think this is a bigger controversy than it is. The only controversy here is a manufactured one; made up by people who are basing it on ideology, not facts, evidence, and science. That’s not just my opinion; that statement itself is backed up by facts, evidence, and science.


There is debate among climate scientists, but it is about the details. They debate how fast we will warm, how hot it eventually will get, how high the sea will rise and how fast it will rise, etc. There is no longer any serious debate among real climate scientists about the central idea that the climate is warming as a result of CO2.
_________________________
"Toto, I've a feeling we're not in Kansas any more."
-Dorothy, in The Wizard of Oz