OPPOSING INTRODUCTION Since Svante Arrhenius of Sweden first expressed his concerns about the anthropogenic effects of carbon dioxide (CO2) on global warming in the early twentieth century, scientists have been attempting to convince the world’s citizens of an inevitable climate catastrophe. In the 1980s, Al Gore pioneered the politicization and polarization of the issue by co-sponsoring congressional hearings. From this point forward, government agencies and many climatologists have continued to perpetuate inaccurate claims regarding the energy industry and global warming (PBS, 2005). By insisting the energy industry’s emissions of greenhouse gases into the atmosphere are trapping energy from the sun and warming the atmosphere, they are grossly ignoring contradictory evidence. It has been well established the earth has a natural, cyclic temperature trend, though it may not be as clearly defined by atmospheric CO2 concentration as many would argue. For those who still insist anthropogenic greenhouse gases are the greatest contributor to warming, evidence suggests volcanic activity may be just as likely to blame as the fossil fuel industry. Supporters of the global warming theory lack sufficiently replicated data to support their claims, and blatantly seem to be ignoring the historic snowfalls that have fallen on the East Coast over the past several years, as well as the overwhelming evidence of a new ice age in the near future.
The Natural Cycles of the Planet
In modern America few problems prove to be as fundamentally problematic as the theory of human induced global warming. Its repeated coverage from within the media and political arena are influencing people worldwide, putting those who think differently in an outcast shadow. The truth of the matter is, to not believe in human induced global warming has become politically incorrect and unacceptable in the public eye. The theory of human induced global warming can be defined as the rise in temperature through human pollution of greenhouse gases resulting in catastrophic alterations in the earth 's environment. However, human pollution of greenhouse gases is so minor that it is not a contribution to the
Global warming is one of the most tumultuous topics in today’s society. Some believe it is happening as we speak, while others question its very existence, So, is it real, or is merely a hoax? There is no one answer, but evidence does overwhelmingly support the former. Surely we have all heard this word at one time or another, but few individuals actually know its true definition. Justifiably, however, global warming is not that simply explained. In layman’s terms, it is the dramatic increase in the Earth’s average air and ocean temperature since the 20th century. This increase is primarily attributed to two main culprits: the greenhouse effect and human activity, such as fossil fuel burning. In both cases, carbon dioxide (CO2) is the
Damon Matthews, a professor in Concordia University’s Department of Geography, found a direct connection between carbon dioxide and global warming. Matthew’s studies show that same global temperature increase, regardless of when or over what period of time the emission occurs. The effect of adding more carbon dioxide is predicted in the theory of greenhouse gases. Swedish scientist, Syante Arrhenius, first proposed the theory in 1896, based on earlier work by Fourier and Tyndall. At the same time, many scientists have reached the same conclusion. If we increase the amount of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere, the Earth’s temperature will increase. Energy is absorbed from the sun in the form of visible light and ultraviolet radiation. The earth then releases some of this energy as infrared radiation. Greenhouse gases in the atmosphere captures some of this heat, then re-emit it in all directions. During this process, carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases keep the Earth’s surface 33 degree Celsius warmer than it would be without them. According to an ongoing temperature analysis conducted by a scientist at NASA’s Goddard Institute for Space Studies (GISS), the average global temperature on Earth has increased by about 0.8 degree Celsius. Since 1975, two-thirds of the warming has occurred at a rate of roughly 0.15-0.20 degree Celsius per decade.
Climate change, specifically in reference to C02 Emissions released by human use of fossil fuels and their consequential effects on the environment, is perhaps one of the most pressing issues we, not just as Americans, but as human beings face in our lifetimes. Though it may sound like a sensationalist statement the facts are hard to deny. In May of 2013, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
The recent panic about global warming is causing problems throughout the United States. The global warming debate is a variety of arguments regarding the nature, causes, and consequences of worldwide global warming. The disputed issues include, whether this warming trend is extraordinary or within normal climatic variations, whether humankind has caused it, and whether the increase is an object of poor measurements. The controversy is much more pronounced in the popular media than in the scientific literature, where there is a strong agreement that global surface temperatures have increased in recent decades and that the trend could mainly be caused by human related emissions of greenhouse gases. The question is, is global warming human
Supporters of the Global Warming Hoax claim that climate change is not due to human activities, instead it is produced with biased data for the purpose of financial or political gain. In this paper, nine sources, including reports from organizations, a speech from a senator, news articles and blog posts, are presented to discuss . These sources come from three perspectives: 1. Those who support the idea of global warming as a hoax; 2. Those who support the idea of global warming as a reality; 3. Academics who provide data and research relating to the issue.
Climate change or colloquially known as global warming, now pose a new threat to civilization as the levels of greenhouse gases (GHG) are soaring to new levels. The most significant contributor to greenhouse gasses would be Carbon Dioxide (Co2). The levels of Carbon Dioxide (Co2) gas have risen to levels civilization has not seen before. As such, the effects of these levels are not known to civilization as data gathered from the ice cores drilled in the Antarctica only shows data up to 650,000 years ago. However we can conclude that present CO2 concentrations are higher compared to any time in the last 650,000 years (IPCC 2007). Current carbon dioxide concentrations are hovering around 389 parts per million (ppm) as of September 2011,
“Global warming, along with the cutting and burning of forests and other critical habitats, is causing the loss of living species at a level comparable to the extinction event that wiped out the dinosaurs 65 million years ago. That event was believed to have been caused by a giant asteroid. This time it is not an asteroid colliding with the Earth and wreaking havoc: it is us.” This is the statement that Al Gore made in his movie, An Inconvenient Truth: The Planetary Emergency of Global Warming and What We Can Do About It. For the last several years, movies like this have been in the mainstream. The environment, climate change, and global warming have been at the forefront of global sociopolitical issues. But what is “global warming” truly? According to the United States Environmental Protection Agency, global warming refers to the recent and ongoing rise in global average temperature near Earths surface… caused mostly by increasing concentrations of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere. Global warming is causing climate patterns to change.” (EPA) The EPA, NASA, and the Union of Concerned Scientists, along with 97% of climate scientists all agree – humans are the major cause of global warming and climate change. (NASA) To determine whether or not this is true, one must look at the evidence for rapid climate change itself, and then the evidence of all the causes, and
Over 35 years ago, climatologist Wally Broecker coined the term global warming in a paper outlining the trends that he was noticing with temperature and C02 levels (Stefan). Ever since then, the debate has heated up on the controversy of global warming. Politicians have even used the issue to boost their campaigns. Some question whether the earth’s temperature is rising at an unusual rate. Scientists perform experiments from glacial ice to observe the correlation between carbon dioxide levels and temperature. Scientists have changed the debate over the years from debating whether global warming was actually happening to the current debate about what is causing global warming. Therefore, the term global warming in this paper refers to
The earth is able to hold many types of gases and is capable of amazing things along with that. Carbon Dioxide is nonreactive with most of the things on earth so we hardly notice the increase in carbon dioxide levels that are occurring. With its non-reactivity it can slowly build up and the only way we will notice the increase of the carbon dioxide here is by the climate change here on earth. Although there many gases and other compounds that have an effect of the climate change, carbon dioxide seems to be the leading compound that is causing climate change on earth. From 1750 to 2005 carbon dioxide the radiative force of carbon dioxide had increased 1.6 which means it is causing the earth to get warmer. There are other gases that have more
Global warming is an increase in the temperature of the earth's weather. Global warming is also known as the green house effect. Global warming is a very serious world issue. Most humans are trying to do as much as they can to help stop global warming. Global warming has caused many problems to the earth in addition to the humans that live here on the earth. A problem caused by global warming is very hot summers. Some summers have had days that the temperature had reached 30*C. Another Problem that global warming has caused is the melting of polar ice caps. Global warming caused the polar ice caps to melt which will cause the ice to break free as well as melt in the sea, sea levels all over the world will rise. Lastly,
The United States releases twenty tons of carbon monoxide per person per year. Carbon Monoxide release is a result of burning fossil fuels with an insufficient amount of oxygen that causes the formation of carbon monoxide that pollutes our environment. Everyday fuel is burnt by cars, airplanes, large factories and manufacturing plants. This is causing a very large and deadly problem for our environment. When gases used on earth are released into the atmosphere they act as a blanket and trap radiation that is then redirected to earth. This concept is called the Greenhouse Effect (Bad Greenhouse, 1).
Humans are polluting our atmosphere causing the Greenhouse Effect. What’s the Greenhouse Effect? “The Greenhouse Effect can be visualized as follows: imagine that Earth has been encircled by a giant glass sphere. The heat of the sun penetrates through the glass. Some of the heat is absorbed by the Earth, and some is radiated back towards space. The radiated heat reaches the glass sphere and is prevented from dispersing any further”(Global Warming The Facts). This makes the heat bounce back towards the Earth, which heats it up tremendously.
The earth’s climate is predicted to change because human activities are altering the chemical composition of the atmosphere through the buildup of greenhouse gases –– primarily carbon dioxide, methane, and nitrous oxide. The heat-trapping property of these gases is undisputed. Although uncertainty exists about exactly how earth’’s climate responds to these gases, global temperatures are rising. Go to the Emissions section for much more on greenhouse gases.
It is no secret that the magnificent glaciers that cover this earth are facing negative repercussions due to climate change. Pratima Pandey verifies this statement in her article by stating that “it is the climate that is the driving force controlling the mass balance of a glacier in space and time, resulting in the recession and advancement of a glacier,” (Pandey, par. 1). The earth is getting warmer, and this means that soon, glaciers will start to disappear. While the earth naturally produces its own heat, the contribution from humans is also making the earth warmer than usual. James Balog and Extreme Ice Survey team explain that “since the Industrial Revolution, burning of fossil fuels has ratcheted up the burning of greenhouse gases, like carbon dioxide, which traps heat in the atmosphere (Global Warming). Greenhouse gases then go to raise the already increasing temperatures, which are causing glaciers to melt. This is a sad reality for the glaciers of the earth. The melting of glaciers can cause ocean and sea levels to rise, which in turn can flood different animal habitats and displace millions of people. Also, the melting can lead to the loss of freshwater sources to those who use reservoirs as a source of drinking water, such as those around Asia near the Himalayan glaciers. Lastly, if the climate continues to melt the glaciers, various different tourist attractions, such as Glacier National Park will no longer draw in visitors to view the magnificent beauty.