Tracie-Deanna McGee
Prof. Maurno
English 110C 12548
Position Paper Draft
11/11/12
McGee 1
Global Warming
A topic that generally most people have talked about continues to be in conversations
even after a decade. A topic that worries some but yet others do not see its danger. What is this
controversial topic? The topic is global warming. What is global warming? Global warming,
according to author Douglas Long in his book entitled Global warming, is the rise in the Earths
global temperature caused by an anthropogenic increase in the amount of greenhouse gases,
particularly carbon dioxide, in the atmosphere (Long). In simpler terms, global warming is a
heat increase in the daily lives of humans and over time this increase could cause massive heat
waves and sea levels to rise. What causes global warming and how would it be a threat to the
human race? The increasing levels of fossil fuels that are being burned every day. These fossil
fuels include carbon dioxide, methane and other greenhouse gases that hold heat in the
atmosphere. As the levels of these gases continue to rise, so will global temperatures. A
terrifying fact about global warming is that the worst mass extinction in the history of the
planet could be replicated in as little as a century if global warming continues at the pace that it
is going (Johansen 98). Global warming claims have both a lot of truth and believable
information just as it has a lot of stretched truth. But what is the real truth about global
warming?
Global warming, a subject matter that has been talked about for years, is not as serious
as people make it seem. Jeffery Salmon, executive director of the George C. Marshall Institute
in Washington D.C., says that global warming does not pose a significant threat to human
Tracie-Deanna McGee
Prof. Maurno
English 110C 12548
Position Paper Draft
11/11/12
McGee 2
health or the environment (Roleff 23). It is also believed that the whole “Global Warming” crisis
is a hoax. Global warming is being used to generate fear and panic (The Global Warming Hoax).
There are many articles that prove that global warming is a scam set up by environmental
lobbyist. One article entitled “Fake Penguin Crisis and the Global Warming Scam” talks about
the false claims in ABC News’s article on penguin endangerment that is allegedly due to global
warming. The article “Fake Penguin Crisis and the Global Warming Scam” gives examples such
as how the polar ice caps are cooling and increasing instead of how they are diminishing as the
ABC News article claims (Manning).
An additional reason as to why global warming is a sham is that the attempts to use
computer models to predict global temperature increases resulting from atmospheric
greenhouse gases have failed, thus making the models invalid and unreliable (Roleff 42). The
use of these machines and programs give false information and the public is often uninformed
about these cases. The increase in carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases are out of
human control because increase in atmospheric carbon dioxide typically follows rises in ocean
temperatures (Roleff 61). A 1958-1988 study by T.C. Kuo et al on the correlation between ocean
temperature and the level of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere indicated that during this
period of time a rise in carbon dioxide in the air followed a rise in ocean temperature by about
five months. This makes it not unreasonable, on the basis of present knowledge, to assume that
much of the rise in atmospheric carbon dioxide over the past century is because of the rise in
global temperatures due to natural factors and not of anthropogenic additions (Roleff 62).
Tracie-Deanna McGee
Prof. Maurno
English 110C 12548
Position Paper Draft
11/11/12
McGee 3
With advances in transportation and how things are being manufactured, fossil fuels
have been burning in Earth’s atmosphere for about 60+ years. Every year since fossil fueled
vehicles became popular, relatively the 1950s, the average temperature of the world has been
increasing and continues to increase (Global Warming Maps/Graphs) (Powell 52). Over time the
human population has been burning coal, oil, and natural gas and has also been removing
forests, which absorb carbon dioxide, thus adding about 8 billion tons of carbon to the
atmosphere annually (Berger 30). The issue that comes along with adding so much carbon to
the atmosphere is that the carbon dioxide is not destroyed in the atmosphere (Berger 32). By
continuously adding on an element that can’t be destroyed, the human population is raising
heat trapping gases to its highest levels (Berger 32).
If the amount of insoluble gases continues to increase in the atmosphere, there is
potential for serious consequences. A few of these consequences include warming and
spreading deserts. Since the 1970s, the number of very dry areas on Earth has more than
doubled to about 30% (Johansen 23). These dry spells have forced schools and airports to close
and have alarmed farmers and raised the specter of another dust bowl (Johansen 24). Higher
temperatures will also increase evaporation from soil in large sections of the Midwest and the
Southwest, and this loss of soil moisture will likely reduce summer precipitation in the more
southerly parts of these regions by 15-20 percent (Goldstein 88). It has also been stated that by
2007, 12 of the warmest years globally had occurred within the previous thirteen years
(Johansen 3).With temperatures continuously on the rise, it is foreseen that the mean
Tracie-Deanna McGee
Prof. Maurno
English 110C 12548
Position Paper Draft
11/11/12
McGee 4
temperature of the Earth will continue to increase about 1⁰F as it has over the past one
hundred years due to the over usage of Carbon Dioxide (Berger 32).
Along with increasing heat and desert spreading, hurricanes have been increasing in
frequency and intensity in an uneven trend during recent years (Johansen 24). Hurricanes and
increased heat go hand in hand because hurricanes thrive on heat and warmth intensifies
hurricanes (Johansen 25). The warming of the Earth may lead to an upward trend in tropical
cyclone destructive potential and a substantial increase in hurricane-related losses (Johansen
27). Due to global warming tropical cyclones have also been forming during recent years in
places where they occur very rarely, if at all (Johansen 28). Anthropogenic warming by the end
of the 21st century will likely cause hurricanes globally to be more intense on average and this
would imply an even larger percentage increase in the destructive potential per storm
(Knutson). With the increase in rainfall and extreme heat, hurricanes and the spreading and
warming of deserts all pose a severe threat to human, animal, and wildlife of the Earth because
of global warming. Everyday life is being affected because power outages are becoming more
common, oil and gas infrastructure in the Gulf is at risk due to hurricanes intensifying and
electricity generation will be limited due to the water shortages and the constant extreme heat
(Global Warming Is Affecting Weather). If global warming continues to be swept under the rug,
the lives of global citizens will be negatively changed forever.
After going through all this information and learning about global warming, my mind is
open to many different facts and articles. I feel as though global warming is a threat and has
been a threat since the beginning of Earth’s existence. I believe that the increase in carbon
Tracie-Deanna McGee
Prof. Maurno
English 110C 12548
Position Paper Draft
11/11/12
McGee 5
dioxide in the atmosphere, due to both human fault and natural causes, is making the
controversial topic a harsh reality. A vast majority of my life I have heard about global warming
and haven’t thought to look into it, but now knowing the facts has me unsettled. The fact that
many people know but will not take action, are not interested, or do not know is what leaves
me unsettled. I believe global warming is imminent danger because summers have been
increasing in temperature and that just points more and more toward global peril. Global
warming is very serious and is something generations to follow will be tormented by if it is not
resolved soon.
Tracie-Deanna McGee
Prof. Maurno
English 110C 12548
Position Paper Draft
11/11/12
McGee 6
Works Cited
Berger, John J. Beating the Heat: Why and How We Must Combat Global Warming. Berkeley, CA:
Berkeley Hills, 2000. Print.
"Global Warming & Climate Change." Global Warming- Science. N.p., 08 Nov. 2012. Web. 08 Nov. 2012
"Global Warming Maps/Graphs." Climate Change. Blog at Wordpress.com, 2 Mar. 2010. Web. 12 Nov.
2012.
"Global Warming Is Affecting Weather." - National Wildlife Federation. N.p., n.d. Web. 07 Dec. 2012.
Goldstein, Natalie. Global Warming. New York: Facts On File, 2009. Print
Knutson, Thomas R. "GFDL - Geophysical Fluid Dynamics Laboratory." Geophysical Fluid Dynamics
Laboratory. N.p., 28 Nov. 2012. Web. 07 Dec. 2012.
Long, Douglas. Global Warming. New York: Facts on File, 2004. Print
Manning, Rick. "Global Warming Watch National." American Clarion. American Clarion, 25 Sept. 2012.
Web. 05 Dec. 2012.
Roleff, Tamara L., Scott Barbour, and Karin Swisher. Global Warming: Opposing Viewpoints. San Diego,
CA: Greenhaven, 1997. Print
Walker, Gabrielle, and D. A. King. The Hot Topic: What We Can Do about Global Warming. Orlando, FL:
Harcourt, 2008. Print