ISSUE PAPER: GLOBAL WARMING
McKenna Walker
Period 3
For decades, there has been a worldwide debate on whether or not global
warming is an issue worth concerning ourselves in. Firm believers in the cause
claim that the warming of the atmosphere is increasing so drastically that if we don’t
do something to halt the extreme heating and increase atmospheric stability now, it
will be too late in the future. Those who are on the opposite side of the issue claim
that the earth goes through natural periods of heating and cooling as historical
records show. They believe that we should not concern ourselves because nature
has its own way of return to its state of equilibrium.
Believers in global warming look to statistical evidence to support their
claim. Since the start of the Industrial Revolution, Earth’s atmospheric levels have
started to increase. Compared to a graph of the Earth’s natural warming and cooling
cycles it is seen that it does match, however, the graph with data from the 1700s
spikes drastically and is more severe than what the norms for the cycles are. But
with global warming, the issue isn’t about what we can see now, but what we have
yet to see in the future. Right now most of the visible change is taking place in the
Polar Regions in the Earth due to jet streams and currents. What the world is failing
to note is that tropical areas are being affected as well. The gradual change will have
catastrophic effects because it will be harming the species that inhabit the area.
When animals don’t have time to adapt to the climate change, they die out. When
animals die out it affects us as human, which we fail to realize. As soon as one
species goes extinct there will be a domino effect, which will be drastic to the
ecosystem.
Not only do we have to worry about the ecosystem becoming chaotic, we also
have to worry about what it will do to society. Since the Industrial Revolution, water
levels have risen eight inches. Now, eight inches may not seem like a lot but seeing
as a lot of densely populated areas lie below sea level, we are risking the livelihoods
of hundreds of thousands of people. In recent years, storms that typically wouldn’t
be so dire have had devastating effects on the coastal inhabitants. With excess
water, it has nowhere to go but inland. When the water goes inland, it contaminates
the aquifers, floods the wetlands and causes destructive erosion. The heating of the
atmosphere also causes severe weather like heat waves, floods, and droughts that
have been plaguing the world for the past decade. Just a couple years ago super
storm Sandy wreaked havoc on New York and much of the East coast. A storm with
that size and magnitude can only be known as a product of global warming. With
this evidence, it is easy to see that global warming is having an effect on the planet.
On the opposing side, the main evidence supporting the claim is that climate
change isn’t as drastic as it is made out to be. With the natural warming and cooling
cycles of the planet, it does make sense that it would be getting warmer. Also noting
that the Little Ice Age ended in the early 19th century, it would be odd that the Earth
wasn’t getting warming. The planet’s temperatures now aren’t even in the historical
highs. The Earth was warmer than in is now for the seven thousand of the past ten
thousand years. Showing that humans aren’t adding to climate change in such a
drastic way after all. There is also evidence that it would be better for humans if the
climate were getting warmer because we function better in warmer weather. Along
with the evidence that it helpful and not harmful, it has been said that the ways of
extracting the evidence for global warming are biased and inaccurate. As reported
by Forbes, there are a plethora of procedures that are either skipped or misused
that add to the chaos surrounding global warming. A few of theses are having only a
few long-term records from either the southern hemisphere or the 71 percent of the
planet that is covered by water; distortions from the urban heat-island effect and
other faulty settings (e.g., temperature sensors next to asphalt parking lots, etc.;)
The most accurate measures of temperature come from satellites. Since the start of
these measurements in 1979, they show minor fluctuations and an insignificant net
change in global temperature.
Not only does the evidence point out the global warming is being
exaggerated, it also shows that CO2, the emission that we believe is the main cause
of global warming, isn’t the real threat after all. There is very little correlation to
atmospheric temperatures and the amount of CO2 in the atmosphere. And with
what little information there is supporting this claim, correlation does not always
prove causation. Even many climatologists have admitted the CO2 isn’t the driving
force behind global warming. Solar activity, the planet’s axis position and orbit, and
tectonic activity are all different factors that out weigh CO2’s effect on the
atmosphere. With this evidence, many people believe that global warming is just a
scam used to rile people up when they have nothing to worry about.
After researching both sides of the topic, my opinion lies with the side that
argues that global warming is a threat, because it has more validity to it. While most
of their claims are “what if” scenarios, their scenarios do hold value. Also it is clear
to see the effects of global warming. The weather is a huge sign of the occurring
climate change. In North America, we have been experiences bizarre weather
patterns that can only be explained by the theory of climate change. While the other
side does have strong evidence proving that it is not catastrophic now, they have
nothing to prove that it won’t be catastrophic in the future. The effects of global
warming don’t just show up over night. It takes time for us to really see change, and
change is happening. We can’t just ignore the problem because it doesn’t affect us
now. We have to think about the future, and that is why I am siding with the
affirming side.
References
Hendrickson, Mark. "Climate Change: 'Hoax' Or Crime Of The Century?" Forbes.
Forbes
Magazine,
16
Sept.
2012.
Web.
12
May
2014.
<http://www.forbes.com/sites/markhendrickson/2012/09/16/climatechange-hoax-or-crime-of-the-century/>.
Sea Level Rise -- National Geographic." National Geographic. National Geographic,
n.d. Web. 12 May 2014. <http://ocean.nationalgeographic.com/ocean/criticalissues-sea-level-rise/>.
Extreme Weather Map 2012." Natural Resources Defense Council – The Earth's Best
Defense.
NRDC,
n.d.
Web.
13
May
2014.
<http://www.nrdc.org/health/extremeweather/>.
Gore, Albert. The Future. London: W.H. Allen, 2013. Print.
U.S. Global Change Research Program. "Climate change is affecting every region of
the U.S. and key sectors of the economy, federal report finds." ScienceDaily.
ScienceDaily,
6
May
2014.
<www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2014/05/140506172342.htm>.