Essay
In a well written paragraph, explain the relationship of global temperature vs. CO2
concentration argued in the movie “The Great Global Warming Swindle” as it pertains to
chemical equilibrium. Be sure to discuss the issue of cause and effect between
temperature and atmospheric CO2. Relate this to the oxygen availability for fish in a fish
tank at cool vs. warm temperatures.
According to the film The Great Global Warming Swindle, the carbon dioxide levels of
the atmosphere increase in a similar pattern to the recorded temperatures of the
atmosphere over time, but with an eight-hundred year lapse where CO2 levels follow
temperature. This occurs due to the heat capacity of the water. When temperatures rise, it
can take hundreds of years for the temperatures of the oceans to increase accordingly.
When the temperature of the water is increased, any gaseous carbon dioxide dissolved in
the ocean will lose its solubility and will ascend to the atmosphere to maintain
equilibrium. This can account for the eight-hundred year difference between atmospheric
temperature levels and carbon dioxide levels. In this system, the cause is increased
temperature and the effect is more carbon dioxide in the atmosphere.
This effect can also be observed in oxygen availability in fish tanks. If the water is
warmer, more dissolved O2 in the fish tank will lose solubility and move out of the fish
tank, thus leaving less for the fish. However, if the water is colder, the O2 will remain for
the fish to use.
(187 words)
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The ideas in the movie “The Great Global Warming Swindle” directly contradict the
generally accepted theory of man-made global warming. The video states that it is
increasing temperatures that are causing the oceans to release dissolved CO2 into the
atmosphere by way of equilibrium shift. The effect is delayed because of the sheer size of
the oceans. Chemical equilibria laws dictate that warmer water can have less dissolved
gases than cooler water. This effect is the same for any gas – thus explaining why fish
have less oxygen available to them when it is warmer. The video even proposes another
reason why the atmosphere is warming: sun activity. Regardless of the reason why our
atmosphere is warming, solid science supports that it is temperature change driving CO2
increase and not the other way around. Human production of CO2 may be negligible
compared to what the oceans produce.
(146 words)
In a well written paragraph, explain the relationship of global temperature vs. CO2
concentration argued in the movie “The Great Global Warming Swindle” as it pertains to
chemical equilibrium. Be sure to discuss the issue of cause and effect between
temperature and atmospheric CO2. Relate this to the oxygen availability for fish in a fish
tank at cool vs. warm temperatures.
According to the film The Great Global Warming Swindle, the carbon dioxide levels of
the atmosphere increase in a similar pattern to the recorded temperatures of the
atmosphere over time, but with an eight-hundred year lapse where CO2 levels follow
temperature. This occurs due to the heat capacity of the water. When temperatures rise, it
can take hundreds of years for the temperatures of the oceans to increase accordingly.
When the temperature of the water is increased, any gaseous carbon dioxide dissolved in
the ocean will lose its solubility and will ascend to the atmosphere to maintain
equilibrium. This can account for the eight-hundred year difference between atmospheric
temperature levels and carbon dioxide levels. In this system, the cause is increased
temperature and the effect is more carbon dioxide in the atmosphere.
This effect can also be observed in oxygen availability in fish tanks. If the water is
warmer, more dissolved O2 in the fishtank will lose solubility and move out of the fish
tank, thus leaving less for the fish. However, if the water is colder, the O2 will remain for
the fish to use. :)
(187 words)