Environmental Problems: Global Warming

After witnessing numerous catastrophic storms devastating people’s lives over time, I am convinced that the adverse change in our earth’s temperature is to blame for the problem. Many scientists are working diligently to help us understand why we are experiencing such changes in our climate here on earth, yet little recognition is given to them, or they are kept quiet by the media and those in power. Historically, scientists and researchers have received significant recognition for less impactful work than those striving to provide credible research on how to adapt or prevent the warming of our planet.

Environmental Issues: Climate Change

The debate surrounding global warming features two primary perspectives: one side argues that global warming is manmade and requires preventive measures, while the other side suggests it is a natural cycle that cannot be prevented. This paper aims to explore views and research from both sides, allowing the reader to determine what they believe to be true or false.

Global Warming Deception

Global warming has been a controversial topic for politicians worldwide for some time now. From Al Gore’s “An Inconvenient Truth” to politicians attributing every major storm to global warming and implementing EPA regulations to reduce carbon emissions, the question remains: should we trust the evidence presented? According to WRAL.com, Hurricane Sandy’s damages amounted to nearly 50 billion dollars, with insurance companies facing at least 10 billion in costs, making Sandy the second most expensive storm for the United States since Hurricane Katrina.

“An Inconvenient Truth” suggests that massive insurance losses result from large hurricanes, tropical storms, and other extreme weather events, which are increasing due to global warming (Gore, 2006). Historical data, however, shows that insured losses were lower in 2005 (Hurricane Katrina) compared to 1925, as a percentage of the coastal population at risk. Politicians have focused on this issue, given the financial burden of recovering from such catastrophes.

Scientific Perspectives on Global Warming

The Nobel Prize-winning chemist Svante Arrhenius first proposed the idea of global warming in 1896. Arrhenius, a Swedish scientist, physicist, and chemist, speculated that continued burning of coal and oil would increase CO2 concentrations in the Earth's atmosphere, leading to a warmer planet (Arrhenius, 1896). The greenhouse effect remains the only scientific explanation for the rise in global temperatures in recent decades. Direct measurements of atmospheric CO2 concentrations extend back over 50 years, while indirect measurements from ice cores date back hundreds of thousands of years. Measurements confirm that these concentrations are rising rapidly.

“Natural climate variability is extremely unlikely to have contributed more than about one-quarter of the temperature rise observed in the past 60 years,” report Swiss climate modelers in Nature Geoscience (Stott et al., 2008). At least 74% of the observed warming is almost certainly due to human activity. Since 1950, the average global surface air temperature has increased by more than 0.5°C. Researchers have developed a new attribution method for understanding the physical causes of climate change by analyzing changes in the balance of heat energy entering and leaving Earth. Their findings align with other attribution methods, indicating that greenhouse gases and carbon dioxide are the primary culprits of recent global warming.

The Global Warming Movement

Despite scientific evidence supporting the manmade origins of global warming, skepticism remains. The Global Warming movement began in 1988 due to concerns about the negative impact of rising global temperatures on humans and animals. In 1989, the United Nations Environment Program and the World Meteorological Organization established the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) to provide world leaders with verifiable climate change data.

Over the years, the IPCC has issued comprehensive climate assessments, with the most recent report, AR4, analyzing climate change projections from twenty-three computer models (IPCC, 2007). AR4 strongly supported global economic reforms to reduce fossil fuel use. However, the hypothesis that global temperatures will rise proportionally with CO2 levels has been challenged by a gradual decline in global temperatures since 1998, despite rising CO2 levels.

Debate and Conclusion

The lack of consensus among scientists and the public has led to ongoing debates about the validity of global warming claims. The Nongovernmental International Panel on Climate Change concluded that there is no support for the IPCC’s claims regarding unprecedented climate observations or evidence of anthropogenic effects (NIPCC, 2009). The global warming alarmists argue that historical temperature data confirms the link between rising CO2 levels and global temperatures. The evidence from both sides of this debate can be overwhelming, making it challenging to choose one side definitively.

Ultimately, the focus should shift from assigning blame to finding solutions. Regardless of the cause, addressing extreme weather and its consequences is crucial for the future. Further research and collaboration among scientists, policymakers, and the public are essential to mitigating the effects of climate change and ensuring a sustainable future for generations to come.

References

• Arrhenius, S. (1896). On the Influence of Carbonic Acid in the Air upon the Temperature of the Ground. London, Edinburgh, and Dublin Philosophical Magazine and Journal of Science.
• Gore, A. (2006). An Inconvenient Truth: The Planetary Emergency of Global Warming and What We Can Do About It. Rodale Press.
• IPCC. (2007). Climate Change 2007: The Physical Science Basis. Contribution of Working Group I to the Fourth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. Cambridge University Press.
• NIPCC. (2009). Climate Change Reconsidered: The 2009 Report of the Nongovernmental International Panel on Climate Change (NIPCC). The Heartland Institute.
• Stott, P. A., et al. (2008). Detection and Attribution of Climate Change: A Regional Perspective. Nature Geoscience, 1, 161-164.