Global Warming: Human Causes and Solutions - Essay Example

Global warming: Human Causes and Solutions Global warming is allegedly having phenomenal effectson the planet. It is associated with extreme weather conditions which are primarily as a result of human activity. The world economy will be adversely affected if drastic measures are not taken. According to Durkin, in the film The Great Global warming swindle, global warming is a hoax. A change of 5°C is assumed to have a profound effect on energy, water, biodiversity and agriculture. The major effect of global warming is the increase in the carbon dioxide emissions leading to a hotter environment. The long-term effects of the increased carbon emissions include mass extinctions, famine, floods, hurricanes and drought. The film An Inconvenient Truth aims at educating the masses on the need to have environmental friendly investments and sources of energy. This includes developing new generation vehicles. This essay seeks to present an argument whose aim is to find out whether global warming is a swindle or an inconvenient truth. The essay intends to point out the cause of and solutions to global warming. Thesis Global warming has been attributed to human activities or natural phenomena such as changes in the sun. It is imperative to consider the actual cause of global warming and solutions based on the opposing arguments. Strong point for global warming According to Davis, in the movie An Inconvenient Truth, the melting of glaciers parks and ice shelves is bound to have a profound effect. Some of these ice shelves include Mount Kilimanjaro, the Himalayas, Glacier National Park, Italian Alps and Colombia Glacier. Research shows that some of these glaciers have melted halfway. As a result, many polar bears are drowning as a result of swimming longer distances in search of glaciers. These are facts that can be quantified statistically. Continued global warming is likely to result in increased devastation. It is estimated that the melting of Greenland or Antarctica will eventually result in the rise of sea levels (An Inconvenient Truth). This rise is expected to reach twenty feet. In effect, the twenty feet rise in the sea level would leave one hundred million people homeless. This is especially so if places such as Florida, Netherlands, Bangladesh, Shanghai, San Francisco, and Calcutta become affected. In the United States, some of the economic sectors are expected to be impacted more than the others. The agricultural societies are expected to be profoundly affected by the impact of global warming. This is as a result of the loss of soil moisture. In the United States, the frequent wildfires are said to be a direct consequence of this phenomenon. However, an increasing number of scientists have been attempting to debunk the concept of global warming. They argue that human activities cannot be the cause of global warming (The Great Global Warming Swindle). The proponents of the global warming swindle argue that the discussion is aimed at preventing the poorest countries from developing. This argument suggests that the sun alone cannot be entirely responsible for the changes in the global temperature. On the contrary, taking factors such as cosmic ray nucleation and solar sunspots, the globe is supposed to be cooling instead. This is in stark contrast to the global warming concept. The energy from the sun alone does not account for the global climate. Strong point against global warming The anthropogenic changes, which are quantifiable, are entirely responsible for the current rise of the global temperature. This makes the concept of global warming a swindle. The graph used to demonstrate the relationship between temperature and solar rays is said to have been inaccurate. The documentary suggests that the increase in global temperatures is often preceded by the increase in the atmospheric levels of carbon dioxide. This effectively concludes that human activity cannot be responsible for global warming (The Great Global Warming Swindle). The argument presupposes that the global temperature and the levels of carbon dioxide are entirely uncorrelated. According to the film, there is a considerable lag between the time carbon emissions occur, and the time temperatures increase. The idea of global warming agrees that carbon dioxide is not responsible for starting the global warming. However, the levels of carbon dioxide affect directly the rate of global warming. The global temperature and levels of carbon dioxide are variables which have a strong feedback mechanism. According to the proponents of global warming, the suggestion of a lag between carbon emissions and temperature increase is incorrect. It is a deliberate attempt to sever the link between the human activity and global warming (An Inconvenient Truth). Formal fallacies against global warming Volcanic activity is responsible for increase in the carbon dioxide emissions. However, the increase is almost negligible compared to human related emissions. According to An Inconvenient Truth, the argument against global warming is weak and untenable. The opposition to the concept of global warming strongly upholds the belief that it is a conspiracy by the global elite to benefit the wealthy by keeping the poor nations underdeveloped. Nature, not human beings, is responsible for global warming. Therefore, the poorest nations need to be allowed to increase carbon emissions to a sustainable level. At the same time the developed nations need to scale down carbon emissions to sustainable levels. According to the research by the opponents to the global warming, the global climatic models are humongous and complex. This makes it almost impossible to have meaningful projections of the climatic trends. The argument goes ahead to castigate IPCC for stifling the debate on global climatic changes. According to this argument, scientists use the concept of global warming for selfish gains. These allegations have not been factually supported. According to research, which has been confirmed across the divide, climate is always changing. The climate changes and the average global temperature within the last half of the century fell within the natural range of climatic variability as asserted by the documentary. Their research explains that this position has been true over the last few millennia. During the last ice age, the emission of carbon dioxide and temperature related quite closely. However, that should not be the entire basis of carbon dioxide emissions being viewed as the sole driver of changes in the global temperature. On the contrary, temperatures have been the driving carbon emissions. This position also asserts that the earth surface is warming faster than the troposphere. In addition, the actions by the developed countries have a profound negative effect on the poor and developing countries. The actions are exerting pressure on the developing countries. However, this is an allegation. The developing countries have to find out new methods of advancing without having to use fossil fuels. The introduction of carbon taxes is likely to affect the development agenda of countries that depend on imported technologies. The developed countries are not seen as willing enough to support the developing economies with renewable energy resources (The Great Global Warming Swindle). This stance lack authoritative conviction. At the same time, very minimal efforts are being made by the developed countries to minimize carbon emissions. The reality of global warming is undeniable (An Inconvenient Truth). According to An Inconvenient Truth, human activity is the greatest cause of global warming. Technology has advanced, and it is easy to project climatic changes. This position is contested. The human induced causes of climate change and global warming are intentionally omitted by the report. Compared to the solar influence, human activities were the greatest cause of global warming in the 20th century. The growth of carbon dioxide emissions is mainly caused by fossil fuels. This has been the case for the last six hundred millennia. The concept of global warming swindle refutes the idea that there is an increase in the greenhouse effect. While the great global warming swindle questions the existence of global warming, it does not entirely reject the influence of carbon emissions. According to Durkin, in The Great Global Warming Swindle film, there was a great need for both debates to be aired. The scientific opinion advanced by the proponents of global warming is flawed (The Great Global Warming Swindle). This makes it a weak point in this debate. According to the documentary, the levels of carbon dioxide have been rising for the last 70 years. In spite of the rise, the global temperature had been falling until 1975. There are variations in the rate of global warming. The film asserts that 95 percent of the greenhouse gases are composed of water vapor. According to An Inconvenient Truth film, the rising carbon emission gases cannot be wished away. Strong point Global warming is causing the destruction of coral reefs, which are estimated to become extinct by 2050. Human activity is to blame for these impacts. The increases in both ocean levels and carbon dioxide emissions have calcified corals. The melt water from Greenland is likely to disrupt Atlantic thermo-haline circulation. According to An Inconvenient Truth, global warming is contributing to increased health complications. Some of these diseases include breathing complications. This position has been challenged as lacking supporting evidence. Carbon induced warming tends to melt tundra. This is likely to release carbon dioxide which is locked in the frozen grounds. The number of typhoons hitting Japan has been on the rise. This has been attributed to the extreme weather conditions. Increasing temperatures have led to a continued drying of soils. Most of these affects are can be quantified scientifically. This makes the argument to be strong. However, according to research by the contradicting science, the earth surface seems to be getting wetter. Durkin, in the film The Great Global Warming Swindle, suggests that the current warming is nothing unusual. Human activities are not responsible for global warming. Though perceived to be a weak point, the globe has experienced periods of warming in the medieval times. Instead, the proponents for global warming are accused of being driven by the desire for increased funding in matters that concern the climatic science (The Great Global Warming Swindle). This has been coupled with a systematic suppression of the dissenting voices. According to The Great Global Warming Swindle film, the scientists who have taken a film stand against global warming have received death threats and character assassination. Some of them have been threatened with cuts in funding and other forms of persecution. The Great Global Warming Swindle film suggests that, the views of opposing scientists have been ignored by the IPCC reports through alleged selective editorializing. There is an assumption that the levels of carbon dioxide increase by 1 percent annually. This figure is estimated to be half the rate. This initiative assumes that there is a linear relationship between global temperatures and carbon dioxide. However, that relationship is assumed to be logarithmic. Between 1940 and 1980, the greenhouse gases increased significantly. At the same time, the global average temperature decreased over the same period of time. This makes a strong argument for the opponents of global warming. The developed countries have been accused of producing greenhouse gases while being reluctant to incur the environmental costs. It is difficult to ascertain the claim that volcanoes produce more carbon emissions that human activities. This claim has been dismissed as presumptuous and lacking concrete evidence. There is an assertion that the variation in the global temperatures for the last few centuries tended to place the blame on the sun more than the industrial revolution. This is a fundamental difference from the opposing team. The research showed that the effects of the global warming are irreversible (An Inconvenient Truth). This is coupled with the fact that abating the effect of the global warming is not easy. An Inconvenient Truth film argues that the United States must invest in renewable sources of energy. According to the proponents of global warming, the effect of the phenomenon has far reaching effects in many spheres of the economy. This is expected to impact monetary policy and inflation rates. They have to contest the opinion that carbon dioxide is not a pollutant. Scientists supporting the anti-global warming film hold the opinion that the IPCC report was not authentic. Thousands of scientists and politicians did not prefer to have their names appended in the report. Their request was denied. This argument suggests that human activity is supposed to contribute less than 1 percent of the global climate turbulence. Therefore, human activity is not responsible for global warming. Plants and animals are said to contribute over 140 gigatons of carbon dioxide annually. According to the film, the dying leaves produce more carbon dioxide than budding leaves. Formal fallacies There are two outstanding formal fallacies. The first concerns the impact of the ocean in the production of carbon dioxide. The argument exonerates human activities from causing global warming (The Great Global Warming Swindle). The ocean is rated as the largest source of carbon dioxide. This theory is vehemently opposed by Davis in An Inconvenient Truth film. Human activity such as burning of fossil fuels has been known to be the leading sources of greenhouse gases. This is increasingly becoming common in Chinese cities. Parts of China are increasingly being covered by mist attributed to global warming. According to An Inconvenient Truth, the extreme floods in parts of China are a direct consequence of the greenhouse gases and the Chinese industrial revolution. This film asserts that man-made carbon dioxide emissions are the leading causes of adverse weather conditions. The gases are said to be affecting the ozone layer. The claim that volcanic activity contributes to more carbon emissions than human activities has been successfully challenged. Consequently, the claim has been removed from the later versions. This has been used by the proponents of the global warming to discredit the opposing argument. The second fallacy concerns the impact of solar output on climate. The real impact of sun in global warming is not authoritatively stated. There is an argument that cosmic rays have a profound effect on cloud formations. Solar output is estimated to have been the cause of rise in temperature in the early 1900. However, the sun should never be classified as the main source of change in the global temperature. Notably, both films concur that changes in the sun have a profound effect on the climate. At the same time, the satellite measurements indicate that there is no major difference between the surface and troposphere temperatures. Very few statistical figures have been released concerning to explain the actual impact of the sun on global warming. However, warming seems to be concentrated near the surface while cooling seems to happen above the additional blanket of carbon dioxide. According to Martin Durkin, in The Great Global Warming Swindle film, the idea of global warming was launched by the neo-imperialists whose agenda was to control the development of the poorest nations. This idea suggests that imposition of climate sensitive restrictions will have a profound effect on the rate of growth in the developing economies (The Great Global Warming Swindle). Informal fallacies Yet, supporters of global warming have developed a strong premise on the basis of a complexity whose research is both controversial and inconclusive. Human activity is said to cause global warming. However, what to do about is a moral or value issue. There is an assumption that whatever is good, then it must be pleasant and vice versa. This means that if something falls short of being good, then it must be unpleasant. Proponents of the global warming have heavily relied on natural observations. This appeal to nature and environmentalism falls under naturalistic fallacies and should be classified as advisory and not authoritative. A fallacy is an erroneous reasoning or argument. Proponents of global warming have been accused of using nature to dictate certain morals and the course of direction of the globe. This concept argues that something can be natural but wrong. The long periods of natural global cooling have been ignored by proponents of global warming. Pragmatic fallacy This is a pragmatic type of informal fallacy. This is because the argument suggests that something is true just because it has practical effects upon people. The suggestion of global warming makes people more loyal and easier to deal with through suggesting some of its practical effects. A pragmatic fallacy causes people to be loyal when they given the practical implications a phenomenon. Nonetheless, there is an agreement across the divide that the relationship between the sun and temperature is complex. Weak points for global warming The weak points in this debate are backed by rationale as opposed to facts. Human activities have not been quantified in by those arguing for global warming. At a lesser scale, human activities are perceived to have a direct impact on climate. This makes the term human activities a weak selling point. Human activity is crucial in controlling global warming and its impacts. Both arguments agree on the need to control the impacts of global warming. One of the ways is to reduce the use of natural gas, and fossil fuels are a source of energy. Currently, the United States is investing in bio-fuel. The United Nations has proposed carbon taxes. These will discourage uncontrolled emission of greenhouse gases which are responsible for depleting the ozone layer. The international community is considering investing in solar and wind energy. This will create a break from hydro carbons. New generation electric cars are proposed to replace cars that exhaust harmful gases into the atmosphere. Research is being conducted on geothermal energy methods of reducing the reliance on fossil fuels. Forestation and reforestation are tipped to be good ways of lessening the impact of global warming. In conclusion, the two contradicting arguments are said to be extreme and one-sided. The premise that the sun is entirely responsible for the adverse climatic conditions is contentious. However, it forms the basis of An Inconvenient Truth’s argument and opposing the dissenting opinions about global warming. Conversely, Al Gore in the An Inconvenient Truth film proposes that global warming is mainly caused by human activities. Some of those activities include burning of fossil fuels and industries that release large quantities of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere. This argument proposes development of renewable sources of energy and environment friendly vehicles. Large sums of money are being invested in the climate-related studies. This has attracted criticism from Martin Durkin’s The Great Global Warming Swindle film. The audience remains at a crossroad. There are attempts to authenticate the assertion that human activities are the leading cause of global warming. With equal counter-measures, the argument is being dismissed as a global swindle which aim is to solicit for funds and discount differing views. Works Cited An Inconvenient Truth. Prod. Davis Guggenheim. Perf. Al Gore. 2006. Film. http://vimeo.com/16335777. The Great Global Warming Swindle. Prod. Martin Durkin. Perf. Syun-Ichi Akasofu, Nigel Calde, Richard Lindzen 2007. Film. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YtevF4B4RtQ>. Read More