Global Warming - Two Opposing Views and the Quest for a Practical Middle Ground - Essay Example

Section/# Global Warming: An Analysis of Two Opposing Views and the Quest for a Practical Middle Ground One of themost heated environmental debates which has existed for the past 15-20 years within the scientific and political community is with relation to the existence of global warming. The topic itself is hotly contested between both left and right of the political spectrum; between progressives and conservatives and between developing and developed nations. Each of these shareholders has something to gain or to lose based upon their own interpretation and as such this topic has been a particularly messy one to understand and to define. Accordingly, this brief essay will attempt to briefly analyze this monolithic problem and propose a middle path to a debate that has been raging and consuming valuable time in the process. Furthermore, a determination will be sought to be made with regards to the question of whether human action or natural causes best explain the climate fluctuations that planet earth has recently been chronicling. Lastly, as a function of the previous points of discussion and analysis, the author will attempt to proscribe a reasonable and performable set of steps and solutions which both the scientific community and the world at large could and should seek to employ as a function of ameliorating the stress on planet earth and the issues at hand. Firstly, there is the point of view that strongly believes that the swings in climate change are the direct result of the presence of high amounts of human CO2 in the atmosphere that is causing a greenhouse effect on the planet and thereby causing world temperatures to rise. Prima fascia of this argument is the belief that human CO2 emissions are responsible for the changes to the global climate. It follows therefore that those which ascribe to this point of view are the most vehement that drastic and immediate changes to the manner in which human beings interact with planet earth and seek to use her resources in order to achieve a high standard of living be re-assessed as a function of whether such practices are best for the future health and longevity of the planet (Gan et al 6555). However, the biggest drawback to this particular line of reasoning is the fact that the overall extent to which human CO2 factors into the percentage of total CO2 generated by planet earth on a yearly basis is so miniscule as to be laughable. Indeed, numerous studies have convincingly noted that human CO2 emissions only account for around 4% of total earth CO2 release in any given calendar year. Although this by no means relieves humans of their responsibility towards the planet, it does however help put into perspective the precise scope of this problem and the means by which it should be sought to be rectified. The problem with this point of view is of course the fact that the main causal factors for global climate change with respect to the recent changes in temperature patterns have not been considered. For instance, there is a preponderance of evidence that the size and heat the sun generates is of course non-uniform and varies depending on the level of solar flares and solar storm activity (Powledge 9). As such, scientists have noted that beyond CO2 concentrations, the suns actual energy output has increased slightly over the exact same period in which the global climate change has been most powerfully noted (Ferrara 46). Of course the purpose of this brief essay is not to convince the reader regarding what the true culprit of global climate change truly is; rather, it is merely meant to acquaint the reader with the various causal mechanisms that likely influence the way in which the planet’s climate is regulated and changes as both a function of solar activity, human actions, and overall concentration of a number of other factors. Yet another issue with the global warming as a result of CO2 emission side of the argument is the fact that it is scientifically proven that global temperature is determined not only by CO2 levels, or the sun but also by the world’s oceans. Due to the fact that the oceans of the world cover more than 70% of the surface of the earth, they have a profound effect on regulating the temperature of our global system. Moreover, scientists have recently proven that the world’s oceans dictate the global temperature levels more so than was previously recognized and at a rate that no one thought was possible. For instance, due to the fact that the oceans of the world are so deep and so expansive, it takes decades for global climate changes spurred on by other factors to actually be felt (Waters 12). In this way, it is the earth’s way of naturally providing a reactionary thermostat that does not allow minor variations to be immediately and painfully felt by the biosphere. Taken at face value, such an understanding would necessarily mean that the peaks in global temperature that have been felt within the past several decades would have been the result of much earlier temperature peaks and are only exhibiting themselves via the worlds warming oceans at a much later date. Understanding this is important due to the fact that any and all models of understanding with respect to global climate change must factor into account the effect that the oceans have on global climate patterns and overall temperature shifts (Stone 14). Similarly, the other side of the argument believes that humans have little if anything to do with global warming and as such the situation is little more than a large amount of prefabricated intellectual nonsense that is better left ignored. The primary issue with this point of view is the fact that it does not seek to find a solution to the recent swings and changes in global climate change and merely dismisses the argument of the other side on a categorical basis. The old dictum goes that it is better to have a flawed explanation than no explanation at all. In many ways this can be said for those that proffer this particular point of view (Rahmstorf 25). Rather than being able to promote a convincing and logical reason for the global climate change that has been evidenced in the recent past, this side merely contents itself with lampooning the abject silliness of the other side without seeking to offer a legitimate solution to something that they see as little concern. The main pitfall of the opposing side is that they are prone to disregard the fact that humans can have any affect whatsoever on the climate patterns of planet earth. In this way, a type of defeatism and lack of concern is born that not only affects the debate on global warming but the stewardship of the planet as a whole. Yet another issue that begins to weaken the argument of those that believe that human CO2 emissions is the fact that the proponents of such a view often ignore the meager 4% figure as being so infinitesimally small that it could not have an effect on the global climate (Mills 68). However, it would behoove these people to note that it is likely that what is actually being affected on the global climate is the result of the compound effect of multiple factors; of which the human CO2 emissions are merely one aggravating culprit. As such, from the information that has been presented, it is readily seen that the main ways in which the two sides disagree is the area of overlap which could most be exploited to find a middle path between these two. For instance, it is the recommendation of this article that although human CO2 emissions are obviously but a very small component of the total CO2 release that goes into the earth’s atmosphere in any given year, it is still nonetheless a release that has hitherto not been something that the earth’s environment has had to accustom itself with. As such, to disregard the compound effect that such a low statistical percentage could affect compounded over multiple years would also be foolish. Furthermore, in order to better understand the issue, it is necessary for those that seek to push the global warming agenda to take a thoughtful step back and consider the multitude of factors that can also contribute to global climate change. In this way, a type of middle path between the two points of view can be made. Works Cited Ferrara, Peter. "Why The World Is Getting Warmer, Even Though It Is Getting Colder." American Spectator 42.2 (2009): 46-48. Academic Search Complete. Web. 24 Nov. 2012. Gan, Bolan, and Lixin Wu. "Modulation Of Atmospheric Response To North Pacific SST Anomalies Under Global Warming: A Statistical Assessment." Journal Of Climate 25.19 (2012): 6554-6566. Academic Search Complete. Web. 24 Nov. 2012. Mills, Evan. "Weighing The Risks Of Climate Change Mitigation Strategies." Bulletin Of The Atomic Scientists 68.6 (2012): 67-78. Academic Search Complete. Web. 24 Nov. 2012. POWLEDGE, FRED. "Scientists, Policymakers, And A Climate Of Uncertainty." Bioscience 62.1 (2012): 8-13. Academic Search Complete. Web. 24 Nov. 2012. Rahmstorf, Stefan. "Hot Enough For You?." New Scientist 215.2880 (2012): 24-25. Academic Search Complete. Web. 24 Nov. 2012. Stone, P.H. "Forecast Cloudy: The Limits Of Global Warming Models." Technology Review (00401692) 95.2 (1992): 32. Business Source Premier. Web. 24 Nov. 2012. Waters, Tom. "Roof Of The World. (Cover Story)." Earth 2.4 (1993): 26. Academic Search Complete. Web. 24 Nov. 2012. Read More