Global Warming: Debate and Deliberation and the Public Sphere - Coursework Example

Tom Hilberg Rhetoric and the Public Sphere 22 April 2007 Global Warming: Debate and Deliberation and the Public Sphere Global warming is one of the most important world issues in the late twentieth century and the early twenty-first century. The effects of global warming could be very destructive to worldwide civilization. Debate on the causes of Global Warming, the extent of Global Warming, and even the existence of Global Warming is very common in the public sphere. There is also debate over which methods should be used to stop the process. Although Global warming is debated heavily throughout all forms of media, the quality of the rhetoric used by both sides in the debate is mostly very poor, especially in the more mainstream media. While a dialectic method is used, it is used poorly, and there are almost no attempts at synthesis. The main topoi used by all sides are scientific data, but they are used poorly. There are three separate arguments made in the debate. One group of scientists claims that global warming is not occurring, another group claims that global warming is occurring because of natural changes in the earth's climate such as an increase in the level of solar radiation reaching the earth or changes in the patterns of winds, ocean currents, or volcanic activity, and another group claims that global warming is occurring because of an increase in carbon dioxide in the atmosphere due to the large scale combustion of fossil fuels by humans that started during the time of the first industrial revolution and continues up to the present day. There are several different types of arguments used by scientists that deny the existence of global warming. The three main scientific arguments used by that side of the debate are claims that temperatures in the upper atmosphere have fallen in the last few decades, an argument that meteorological data from the last century is inaccurate because of the heat island effect, and a claim that differences in the way that average temperature is measured today cause average temperatures today to appear higher than they were in earlier decades. The claim that the temperatures in the upper atmosphere have fallen in the last few decades is the weakest of the three because there is no scientific proof that temperatures in the upper atmosphere have any correlation with ground temperatures. The temperature data was also slightly modified for scientific reasons in the survey, and scientists who claim that global warming is happening say that it was modified incorrectly. The argument that the heat island effect; or the effect of thermometers in weather stations being in highly developed areas where there are many heat-retaining ground coverings, such as buildings, concrete, and asphalt; is the cause of the observed rise in temperatures is a better argument, but there have been no attempts to analyze the effects of increasing urbanization quantitatively or show the exact levels of new development around each weather station. The claim that average temperatures appear higher because temperatures are now taken four times each day instead of twice is an even better argument, because the temperatures taken at the two other times are usually closer to the daily high than the daily low, and that causes the average daily temperature for each day to appear higher. However, it has been claimed that average highs and average lows have both risen in the past few decades, making this argument seem less convincing. Nonscientific arguments made by scientists and others that claim that global warming is not occurring include an argument that there is a global conspiracy against capitalism or the United States by socialists or internationalists using environmental junk science and the argument that most environmentalist scientists thought that there was a pattern of global cooling and the risk of a new ice age in the 1970s. Both arguments are ad hominem attacks. While many of the scientists that support the theory of human-caused Global Warming are extreme environmentalists, there is no proof of any type of international conspiracy, and the second does not prove that scientists who think that there is global warming are wrong this time. The theory that global warming is happening due to factors other than the burning of fossil fuels by humans has much stronger arguments supporting it. There argument that increased solar activity could be the cause of a current rise in temperatures is supported by the recently observed rises in the temperatures on other planets in the solar system. It is not likely that the burning of fossil fuels is causing temperatures on mars to rise. There was also some research done that shows that changes in the paths of large water currents located in the depths of the ocean can cause climate changes, but this research has not been highly publicized. Long-term historical climate data shows that the climate has risen and fallen many times throughout the history of the earth. "During the last 2 billion years the Earth's climate has alternated between a frigid "Ice House", like today's world, and a steaming "Hot House", like the world of the dinosaurs" (Scotese, 2002). A graph of the climate of the earth form the Precambrian era up to today shows that the current climate of the earth is much cooler than average and seems to be in a long-term warming trend. A climate graph showing various ice ages shows that there are many smaller cycles of climate change within the large cycles changing temperatures. It also shows that rises in the average temperature can happen much more quickly than drops in the average temperature. Measurements of the levels of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere over time show that there is a positive correlation between levels of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere and average global temperatures, which proves that levels of atmospheric carbon dioxide can also increase due to natural causes. All of this evidence proves that climate can change for reasons unrelated to human activity. While the methods used to measure the average temperatures and carbon dioxide levels in the past may not be completely accurate, different methods generally give similar results, and when these methods are used to measure temperatures and carbon dioxide levels during times where there is modern meteorological and scientific data, they are very accurate. The theory that global warming is happening due to man-made causes, such as the burning of fossil fuels, seems to have much evidence to support it, but much of it is weak. Many scientists who came up with this theory are attempting to cause an episteme, or paradigm shift, to occur in the debate about the effects of man on nature. They want the theory than man and industrial society can have massive impacts on nature to become the standard paradigm. The main data used by this side is meteorological data and carbon dioxide measurements that have been done since the 1950s. This data supposedly shows quickly rising average temperatures after a period of sustained average temperatures, or a "hockey stick." However, a graph of historical temperature data over the last millennium does not show a hockey stick shape (Anderson; Walter, 1997). The graph showing the "hockey stick" was later proven to be flawed by many studies (World Climate Report, 2005). Still, the flawed graph showing a hockey stick shape is shown in many of the scientific and popular works that support the theory of Global Warming being caused by human causes. There is also no proof that methods used to measure the climate in earlier times are highly inaccurate. Supporters of the theory that global warming is caused by human fossil fuel consumption have also ignored most of the arguments that oppose their theory. The only argument that was heavily attacked by scientists that support the theory of human-caused global warming was the argument that weather stations on balloons show that temperatures in the upper atmosphere have cooled in the last few decades. This is the weakest argument in the theory that claims that global warming is not happening. The arguments about the heat island effect and the effect of different methods of measuring the average temperature have been mostly ignored. While melting glaciers seem like proof of rising temperatures, they are not proof that Global Warming is caused by humans. The argument that the global average temperature is rising because of natural causes is also mostly ignored, but occasionally it is claimed that both the burning of fossil fuels and natural causes are causing climate changes. This side of the debate has also not been able to prove that higher carbon dioxide levels are the cause of higher temperatures instead of the effect of them, or that correlation equals causation. Scientists who support the theory of human-caused Global Warming are also claiming many threats and forming doomsday scenarios. There have been many speculations that melting ice caps would cause a rise in sea levels and coastal flooding. There have also been claims that there would be massive desertification and a spread in areas where people can receive tropical diseases. These alarmist scenarios may be true, but they are probably used to scare people into believing the theory so that they can stop burning fossil fuels to stop global warming. There have also been ad hominem attacks on scientists who oppose global warming, such as claims that they are funded by industrial groups. In general, the level of public debate on Global Warming is not very good. Nearly all scientific theories on natural reasons for climate change are not made public, and accurate historical climate data rarely appears in mainstream media. Articles in mainstream magazines are usually one-sided and not highly scientific. The topic has also become politicized, with conservatives supporting either the theory that claims that Global Warming does not exists or the theory that Global warming is occurring due to natural causes, and liberals supporting the theory that Global Warming is caused by the human consumption of fossil fuels. Most of the public in America are poorly informed, and many lack the scientific knowledge to make an informed decision. The way that Global Warming is currently being debated is poor and unlikely to bring about intelligent methods of dealing with the problem. Works Cited Scotese, Christopher R. Paleomap Project. 2002. C.R. Scotese. 22 Apr. 2007. http://www.scotese.com/climate.htm Anderson, Hugh; Walter, Bernard. History of Climate Change. 28 Mar. 1997. UNEP. 22 Apr.2007. http://vathena.arc.nasa.gov/curric/land/global/climchng.html Global Warming. 2006. Cooler Heads Coalition. 22 Apr. 2007. http://www.globalwarming.org Global Warming: Early Warning Signs. 1999. Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. 22 Apr. 2007. http://www.climatehotmap.org Global Warming. Feb 21. 2007. Union of Concerned Scientists. 22 Apr. 2007. http://www.ucsusa.org/global_warming/ Read More