Is Global Warming Skepticism Just Smoke and Mirrors - Assignment Example

GLOBAL WARMING Comparison Essay: Is Global Warming Skepticism Just Smoke and Mirrors? June 29, 2009 Introduction One of the most controversial and acrimonious debates and subjects that has come up in recent years is Global Warming. This phenomenon refers to the rise in average temperature of our planet and fears that this rise would cause changes in weather patterns, reduction of rainfall, melting of icecaps and other assorted phenomenon. The controversy has received its share of support and detractors with one side of supporters painting death and doom in a few decades and the other side of detractors saying that much of the ill effects are over exaggerations. This paper examines the statement that Is Global Warming Skepticism Just Smoke and Mirrors?’ The paper examines arguments offered by both sides to understand the facts and after due examination provides a conclusion and position. Pro Argument that Global Warming is Real There are a number of arguments that support the theory of global warming and these are put forth by a variety of people who range from scientists to protestors who would protest against any issue that comes out. Some of the arguments used by people to argue that global warming is real are explained in this section. Increase in temperatures: There is strong data and archival evidence from reliable sources that temperatures over the past few years from 1906 to 2005 have been rising. The temperatures on an average have increased by 0.74 ± 0.18 degree centigrade for this period. Records show that during the last 50 years, the rate of temperature rise has been almost double the overall rise and this value in rising very fast (NRC, 2004). While the rise in temperature would appear as very small and minuscule, such a temperature variation is found to adversely influence the weather. It should also be understood that the maximum industrial development has taken place in the last 50 years. Therefore, global warming as such has been due to the industrial activity and development shoed by the so called nations (NRC, 2004). Greenhouse Gases Emission: The term Greenhouse gas was initially brought up in 1824 by Joseph Fourier. It refers to the process through which infrared radiation is absorbed by the atmospheric gases and leads to a warmer atmosphere. The gases are known to occur naturally but there are allegations that mans industrial activity, the increased use of fossils fuels has hastened the problem of greenhouse gas emission (NRC, 2004). Greenhouses gases are carbon dioxide, water vapor, ozone and methane and all these substances are known to occur naturally and increase and hasten green house effect. Water vapor is normally available in the form of rains and clouds. and in the natural state such as clouds, it causes between 36 % to 70% of the greenhouse effect. The worst are carbon di oxide and methane that are released by plants during their photosynthesis. However, nature and a system of checks and balances and maintains the greenhouse effects in the acceptable range (NRC, 2004). Ever since the industrial revolution when vast quantities of fossil fuels were burnt to the invention of the modern internal combustion engine, greenhouse gases emission has been increasing. While in the earlier times, there was no means of obtaining proper readings, ice cores are valuable sources to find the extent of dissolved greenhouse gases in the atmosphere. It has been observed that the levels of radiative forcing from gases such as methane, carbon dioxide, ozone, nitrous oxide and other have increased by about 148% since the 1700 AD. Again, the readings from the ice cores reveal that the readings are the highest in 650,000 years since readings from ice cores have been available (NRC, 2004). Change in Climate Patterns: There have been some subtle changes in the pattern in the climate models and patterns over the years. Seasonal rains that would begin in the northern hemisphere in June are moving further to July and even August. The amount of rainfall being observed is also varying and there are either very heavy rainfalls or drought like situations. In many cases, it has been observed that desert areas that received rains once in a few decades receive very heavy rains accompanied by flash floods. On the other hand, global warming has created warmer climate in the Polar Regions, the polar ice caps are thinning, and glaciers are thawing. This is what had happened in the previous ice ages but while the previous occurrence were due to natural causes, the present one is man made (NRC, 2004). Another issue is that in the previous ice ages, man had not yet appeared on earth or there were no big cities and civilizations back then and man was a nomad. Therefore, when the ice ages occurred and swamped the forests and coastal regions, damage was of a different kind. If such an event like the ice age occurs now, the damage that will happen, the number of people displaced and killed would be beyond imagination (NRC, 2004). The shrinkage of ice in the arctic regions is real and observed and it can be compared with previous decades images to show that there is a lot of decrease in the extent of ice cover. The ice melting has occurred gradually over the years mainly due to the rise in temperature and this in turn has been caused by global warming. The problem with ice melting in the arctic regions is that it causes the Ice-albedo feedback. In this effect, when ice melts, is place is taken by either land or water, that absorb more of sunlight and solar radiation and this increases the temperature much faster (NRC, 2004). Activities of the Kyoto Protocol: The Kyoto protocol has been signed by a number of nations who have pledged to cut down on emission of greenhouse gases. The signatories to the agreement are leading developed nations of the world and some nations such as China that are considered as the worst polluters. The very fact that leaders of the developed nations along with their supporting scientists and researchers have agreed to reduce carbon emission means that greenhouse effect is real and not a figment of imagination (NRC, 2004). Increasing awareness of renewable and sustainable energy sources: The fact that there has been a renewed interest in solar energy and wind power as a means to reduce greenhouse gases emission means that the issue is real. The energy sources are considered as clean energy sources and thus it would be possible to generate power with very low or no emission (NRC, 2004). Anti Argument that Global warming is Exaggerated There have been subdued and sporadic outcries that global warming is actually all smoke and mirrors and the whole issue is over hyped with smoke and mirrors that distort the main issues. No one denies the dangers of global warming or that pollution is actually happening Oil Companies: The very fact that oil companies that are involved in crude oil extraction and petroleum production means that that the guilt association is already established. While it is true that oil companies produce oil that is burnt and release global warming gases, the common belief is that anything produced by oil companies is bad and criticism against them are true, so global warming is true. This is a fallacy and the vast quantity of crude oil that is produced does not essentially mean that global warming is caused by oil companies. By using pollution control mechanisms and devices, emissions can be vastly reduced. If all countries cooperate and take up pollution and emission control, it would be possible to control global warming gases and the current hysteria can be toned down (Boykoff, 2004). Global average temperatures: It has been argued that the average rise in temperatures that has been noticed since the past few decades is a normal phenomenon that is in line with natural lifecycles. The study of ice cores shows that there are increase in the amount of carbon precipitates every 1000 years with certain peaks and falls in the amount of carbon deposited, If the same pattern is continuing, then it means that the current deposits of carbon is following the same pattern (Giles, 2005). Inaccurate and Confusing Reports: A recent report of ice core studies done from Greenland shows that the temperatures in the region have been the coldest since 1910. This disproves the theory that global warming is causing temperatures to rise and on the contrary, it shows that the past two decades have seen the lowest temperatures in Greenland. It is also reported that while there has been a marginal thinning of the ice on the shore regions, the depth of ice cover in the inland regions is increasing (Giles, 2005). Politics and Economics: Unfortunately, the issues of global warming has become one of politics and economic rather than scientific. Politicians either renounce or support the issues, depending on what their financial backers and lobbyists want from them at a particular moment. Again, assuming that global warming is true, then it would be observed that fighting global warming would mean that a number of industries would be either closed down or new ones would come up instead. Thus motives to support or detract global warming are complex an based on economic motives (Giles, 2005). Discussion and Conclusions The paper has examined the pro and anti issues related to global warming and these discussions are used to answer the thesis statement of Is Global Warming Skepticism Just Smoke and Mirrors?’ Both sides of the argument have been examined and the conclusion is that while global warming is real, some of the issues mentioned are exaggerated. However, global warming is accompanied by other problems such as pollution, depletion of crude oil, thinning of forest cover and so on. All parties should take the global warming issue as a key driver and urgently initiate processes to reduce the consumption of fossil fuels, increasingly use solar and wind energy for power generation and reduce pollution of the land, air and water. Coal is one of the most widely used products that cause air pollution and it releases gases that cause air pollution. Coal fired power plants are very economical and it would not be possible to replace them without incurring very huge expenditures and hence it should be understood that global warming and release of pollution and emission gases cannot be wished away without starving the world (NRC, 2004). A balance has to be struck with the urgent necessary to ensure that commerce does not become the victim of reducing emission. Methods of carbon trading ensures an incentive system for organizations to reduce emission or to ensure that such offenders pay for their emissions. However, such measures of placing penalties do not hinder firms as the amount of money they earn is vastly more than the fines that are imposed. Therefore, renewable energy systems, pollution control systems, reduced consumption of power and other such measures are required to reduce global warming (Boykoff, 2004). References Boykoff, M (2004). Balance as bias: global warming and the US prestige press. Global Environmental Change, Part A 14, pp. 125-128. Giles, Jim (2005). Climate skeptics place bets on world cooling down. Nature 436(7053), pp. 897-899 NRC, (2004). Understanding Climate Change Feedbacks. Panel on Climate Change Feedbacks, National Research Council. National Academies Press. Retrieved 29 June 2009 from http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=10850 Spencer. Weart, (2008). The Carbon Dioxide Greenhouse Effect: The Discovery of Global Warming. American Institute of Physics. Retrieved 29 June 2009 from http://www.aip.org/history/climate/co2.htm Read More