A Major Catalyst in Global Warming - Literature review Example

Global Warming: Science facts Versus Skeptics Global warming or climate change has left scientists convincing man that he is the causal factor leading to this demise. There are skeptics however, who insist that science has nothing to do with this variation as this essay will compare in it conclusion with the beliefs from the book, The Ages of Miracle by Thompson Walker. Combining both the long and short term expectations to result from global warming, these events include, melting of glaciers, rising ocean levels, extinctions of flora and fauna, rising and lowering temperature, diseases such as malaria will shift to new regions where residents have no immune, these among other thousands of short and long term impacts resulting from the climate changes. For the past 150 years, the activities of man has lead to atmospheric rises of carbon dioxide which is a major catalyst in global warming from approximately 280 to 390 parts per million. Among other, “greenhouse gases,” naturally occurring such as ozone, water vapor, methane and carbon dioxide conjure the earth to an otherwise warmer than it should be to a level of about an approximated 59◦ F, as described by scientists. If these elements were eliminated from the earth, it would otherwise be a ball made of ice (Inman, 130). Burning vast fossil fuels, industrial productions, urbanization and deforestation have played major roles to not only raise the green house gases levels but also introduced others. The main impact to this addition is directed to a 1.5◦ F temperature rise which is in constant and accelerating rise every day. IPPC, Intergovernmental Panel in Climate Change, are using the findings of most scientists around the globe are anticipating of a further rise ranging between 2 to 11.5◦ F in the future estimated in 90 years. Unless this rate is reversed for the better, sea levels will see a rise of between 7 inches to 2 feet. A collection of ranges indicate that the differences in these models and probable policy selections from ill governance choices (Inman, 130). For the better part of these researches, these models seem to be underestimating the impact or rather the resultant effects. Take the Greenland ice cap for instance; it is melting at an alarming rate of three times the suggested rate. You realize that it holds sufficient water that could raise the seal level waters to about 21 feet above the current level. The Arctic ice has dwindled dramatically showing possibility that several weeks within the summer, ships could take polar routes along the coasts of northern Russia from Europe to Asia. Skeptics have kept scientists on their toes after every discovery suggested. They allude that there is no such thing as green house heat-trapping effect. These are the humans who are ignorant of the science facts making it seem fictitious as compared to elementary science. It has been clear contrary to this controversy since the nineteenth century that water vapor, methane, and carbon dioxide through trapping some of the radiated heat from the earths surface will always warm the earth similar to a blanket that would warm the residents on a cold day. These doubters imply that that the earth’s temperature fluctuations have been here for the past hundred million of years. The causal factors are accounted herein as to come from asteroid impacts, proliferation of plants catalyzed by their urge for carbon dioxide, geological process or volcanic eruptions, which reduce and sometime raise the levels of carbon dioxide. Variance in the orbits or orientation of the earth and sun’s radiation fluctuations are have the skeptics attributing some of these roles to what the scientists call global warming which otherwise, is okay with them. Worse has met man before and is there a reason to be concerned? That is what the skeptics believe in (Petrucha, 56). They even take the comedian perspective by asking what difference it would presently make when an insignificant population of hunters and gatherers are moved into new locations if they are not contended with their climate variance. Currently, humanity has spread infrastructure and civilization over the entire planet, say around seven billion. However, these dislocations resulting from climatic change could be painful and costly for the involved persons. Contrary to scientists, they believe that changes, if any, taking millions if not thousands of years to occur do not matter in this century. In addition, the included factors from ancient eons do not explain sufficiently the unusual warming in the previous century. However, it has well been indicated by scientists and other professionals of the involved factors introduced or removed from the present rise in the averaged global temperatures. In Heffernan’s "Crunch time for climate change," variation is well spelt out. The baseline is that several natural gases have offset each other and at the same time, the activities of humans can easily explain this net increase. What now becomes of the take that temperatures have declined in the recent decades? Relatively cool temperatures were evident in 2008, relatively, whereas the last decade was record hottest together with 2009. 1997 to 2009 were the record warmest years for a period of 13 years worldwide which have not moved the belief of the skeptics as the United State’s pattern is less strong (Petrucha, 44). Although the averaged annual temperatures have obtained an upward yet sharp trend, the inter years numbers fluctuates implying expectations of shorter downward trends with the overall upward trend. The last decade’s pause could be termed as scant evidence contrary to the upward trend. S&P 500 chart on stock index also has substantial inter year variations that hold similar behavior with the ever highest recorded average price met in the last decade. 149 was the all time peak in 2000’s January third and this went down toward the end of the same decade in 2008 which was unusually a cold year in the market compared to 2009’ hot market year. The controversy takes these skeptics to be doubted as they proceed to invest heavily toward the equities from their contrary belief that temperature from the last decade rebuts climatic change. A downward trend in a decade within the market does not alter their belief that the long term trend is positive (Patterson, 101). These same fathers of fiction are baffled from the fact that the world is after all warmer with just a few effects in the United States so far as compare to the cooled Greenland and Antarctic. This scientifically happens because water and wing redistribute the heat from the earth in uneven and more complex ways. Currently there are breaks in the Antarctic shelves while the glaciers, rivers of the ice, are gaining more speed into the sea carrying more rabbles of dirt. New Zealand has seen more numerous icebergs. The current rise in sea levels is attributed to the expansions of the waters while warming from the higher temperatures. 120 feet, is the much of the water the Antarctic holds to raise the sea levels to that height (Patterson, 101). Scientist have clarified that man is faced with the effects global glacier shrinks, flora and fauna movements towards the poles, and sea level rise which will turn to be devastating in the near future. Skeptics who term this warning as fiction could be related to the man found by his wife in flagrante delicto in denial saying, , “Who are you going to believe, me or your lying eyes?” What could be the cause of this confusion in the public, it has been real before as much as it is in the present just as they denied that cancer can result from smoking (LaHaye, 32). Rowland and Molina of UCI have elaborated how in 1974, CFCs (chlorofluorocarbons) played a role in depleting the earth’s only protective ozone layer. The benefactor companies of CFC related products were in denial terming the findings as unreal despite the profound yet overwhelming proof. Similar to climatic variations, the details are relatively complex. It requires the scientific touch to fine-tune the counter-claims or claims and the threatened economic interests (LaHaye, 32). Relating to the Age of Miracles, there is eminent flourishing in apocalyptic cults that widens the rift between the real timers who had decided to stubbornly live along the rhythms of sun rise and sets while the majority of the citizens heed to the presidential orders to adopt the semi-denial to stick to the 24 hours time clock. This eventually can be prophesied to leave the skeptics out sync with the sun. Light would eventually be unhooked from day while darkness would be liberated from the night, just to highlight the acceptable climatic change catastrophes conjured by Thompson Walker. Regardless of the slowing in the Age of Miracles towards its end, the author managed to keep the calamities occurring. Walker mentions in his work, "No force on Earth could slow the forward march of sixth grade. And so, in spite of everything, that year was also the year of the dance party (Walker, 166)." From this, we learn that these changes are inevitable and have to be taken seriously. Work Cited Heffernan, Olive. "Crunch time for climate change." Nature Reports Climate Change: 134-134. Print. Inman, Mason. "The climate change game." Nature Reports Climate Change: 130-133. Print. LaHaye, Tim F., and Edward E. Hindson. Global warning. Eugene, Or.: Harvest House Publishers, 2007. Print. Patterson, James. The final warning: a Maximum Ride novel. New York: Little, Brown, 2008. Print. Petrucha, Stefan, and Sho Murase. Global warning. New York: Papercutz :, 2006. Print. Walker, Karen Thompson. The age of miracles: a novel. New York: Random House, 2013. Print. Read More