An Inconvenient Truth summary - Essay Example

An Inconvenient Truth Summary An Inconvenient Truth Summary The hot debate about global warming revolves around the term, which is called greenhouse gasses. According to the Environment Protection Agency (EPA) of the U.S.A. “Gases that trap heat in the atmosphere are called greenhouse gases (United States EPA).” The greenhouse gasses composition per EPA for the year of 2011 consisted of nine percent Methane, five percent Nitrous Oxide, two percent Fluorinated gas, and eighty four percent Carbon Dioxide (CO2).

Thus, the major component of the greenhouse gasses is CO2; its concentration has rooted the debate over global warming. The movie “An Inconvenient Truth” tells the story of increase in the CO2 component of greenhouse gasses during the current and last centuries (Dixit, 2011). The movie presents graphical images demonstrating the relationship of CO2 concentration and the increase in atmospheric temperature during the period of last 1,000 years in the area of Mount Glaces, U.S.A. The graph explains that increase in earth temperature is associated with the increase in the concentration of CO2.

Graphical demonstration of relation between CO2 concentration and increase in temperature, in Antarctic area, during the period of last 650,000 years showed: CO2 concentration never went above 300 parts per million, and atmospheric temperature fluctuates in accordance with CO2 fluctuation. The 300 parts per million CO2 concentrations indicate nice weather in the modern U.S. metropolitan cities and a mile of the ice cap over the head. The movie, however, claims that current CO2 concentration in modern cities of the U.S.A.

is way above the value of 300 parts per million, and in the next 50 years it is going to show a dramatic increase if measures are not taken now. The moral of the film is we need to control the CO2 emission if we want to avert the upcoming environmental catastrophes. The above movie points out that the well-known fact that CO2 contributes to the significant part of the greenhouse gases. Since the creation of the earth, CO2 has been the echo system’s contribution to the greenhouse gasses. Natural CO2 sources include respiration of living animals, volcanic eruption, natural fires, exchange of dissolved CO2 with the oceans, and decay of biomass (Annenberg Laerner b).

With the advent of industrial civilization, CO2 became a product of human activities. Human generates CO2 through the combustion of carbon-based fuels. Thus, burning of fossil fuel and deforestation resulted the dramatic increase in CO2 in the greenhouse gasses. These are experimental facts and no one can challenge it. The debating issue is whether human contribution of CO2 can destroy the earth’s ecosystem through global warming. The proponents’ of the debate say that global warming causes melting of ice caps at poles, which will cause a dramatic rise of sea levels, and global warming also creates numerous cyclones all over the world.

However, the opponent claims that global warming issue is a setup science for political purposes (Kazza0423). The opponents claim that the planet has always changed its temperature cycle, and the current trend does not support that climate change is driven by human made CO2. John Coleman, the founder of Weather Channel by claiming himself as a scientist affirmed that global warming did not exist at all. He defined the issue of global warming as a “frenzy and myth.” He contributed earth’s temperature rise to the natural climate change due to sun’s cycle change plus change in oceans currents (The Auto Channel).

On March 12, 2012, in Sacramento California Lord Christopher Walter Monckton, an ex advisor of Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher, in a hearing before the California legislature noted the following; United Nation's Inter Government Panel for Climate Change (IPCC) predicted value of temperature increase by the end of the 21st century is heavily exaggerated (Calfotogal), and this has caused the outcry of global warming. Professor Philip Scott of the department of Biogeography of the University of London stated that this was a politically motivated issue stamped by United Nation’s IPCC (Kazza0423).

Professor Nir Shaviv of Institute of Physics of the University of Jerusalem expresses that this whole issue is media propaganda. Professor Ian Clark of the department of Earth Science of the University of Ottawa is another opponent of the issue and explains ”if we look the climate from the geological time frame we never suspect CO2 is a major climate driver (Kazza0423)”. Professor Tim Ball of the Department of Climatology of the University of Winnipeg states that he believes in global warming, but he does not believe that manmade CO2 is causing that warming (Kazza0423).

The above discussion demonstrates that the opponents agree on the issue that the earth’s temperature is rising. However, they challenge proponents’ conclusion that it is caused by the manmade increase of CO2 through burning of fossil fuel. This is when the global warming issue becomes a political and moral issue. It discloses that the entire debate is over fossil fuel vs. alternative energy. In both cases, billions of dollars are at stake. I agree that manmade CO2 is causing the global warming.

It is a proven fact that earth atmosphere traps heat. Earth’s atmosphere not only traps, but it moves and along with ocean currents it changes the climate. Scientist Dr. Peter Tans, Dr. Tom Conway, and others from National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) through rigorous observations and experiments during a substantial time determined that CO2 was increasing due to fossil burning fuel, and they established relationship between the temperature changes and CO2 concentration (Annenberg Learner a) level.

The earth’s natural carbon cycle, without the manmade input of CO2, is fully balanced. The burring of fossil fuel creates additional CO2 much faster than natural echo system can respond (Annenbeg Learner b) to it. Thus, earth’s carbon cycle is not balanced, which gives birth to a natural phenomenon – the rise of earth’s temperature. References Annenberg Learner a. (n.d.). The Habitat: Planet [Video]. Retrieved from http://www.learner.org/courses/envsci/unit/text.php?unit=2&secNum=1 Annenberg Learner b. (n.d.). Atmosphere.

Retrieved from http://www.learner.org/courses/envsci/unit/text.php?unit=2&secNum=4 Calfotogal. (n.d.). Lord Christopher Monckton Debunks Global Warming [Video]. Retrieved from http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=heamMWFQ_qY Dixit, R. (2011). An Inconvinient Truth (2006) [Video]. Retrieved from http://vimeo.com/16335777 Kazza0423. (n.d.). The Great Global Warming Swindle Full Movie [Video]. Retrieved from http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=52Mx0_8YEtg The Auto Channel. (n.d.). Coleman Interview with Science and Public Policy Institute [Video].

Retrieved from http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3Xg6T2amgtk