Global/Societal Issues - Essay Example

Mass extinctions, an increase in disease transmission and economic turmoil are predicted as a result of these changes caused by warmer temperatures. Not everyone is convinced, however, that global warming is a scientific fact. Some point to the fact that the earth has always gone through periods warming and cooling. From about the year 1000- to the year 1400, earth actually went through a very warm period. Places that had once been inhabited by glaciers were suddenly hospitable. Average temperatures then were even warmer than they are now (Hieb 2008).

Immediately following this warmer than normal period, earth slipped into a 400 year colder than normal period some refer to as the Little Ice Age. Glaciers rebounded, crops failed and humans and animal habitations were altered. Some scientists feel that this period of rapid warming we are currently experiencing is nothing more than a period of correction coming out of the Little Ice Age. Other scientists take issue with the very use of terms such as "global warming", "climate change" and "greenhouse gasses".

They feel that these terms are misleading given the complex nature of these earth systems. They point out the fact that climate is altered primarily by irregularities in the earths orbit around the sun (Junk Science 2007). These scientists feel that the interaction of gasses in the atmosphere is more complex than presented in the mass media. The prevailing opinion in this debate at this time seems to be that global warming is a reality. The questions that remain concern rates of heating and how much anthropogenic sources are causing the heating.

Many scientists are conducting experiments to determine how the increasing temperatures will affect ecosystems. They hope that their results will help us, as a society and a species, adapt as well (Handwerk 2005). I feel that the evidence shows that we are heating up without a doubt. I believe that there are