Global Warming: Reality or Hoax?

 Global Warming: Reality or Hoax?

September 8, 2011

 

Written by Aminah Cruise

             There is an ongoing debate about whether or not global warming is actually happening, and whether or not it is as severe and life-threatening as many people make it seem.  On one hand, there are those who believe that there are environmental extremists or alarmists who just seek to scare everyone into a “living green” agenda.   Then, on the other hand, there are those who cannot, and will not ignore scientific facts and data that blatantly show that our planet is in big trouble, due to our ways of life.  Although there is vast valid information available to help us see the important changes in our climate and the way that it is affecting Earth, there are still those who do not believe it.  The global warming debate continues, as scientists, environmentalists, and people who believe in this cause work to bring all the citizens of Mother Earth together to solve this serious problem that is continually damaging our planet and jeopardizing life as we know it.

            Dramatic changes in the climate and warming of ocean temperatures are two of the most important effects of global warming.  These two alarming effects are caused by increases in greenhouse gases that warm the earth’s atmosphere.  They also cause a domino effect which offers up much more damaging consequences for us to consider.  But first, let us focus on the greenhouse gases that contribute to Earth’s warming and the proof that we are causing an increase in global temperatures.  The Earth’s atmosphere is a natural greenhouse and has natural gases that keep heat from escaping.  According to the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), an increase in these gases, through human practices, changes the natural greenhouse in the atmosphere.  Burning fossil fuels and deforestation increases the amount of carbon dioxide released into the atmosphere.  Methane is released from “the decomposition of wastes in landfills, agriculture, and especially rice cultivation” ( A blanket around, n.d.).  Nitrous oxide is “a powerful greenhouse gas produced by soil cultivation practices” (A blanket around, n.d.).  These changes in the amount of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere will result in warmer temperatures on Earth, which will result in more severe drought periods for certain areas, melting glaciers, more wildfires, more frequent tropical storms, and warmer ocean temperatures promoting further climate change.  The melting of ice cover will raise sea level.  “The complete melting of Greenland ice sheet would be caused by an additional 2 degrees centigrade and would cause global sea level to rise by 5 to 6 meters” (Demirdjua, 2011).  The Antarctic ice sheets are also decreasing in mass.  In three short years (between 2002 and 2005), “the Antarctic ice sheet lost 152 cubic meters of ice” (Climate change, n.d.).  If sea levels continue to rise, many low-lying regions and islands will be in jeopardy of submersion, including coastal regions of the United States and many major cities around the world.  Many effects of anthropogenic climate change can already be seen around the globe, such as: retreating glaciers, a decline in Arctic sea ice, rise in global temperatures, shrinking ice sheets, and ocean acidification.  Many people still don’t realize the severe consequences that we will face in the event of extreme and continued climate change.  Extreme storms including tornadoes, typhoons, hurricanes, and tropical cyclones will be more prevalent.  Rainforests, ocean creatures, arctic wildlife and animals in general are affected by global warming.  The evidence of global warming is all around us. How can we deny it with all of this evidence?  The bottom line is that all living things on Earth are, or will be, negatively affected by the many tragic effects of global warming. 

The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (ICCP) includes over one thousand scientists from the United States and several other countries.  These scientists predict that the earth’s temperature will increase between 2.5 and 10 degrees Fahrenheit over the next century.  The ICCP also forecasts the impacts of climate change on many regions of the globe.  

            In North America, there will be an increase in the intensity and duration of heat waves in cities that already experience them, and decreased snow in the western mountains.  In Latin America, the savannah will gradually replace the tropical forest in eastern Amazonia.  With this, comes the risk of significant loss of species biodiversity through extinction in tropical areas.  In Europe there will be an increase in inland flash flooding, coastal flooding, and erosion.  The mountainous areas of Europe will experience retreating glaciers, and a decrease in snow cover and winter tourism.  In Africa, by 2020, between 75 and 250 billion people are projected to be suffering from water stress.  The shortage of water will also reduce rain fed agriculture by 50 percent.  Finally, in Asia, the availability of freshwater is projected to decrease in certain areas by 2050.  Coastal areas will experience increased flooding, and diseases associated with drought and flooding will increase the death rate (The current and future, n.d.). 

            There are still those that believe that global warming is just a big “hoax.”  Their view is like that of Ronald McClellan who states “global warming was a big scam based on fabricated and manipulated data to create an atmosphere where many people could benefit financially and gain academic and social elevation through the advancement of their religion” (McClellan, 2011).  It is also believed that Earth has been having these climate “anomalies” and going through cycles such as the Ice Age, for many years before we came to be on the planet.  Those that believe that global warming is a scam believe it just as strongly as those who believe that our planet needs to be saved.  The people that think that we are being lied to, believe that scientists just want government money to fund their research and they do so by causing alarm and creating a “movement.”  I have read numerous articles by those who do not believe in “climate change” and they are all based on the same notion that we are being falsely alarmed for the financial purposes of those “creating” the global warming problem.  I have yet to see hard evidence or information refuting the data that supports global warming, that is available to us from NASA scientists and thousands of other scientists around the world.  Although some may see the “Climategate” scandal as evidence enough.  The “Climategate” scandal of 2009 supports those who view global warming as a hoax.  After the computer server at the Climate Research Unit (CRU) at the University of East Anglia in the United Kingdom, was hacked, emails and files were copied and stolen.  Skeptics of global warming alleged that scientists were manipulating and exaggerating scientific data to fit their global warming “agenda.”  After this incident, the American public began to be less inclined to accept global warming as the truth and more people became inclined to see that scientists are capable of suppressing scientific data if they want to.  

            Although, many people’s beliefs in global warming have been shaken, there is still no hard evidence against it.  Of course, the Climategate situation appeals to the skeptics.  They are biased and so entrenched in their belief of a hoax that they are ready and willing to accept any kind of information that supports that belief, especially when that information is limited.  There are also those who believe that solar irradiance might be causing the Earth to warm.  Solar irradiance is the amount of energy given off by the sun.  In the past, the sun’s variability has played a role in climate change.  Scientists believe that if the sun were the cause, then there would be a temperature change in every layer of the atmosphere.  They have observed the outer atmosphere cooling and the surface and inner parts of the atmosphere are warming, presumably because of the increase in greenhouse gases. 

So what and who are we to believe?  How do we refute scientific data?  We aren’t scientists or meteorologists who can come to a decision about global warming information on our own.  We have to trust NASA scientists and the scientists who are members of the ICCP.  There has been no solid proof presented that would condemn all of these scientists and prove that they are lying.  They would all have to be lying, and that is one big conspiracy.  If we are all logical human beings, then we need some proof that we are being deceived by thousands and thousands of scientists and anthropogenic climate change supporters, or “environmental alarmists.”  Is global warming really that much harder to believe (with scientific proof as well), than believing that thousands of scientists around the world are involved in a huge conspiracy to scam everyone for money and personal gain?  There are diagrams, reports, and satellite data that show that the Earth is warming and that there are more greenhouse gases in the atmosphere than there once were, or have ever been.  NASA has information from satellites showing the decreasing ice caps and rising sea levels.  The science behind the actual process of global warming isn’t rocket science.  It is easy to understand and very believable.  With such an arsenal of data and scientific proof it is hard to doubt global warming.  There is no doubt that the ocean is warming and that this is affecting many sea creatures and commercial fisheries.  There is evidence of the warmer ocean temperatures affecting the amount of sea ice and thus affecting the lives and survival of certain types of penguins, sea lions, polar bears, and other arctic wildlife.  How do we otherwise explain the melting of humongous ice caps and glaciers?  Being a resident of Texas, I experience extreme heat waves and droughts that worsen with every passing summer.  We must put our trust in the hands of scientists, just as we put our trust in politicians.  We just have to look around us to see the truth. 

            In conclusion, there is still much debate on the issue of global warming.  There are those who refuse to recognize cold, hard facts from respected NASA scientists and there are those of us who refuse to believe that we are being lied to because scientists want more money to fund research.  Until we humans can take responsibility for our actions, instead of burying our heads in the sand, there will be an ongoing debate.  Even if we have doubt, why would we not want to help the planet in any way that we can for all that it does for us?  In our efforts to stop global warming, we are only helping our planet.  So although we may be carpooling, recycling, planting trees, spending more money to buy “green” appliances and vehicles, and attempting to conserve energy in any way that we can, these things are helping our environment whether global warming is happening or not.  There is no hurt in doing these things, so why the big fuss?  Our human activities are causing much harm to our planet on a daily basis.  That much cannot be denied by anyone.  Huge oil spills, landfills, many types of pollutions, littering, coal mining, and deforestation are just a few things that we do regularly that damage our planet.  Despite global warming, these things do damage our planet.  And although there are environmentalists, that some opponents of global warming call extremists, you can’t argue with the fact that we humans do many harmful things to our planet, so we need to do what we can to change that.  Global warming caused by our human activities is continuing to damage this earth that we call home, and we need to do what we can to stop it.

           

             

Global Warming: Reality or Hoax?

References

A blanket around the earth. Retrieved from http://climate.nasa.gov/causes/ Date retrieved: 9 September 2011.

Climate change: how do we know? Retrieved from http://climate.nasa.gov/evidence/ Date retrieved: 31 September 2011.

Demirdjian, Z.. (2011). The Effects of Global Warming On Plants, Animals, and the Ecosystem. Journal of American Academy of Business, Cambridge, 17(1), I, II. Retrieved September 9, 2011, from ABI/INFORM Global. (Document ID: 2368393441).

Don’t buy hype about global warming. (2011, September 11). South Florida Sun Sentinel, p. F5.. Retrieved from http://proquest.umi.com/pqdweb?did=2447933371&sid=1&Fmt=3&clientId=74379&RQT=309&VName=PQD

McClellan, R.E.. (2011, May 21). It’s arrogant to believe that man controls the climate. The News Herald. Retrieved September 10, 2011, from ProQuest Newsstand. (Document ID: 2427674231).

The current and future consequences of global change. Retrieved from http://climate.nasa.gov/effects/ Date retrieved: 9 September 2011.