Arguments Over Global Warming

There are two arguments over the issue of global warming. One says there may be only mild, if any, increases in global and U.S. temperatures, while another says that scientists who do not recognize the significance and dangers of global warming are funded by the industry. This research examines these two arguments. First, the case for worrying about global warming is offered. Second, the case against getting over-alarmed is defended.

The global climate -considered the average weather, usually over a 30-year time period -can be influenced by both natural forces and human activities. "Climate change" refers to any change in climate over time whether due to natural variability or as a result of human activity. Natural changes in climate result from processes internal to the climate system, such as the complex transfer of heat, moisture and momentum between the atmosphere and ocean. Natural changes can also stem from external "forcings" of climate, such as changes in the Sun's energy output or in the amount of volcanically-ejected gases and particles in the atmosphere. Climate change historically has occurred as a result of these natural forces, but is now occurring in part because of human activities.

The greenhouse effect -which allows incoming solar radiation to pass through the Earth's atmosphere but prevents much of the outgoing infra-red radiation from escaping into outer space -is a natural process. The natural greenhouse effect has kept the Ea

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s not even for the United States and Western Europe if the Gulf Stream falters and our year-round temperatures fall to those of Labrador. Based on the perspective obtained from their computer models of global climate, the IPCC scientists made a "confident" judgment which has become a notorious issue for policy-makers: to restrain greenhouse gas concentrations in the atmosphere just to 1990 levels would require immediate 60-80% cuts in their emission rates. This simple statement was and remains a bombshell. Although we know what has to be done, we continue to do the opposite and emissions continue to rise. Fossil fuel-burning accounts for 80% of human CO2 emissions; the exponentially expanding formal global economy is 95% dependent on fossil fuel use; and there is a nearly 100% year-on-year correlation between fossil fuel use on the one hand and income or Gross World Product on the other. The two oil shocks during the 1970s, for example, showed a loss of GWP which almost perfectly mirrored the contracted use of fossil fuel. The predicted trend is that fossil fuel use rises at 2% per annum globally, and Gross World Product at around 3%. It is critical for the health and well-being of humanity across the globe to address the i

Category: Science - A