Argumentative Essay On Global Warming

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Argumentative Essay on Global warming

The topic of global warming is frowned upon by many people, while others are ready to

participate in a heated debate on the topic. There are people who feel a lot of concern for this topic,

while others simply are carefree. There are various points of view on this topic which lead to

different stands on the issue, each of which has its followers. The book Future of Life by Wilson

presents an environmental and a scientific point of view where the author shows how severe global

warming is, some of the points of view that are in opposition to his own point of view, and the

results of continuously mistreating the environment through pollution and the emission of

greenhouse gases. Although many people may claim that they are ignorant concerning this topic,

there is a lot of data that shows annual increases in global temperature that is broadcast in the

media, seminars and schools the world over. Whereas the developing countries may not really

understand very well what global warming is and what its causes are, the industrialized nations of

the world, which happen to be the main contributors to the problem of global warming, understand

it very well. The problem here is whether the people who have the power to do something to save

the environment will do that, or they will just watch global warming ruin the world.

Many people love this planet, and a considerable number of ecologists and environmental

scientists publish works, give speeches, write essays, and post blogs to raise public awareness of

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the fact that our planet faces the threat of global warming. Their aim is to persuade and educate

the largest number of people possible to try and save the planet from the threat of global warming.

Looking at the issue scientifically, it is very important and needs to be examined closely in the

way it has changed over time. Wilson maintains that human beings are responsible for global

warming, “we have driven atmospheric carbon dioxide to the highest levels in at least two hundred

thousand years, unbalanced the nitrogen cycle, and contributed to a global warming that will

ultimately be bad news everywhere” (Wilson, 23). Despite using the biological and chemical

concepts, he makes sure his argument is simple and makes use of guilt to persuade his audience to

act. Many scientists make the assumption that the public knows the science of the atmosphere and

a great number of people tend to disagree for they have no understanding of the effect of extreme

concentrations of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere in shifting the weather patterns of the globe.

For the few who have knowledge of the situation, they are not willing to change anything because

they have a different focus.

The major point of view that is in opposition to the ways of thinking of ecologists and

environmental scientists is the economists’ point of view. Economists focus majorly on the issues

of producing and consuming goods. The economist is likely to think that global warming does not

really hurt the environment much and that they can be looked at once financial stability is achieved.

The economist may be right because all the species of living organisms live because of producing

and consuming, and so we can’t argue him out of his point. The thoughts of the economists are

based on precise rational choice models and timelines, and are guided by trade balance, domestic

product, and competition. According to economists, the earth is very fruitful and it remains

underused (Wilson, 24). Although the economist thinks in the way his education has taught him,

he is effectively managing the immediate goals he has set. However, he fails to think critically to

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understand the issue at hand in depth. We cannot afford to wait for global warming to become the

most immediate threat to confront it. It is also not logical to assume that we will be able to treat or

stop the damage caused by global warming abruptly, as this fails greatly to consider the great risk

that we face. The atmospheric condition could be irreparable by the time economists join in to

control it, for there are climate shifts that are already being witnessed in the world due to global

warming. Climatologists today continue to be baffled by weather patterns that are unusual.

Innocent lives are being claimed by natural disasters almost daily, and it seems the universe is. No

one in the word can ignore the signs of climate change due to global warming (Venkatarmanan,

224). Economists should consider doing research to review global warming information before it

gets late.

Global warming is defined as the rise in the average temperature of the earth’s surface

(Merriam Webster Dictionary). Some of the people in the world argue that it is normal for the

world climate to fluctuate, and that this is the phase in the earth’s climate cycle that is supposed to

be hotter. However, the trend of a gradually increasing global temperature does not seem it will

cease any time. According to Hardy on page 206 of his book, “over the last 100 years, the average

air temperature near the earth's surface has risen by a little less than one degree Celsius or one

point three degrees Fahrenheit.” This small observation can be mocked by many, but

environmental scientists and climatologists have shown that a slight temperature change can have

a multitude of effects on the earth’s surface. Caldeira notes that “as predicted there has been more

warming over land than over the oceans, more at the poles than the equator, more in winter than

in summer and more at night than at day. Extreme downpours have become more common. In the

arctic, ice and snow cover less area, and methane-rich permafrost soils are beginning to melt.

Weather is getting weirder, with storms fueled by the additional heat.” Although it is very evident

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that global warming is taking place, most of the people in the world do not think that the actions

of human beings have anything to do with it.

Those who think that human beings have made no contribution to global warming argue

that the gases, like carbon dioxide, that cause global warming do not come from human activities

(Wang, James, and Bill Chameides, 2). They hold that natural processes like volcanic activity

release vast amounts of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere. However, this is not true because the

carbon dioxide that is emitted by natural processes is consumed by other natural processes in rates

almost equal to the rate at which it is emitted. These processes had caused a very stable balance in

the concentration of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere for thousands of years before the onset of

the industrial revolution. This shows clearly that there is an additional amount of carbon dioxide

that comes from the industries and other human activities that are related to industrialization

(Wang, James, and Bill Chameides, 2). The composition of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere today

is a unique sign to show scientists that the largest share of the additional atmospheric carbon

dioxide has its origin in the burning of fossil fuels in the industries and automobiles.

Some people also argue that there is no one that really knows the causes of climate

variations. The climate of the globe has changed all through the history of the earth, either for

reasons that are not known or because there is internal variability inherent in the climate system

itself (Wang, James, and Bill Chameides, 2). They therefore conclude that we have not enough

information about the climate system to be able to state the exact causes of global warming.

However, although it is true that there have been unexplained climate changes over the history of

the earth, scientists can explain qualitatively the major variations that have taken place over

geologic time (Wang, James, and Bill Chameides, 2). These changes have been attributed to

specific known processes and not to unknown oscillations in the climate system. Most of the major

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changes in climate have been attributed to changes in the orbit of the earth around the sun (Kreyling

et al., 594). Others have been associated with particular events that have caused huge changes in

the concentration of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere. In the recent times, scientists have

quantitatively associated the major fluctuations of temperature over the surface of the earth to

volcanic eruptions, variations in solar activity, and greenhouse gases produced by human activities,

which participate in pollution.

Another argument is that global warming does not really occur, and that this is shown by

the medieval warm period. Those who do not see the contribution of human beings in global

warming hold that the present warming in the surface of the earth is similar to the MWP, the

medieval warming period. Therefore, since the MWP was natural, they conclude that the present

warming is as a result of natural processes (Wang, James, and Bill Chameides, 2). However, the

MWP was concentrated in Europe and did not affect the whole world. Furthermore, the maximum

average of temperature globally during the MWP did not match the present average, besides that

this warming was regional rather than global. Michael Mann et al (1998, pg. 779) concludes,

“The…'Medieval Warm Period' appear(s) to have limited utility in describing trends in

hemispheric or global mean temperature changes in past centuries." The most striking event is the

melting of glaciers in high altitudes. For example, the glaciers of Andes have been intact for over

five millennia but they are now melting rapidly (Rabatel, Antoine, et., 11). Such glaciers would

not have survived had the medieval warm period been global. In general, although it is logical to

argue that just like past changes in climate the current global warming could be due to natural

processes, this should not be used to invalidate the considerable scientific evidence that directly

shows that greenhouse gases produced from human activities have been the major causes of

warming in the world recently.

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In addition, some argue that there are recent predictions of a new ice age and that these

show that what is taking place now cannot be aid to be global warming. Those who say this argue

that the scientists who are saying that the world is now warming are not sure what they are talking

about because in the 1970s, the same scientists said that there was an imminent ice age in the

world. There have been ice ages in the past that have lasted almost 10,000 years that were

punctuated by warm periods lasting between 10,000 to 30,000 years, called interglacials. The shift

from a glacial to an interglacial is known to be caused by variations in the orbit of the earth around

the sun and amplified by such things as greenhouse gases (Kreyling et al., 594). The present

interglacial was entered by the earth about 10,000 years ago, and without carbon dioxide that is

produced from human activities, it is likely for the earth to go back into a glacial period. However,

this will only occur after thousands and thousands of years. Even as far back as the 19

century,

scientists knew that greenhouse gases had the effect of warming the planet, and that an increment

in the amount of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere leads to global warming for decades or

centuries, which are shorter than the fluctuations that are related to interglacials and ice ages

(Wang, James, and Bill Chameides, 2). At about the same time, there began to occur increments

in global temperatures and this made scientists increasingly concerned that the activities of human

beings had an effect on the climate of the globe. An unusual halting of the global temperatures

started in the 1950s and there was a somewhat decline in temperature (Wang, James, and Bill

Chameides, 2). This is what made the scientists to become concerned about a possible global

cooling and the possibility of an approaching ice age, which was published in the press. However,

the problem with the skeptics is that they fail to admit that in scientific literature, global warming

was still a concern, as opposed to the literature of the popular press. At that time, many scientists

admitted that whatever the cause of the cooling was, natural or otherwise, it would be easily

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overshadowed by the warming that would be caused by the increased concentrations of carbon

dioxide in the atmosphere. According to Peng et al. (1211) the National Academy of Sciences, in

1979, warned that there was a doubling I the atmospheric concentration of carbon dioxide ad that

this would lead to an increase in the temperature of the globe by between 1.5 and 4.5 degrees

centigrade (Carbon Dioxide and Climate: A Scientific Assessment, NAS Press, 1979). True to

their concerns, an upward temperature trend was realized soon after. Of late, there has been more

scientific research on global climate change. It is now known that the pause in global warming in

the middle of the 20

century was due to pollution coming from the burning of coal, which was

responsible for the production of aerosols which had the effect of blocking the energy coming from

the sun (Wang, James, and Bill Chameides, 2). Although the aerosols were controlled, the emission

of greenhouse gases continued increasing. This led to the overwhelming of the cooling effect

resulting from the aerosols and a continuation of the warming that was caused by the greenhouse

gases.

Conclusion

There are various evidences that show that human beings have a large contribution in

global warming. The MWP is not analogous with the global warming that is taking place today,

for which there is strong evidence of causation by human beings. Furthermore, there is strong

evidence that the MWP was only regional rather than global. In addition, the knowledge that

scientists possess of the climate systems is enough to give qualitative models for climate variations.

Although it is possible for the climate of the globe to go back to an ice age after some thousands

of years, this does not preclude the devastating effects that come from global warming. Lastly, all

the natural known explanations for global warming have been ruled out by the direct observations

that have been made. The greenhouse effect that has been intensified by human beings provides

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the sole quantitative reason for the occurring global warming. It is, therefore, important for all the

people to pull efforts together to try and solve the problem of global warming because it is within

their power to do so before it gets out of hand. We can do this by reducing the emission of

greenhouse gases like carbon dioxide. This would be achieved by replacing fossil fuels with other

fuels that do not lead to the production of large quantities of carbon dioxide.

Works Cited

"Definition Of GLOBAL WARMING". Merriam-Webster.Com, 2018, https://www.merriam-

webster.com/dictionary/global%20warming. Accessed 26 Apr 2018.

and Distributions. 16. 4. (2010): 593-605. EBSCOhost.com. Web. 26 April, 2018.

Caldeira, Ken. “The Great Climate Experiment.” Scientific American. NV. NI. (2012): 78-83.

Charney, Jule G., et al. Carbon dioxide and climate: a scientific assessment. National Academy

of Sciences, Washington, DC, 1979.

EBSCOhost.com. Web. 26 April, 2018.

Hardy, John T. Climate change: causes, effects, and solutions. John Wiley & Sons, 2003.

Kreyling, juergen, Desalegn Wana, and Carl Beiekuhnlein. “Potential Consequences of Climate

Mann, Michael E., Raymond S. Bradley, and Malcolm K. Hughes. "Global-scale temperature

patterns and climate forcing over the past six centuries." Nature 392.6678 (1998): 779.

Rabatel, Antoine, et al. "Current state of glaciers in the tropical Andes: a multi-century

perspective on glacier evolution and climate change." The Cryosphere 7.1 (2013):

81.

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Technology. 4. 3. (2011): 226-229. EBSCOhost.com. Web. 26 April, 2018.

Venkatarmanan, M. “Causes and Effects of Global Warming.” Indian Journal of Science and

Wang, James, and Bill Chameides. "Are Humans Responsible for Global Warming?." A review of

the facts. Environmental Defense, New York (http://www. edf. org/home. cfm) (2007).

Warming for Tropical Plant Species in High Mountains of Southern Ethiopia.” Diversity

Wilson, Edward O. The future of life. Vintage, 2002.

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