GMO’s: A Solution to Global Warming?
Jamie Perez
University of Antelope Valley
Biology 101
Professor Cheryl Robinson
Global warming is a very controversial topic in today’s society all around the world. According to an article in National Geographic, global warming is the overall climate change the world is experiencing, which is characterized by the increase in temperatures all over the world, the melting of ice caps and glaciers, the increase of rainfall and hurricanes, and the migration and/or extinction of certain species of animals (2007). The main cause of global warming, according to some scientists, is the amount of Carbon, CO2, which humans are introducing into our atmosphere, which causes the “obstacle for the Suns radiation in the troposphere, the lower atmosphere (Acticlebase.com, John Nilson, 2006).” Many scientists, doctors, and specialty groups are studying the possible causes and effects of global warming.
There seems to be a line drawn down the middle that separates the two causes, on one side there is the opinion that humans are the cause of global warming, but on the other side there is the opinion that is something natural that the universe experiences without explanation, states Anja Plecas on ArticleBase.com (2011). Because of this line, there is obviously a difference in opinion as to whether or not there is a “cure” for global warming. Some scientists are exploring different methods and technologies to try and correct the problems that global warming is creating. Others are not as worried and claim that the changes are minor and have happened in the past, making them nothing to worry about. Prior to writing this paper, I believed whole heartedly that humans were to blame for global warming and that it was our responsibility to fix the problem. But after doing all the research that I did, I have changed my stance slightly. Andrew Marshall claims in his book, Global Warming: A Conventional Lie, that global warming is a problem with the amount of heat being generated by the sun, not only effecting Earth, but also all other planets in the solar system (2007). Based on the research I’ve done I believe that while humans are partially to blame for global warming, nature is also at work. But I also agree with the Kyoto Protocol that we need to help reduce the amount of Carbon we are releasing into the atmosphere, the rising climate is an obvious casualty of our fossil fuel use, so it is our responsibility to try and counter-act the damage that we are doing to our environment. There are many different alternatives to help but I am only going to address two alternative agriculture methods that could help reduce Carbon, like genetically modified organisms, GMO’s, and radio wave treated water. Like I stated before there are two stances on global warming, either humans are to blame or nature is. Many people believe that humans are to blame since the Industrial Revolution began in the seventeen hundreds, which introduced the burning of multiple fossil fuels. These issues affect every single person on the planet, so this is a matter that should be taken seriously. Oceans and forests used to be able to absorb at least half of the CO2 that was emitted by humans, but since 2001, the output has doubled and now there isn’t enough plant life to counteract the amount we are putting out. The Kyoto Protocol, put in place world-wide in 1997, stated that countries with the top four highest CO2 output, would reduce their emissions back to their 1995 level by 2005, was a major step forward in recognizing mankind’s responsibility for damage done to the ozone. The other stance claims that nature is to blame, and this is evident especially when studying the climate history of the world and also other planets. In these studies, it is shown that major climate changes have been occurring for close to one thousand years, many years prior to the beginning of the Industrial Revolution. These records
