The Global Warming Controversy Essay

Words: 1825
Pages: 8
Open Document
Global warming is one of the biggest social topics of our time. In addition, it is one of the most hotly contested. Nearly everyone believes in the greenhouse effect, which basically means that the sun's warmth is trapped in the Earth's atmosphere by the Earth's natural gasses such as: methane, ozone, carbon dioxide, nitrous oxide, water vapor, and chlorofluorocarbons. Without the greenhouse effect, we would not be able to live on Earth because it would be too cold. The concept of global warming, however, is not as widely accepted. Scientists on all sides of the argument admit that it is only a theory. There are many viewpoints on global warming. The two major arguments are: (1) Global warming is a problem and is caused by humans, and (2) Global warming is not a problem and is not caused by humans.

HISTORY OF GLOBAL WARMINGIn 1896 a Swedish chemist by the name of Svante Arrhenius predicted that if CO2 levels doubled, the average global temperature would rise by 6°C. In the 1950's, Charles Keeling monitored CO2 levels on a mountain in Hawaii. He found that the CO2 levels had risen by 10%. By 1990 CO2 levels had risen by 20%. At this rate, CO2 levels will double by 2050 (Bilger 14).

Harvey 2Scientists were not concerned about global warming before Keeling because they knew that natural gases were absorbed by our oceans, soils, and vegetation.

Oceanographer Roger Reville found that oceans could only absorb some of the CO2 in our atmosphere. So by the 1960's and 1970's global warming became a concern (Bilger 15).

In the early 1970's, the Earth had become unusually cool in temperature. Scientists believed that we were entering into another ice age. They believed that air pollution was blocking the sunlight and cooling the Earth. Nigel Calder said, "The threat of a New Ice Age must now stand alongside nuclear war as a likely source of wholesale death and misery for mankind" (Horner 55). By the 1980's, this theory had been proven false, and many people thought that the scientists were only trying to scare us so that they could get more money for research.

In 1988 scientist James Hansen (who is considered the father of global warming) gave a presentation on his beliefs to the U.S. Senate. James Hansen told them that he believed that the Earth was getting warmer, and that humans could be contributing to it through the greenhouse effect. "So with 99% confidence we can state that the warming during this time period is a real warming trend" (Williams 7). No one, even his fellow scientists took him seriously.

CONTROVERSIESScientists accept the greenhouse effect as fact, but what they don't understand is how humans contribute to it. Some scientists believe that we contribute dangerous amounts of CO2 to the greenhouse gasses, making our planet hotter and hotter to the pointHarvey 3that we won't be able to live on the Earth anymore unless we do something about it. Other Scientists say that global warming is a natural thing that the Earth has done in it's cycles for millions of years, and humans could not contribute enough CO2 to change the natural cycle. Both sides have evidence showing that their beliefs are right.

Global Warming is a Problem and it is Caused by HumansThe National Academy of Sciences did a report on climate change for President George W. Bush in 2001. Before this study many of them were skeptical about global warming. After the study, they came to the conclusion that "Temperatures are rising because of human activities" (Romm 12).

China, the second largest emitter of CO2 in the world, is a rapidly growing industrial society and its CO2 levels are growing at an incredible rate. The U.S. is the largest emitter of CO2 in the world and it appears that we are not trying to stop or slow down at all. The Bush administration continues to fight against mandatory action to cut down on greenhouse gases because they feel that it will adversely affect our economy (Romm 100).

There are many greenhouse gases in the atmosphere.
Show More

Related Documents: The Global Warming Controversy Essay

Global Warming Controversy: The Effects Of Humans And Species On Global Warming

Global warming controversy is an ongoing dispute about the effects of humans and species on global climate; about what policies should be enacted to avoid possible effects of climate change. Global warming is the cause of a set of changes to Earth’s climate; over the past fifty years there has been evidence of glaciers melting, sea levels rising, and cloud forests dying. As the temperatures rise, land is getting wetter or hotter making it difficult for humans and other species to adapt to the changing…

Words 810 - Pages 4

Global Warming Debate Essays

In the controversy over whether Global Warming there is two sides in which people can choose either human caused or just Mother Nature doing her thing. Most scientists will tell you that Global Warming is mostly the cause of humans. While there are some who will disagree and say that it is just nature doing what it has done for thousands of years. For most scientists the topic of global warming is one that is caused by us humans. They have many facts data to back this up. Some examples of these…

Words 1253 - Pages 6

global warming Essay

The global warming controversy is an ongoing dispute about the effects of humans on global climate and about what policies should be implemented to avoid possible undesirable effects of climate change. The current scientific consensus on climate change is that recent warming indicates a fairly stable long-term trend, that the trend is largely human-caused, and that serious damage may result at some future date if steps are not taken to halt the trend. Mainstream scientific organizations worldwide…

Words 488 - Pages 2

Global Warming Essay

Global Warming Global warming is the increase of the earth’s temperature due to the greenhouse effect where gasses such as carbon dioxide released from the burning of fossil fuel. Global warming is threating our very way of life and is causing a lot of controversy between people who believe in global warming, and people who think it’s not true at all. The question though, is how will we deal with this issue? If this issue is not dealt with soon, we will find ourselves in a commotion and crisis.…

Words 546 - Pages 3

Essay Global Warning

there has been much controversy over the issue of global warming and how people treat the earth, especially in the political arena. In all, I believe that there are three main things that politicians should focus on when making legislation pertaining to global warming. The rising ocean temperature, the fact that humans have contributed to global warming and that many places inside and out of the U.S are already making more comprehensive global warming legislation. Global warming has affected many…

Words 604 - Pages 3

Global Warming Essays

Global warming is a real phenomenon. Worldwide events like global warming are being created by the human population, especially when they endeavor for comfort. Many people live day by day in their own little world not thinking about the long term effects of their daily activities. The world’s climate is everyone’s problem and everyone will be affected by it even if they are cognizant by the seriousness of global warming or not. Many people do not realize the continuous increase of greenhouse gases…

Words 629 - Pages 3

UPLOAD GLOBAL WARMING Essay

Wesley Mazurek Global Warming: Fact or Fiction? Global Warming, The Greenhouse Effect, is a very controversial topic in our society, and both sides are backed by political parties/politicians. The idea is based upon our emissions into the atmosphere, creating a hole in the o-zone, allowing more sun in and in turn heating up the earth. The greenhouse effect, in itself has some logic to it, but there is no factual evidence or proof that can relate it to an increased surface temperature on earth. Man-made…

Words 764 - Pages 4

Idnetity Theft Essay

Global warming is an increase in the earth's temperature due to fossil fuels, industry, and agricultural processes caused by human, natural, and other gas emissions (definition). Global warming has become a major issue of concern and it is causing lots of controversy everywhere. The rise of temperature caused by global warming leads to things such as melting of polar ice and glaciers, increase sea level and it causes extreme weather events. It also causes natural disasters like the very deadly earthquake…

Words 1030 - Pages 5

global warming ya Essay

Global Warming Global warming is very real. It is the preeminent danger to human civilization. It affects me, a scientist, it affects you, and it affects everyone. Everyone has heard of this issue and many people to try to change the egocentric attitude that most humans possess. Life before 1880 was much more incautious about these ramifications. Global warming is the increase of the Earth’s average temperature due to greenhouse gases, such as carbon dioxide emissions from burning fossil fuels…

Words 372 - Pages 2

Human Activity and Global Warming Essay

Mata 1 Richard Mata ENG 102 Hernandez 1st draft 11/30/2012 Human Activity and Global Warming Everyday people get up, drive to work and maybe even bum a smoke while they are at it. Humans go through every day not thinking how their lifestyles affect the environment. Some humans maybe do not realize how things as simply leaving a light on (which is run by a power plant), driving a car or smoking can harm and pollute the air. Being aware of how humans are treating the world is very crucial…

Words 1942 - Pages 8