Science of Climate Change

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Science of Climate Change
Introduction
The paper critically looks into the science of climate change. On the same context, the paper discusses using specific examples the climate skeptics’ criticisms of the film Inconvenient Truth starring former U.S. Vice President Al Gore. The massage of the movie is very clear; global warming is entirely caused by humans and the consequences are devastating.
Science has been defined as knowledge attained through practice or study covering general truths of the operation of general rules and laws that has been systematically collected, tested via scientific methods and the results can be reproduced. Observation as well as carrying out experiments to attempt to explain and describe natural phenomenon is an integral part of science.
Climate change refers to alteration from one climatic condition to another usually beyond the present conditions due natural or manmade effects. The phenomenon has been thought to be the greatest environmental challenges of our time with a higher probability of affecting human as well as other living organisms (Gleick, 2001). Climate change insinuate alteration as regards the average weather or that which revolves around distribution of events of weather around an average including greater/ fewer weather events that are extreme.
Greenhouse gas effect is a phenomenon in which gases such as carbon dioxide, methane and nitrous oxides find their way into the atmosphere and block heat energy from getting back after hitting the earth surface hence raising surface temperatures.
It is worth mentioning that there are incidences that the proper features defining science were not considered or just neglected while dealing with this issue of climate change. Similarly, IPCC which is apart of UN is the body which is bestowed with the mandate to oversee things related to climate change composed of scientists cum politicians. For this reason, facts and figures have been manipulated due to scientist self interest or due to political influence. This now bring what is termed ‘science of climate change’ as there is a born of contention between skeptics and those that hold such notion as those of Al Gore concerning climate change.
The film Inconvenient Truth
The movie revolves around showing Al Gore giving a public lecture via slide shows about global warming. The film touched on various issues about global warming; causes of global warming, effects of it and covered issues such as losing of ice in Greenland, Himalayan glacier and Antactica, hurricane severity as well as other weather issues. He talks of his father’s tobacco business and the way it caused lung cancer to his sister, he later shut it down.
Basically, the work was a summary of research, science and projections. Causes of global warming according to the film are classified as natural or man-made and include high solar intensity that keeps increasing, oceanic circulation cycles, biosphere impacts, change in ultraviolet radiation, volcanism, reflectivity, variation on earth rotation, and changes in solar systematic, change in galaxy positions and anthropogenic effects which bring about the greenhouse effects.
Similarly, the effects of climate change include rise in the sea level, melting of arctic sea ice, rise in sea-surface temperatures, melting of glaciers and permafrost, prevalence of heavy down pour leading to flooding, desertification due to extreme drought conditions, increase in average surface temperature, increase in strength and frequency of hurricanes, increase in frequency of heat waves and acidification of sea water.
He attributes anthropogenic activities to climate change. The film ends with a call for action in which he says that each of the human race have to make a personal commitment to bring about change, but time is not on our side, “We no longer have much time left to change,” he says, “but we do have time.” (Stefan, 2006)
Several scientists agree with what Al Gore brought forward. Eric Staig an earth scientist said that the whole issue about climate change was addressed well. He said “I was looking for erous, but nothing much struck me as overblown or wrong” (Lovgren, 2006).
Claims according to the film that the number of category four and five hurricanes has almost doubled in the last years, heat waves will be more frequent and more intense as temperature increases, death will double in a quarter a century to 300,000 people annually, over a million species in the entire world will be driven extinct due to global warming, by 2050 there will be no ice in Arctic ocean, new and invasive species will be introduced and sea level will rise by over 20ft coupled with loss of shelf ice in Antarctic and Greenland. All these seem to be fully supported by those like Eric.
Skeptics’ criticisms of Al Gore's film
It is worth to note that skeptics of the film by Al Gore have very strong roots from the past skeptics of global climate change. These past skeptics include among others Timothy F. Ball, Robert M. Carter, Richard, Garth, Antonino, Hendricks, Bellamy, Ian, john, Claude, Craig, Patrick, Fredrick and August.
Among the notable skeptics who are reading from a different script from that of Al Gore include; Oslo Jargo from Finland, Shran, Michael Burton a British High Court Judge, Robert Johnston Luigi Marianito mention but a few. Issues disputed by skeptics of the film include causes of increase in global average air temperature, impacts of human activities, measurement system, whether the warming tendency is extraordinary or it is within normal climatic variations, data misinterpretation, and exaggeration of facts.
According to Oslo, Al Gore seems to drink what he is preaching in the movie especially when it come to taking action towards curbing climate change. He notes that Al Gore is being driven in a fuel guzzling vehicle, uses consumerist computer, lives in a huge track of land housing cattle, sheep and pigs which contribute to methane, one of the greenhouse gases. Additionally, he asserts that who knows the number of companies and investments that might be actively contributing to climate change. Oslo is of the opinion the Gore is...