The True and False of Global Warming

The True and False of Global Warming: Human Factors or Non-human Factors Jiayi Guo (Gianna) American University 2019S College Writing (WRTG-100-006) Paul Bisagni April 18, 2019 The True and False of Global Warming: Human Factors or Non-human Factors A recent Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) Report indicates that global temperatures will rise by 1.5 0C between 2030 and 2052 as a result of greenhouse gas emissions (Special Report, 2018). This projection comes in the wake of heated controversy among members of the public and policymakers regarding the whole issue of global warming. The United States is one of the places where the debate on climate change and global warming has exposed the multi-faceted nature of the concerns was surrounding the phenomenon. For instance, while global warming is argued to be a result of anthropogenic (e.g., human) activities, some individuals and organizations alike are opposed to this perspective, citing that global warming is nature’s doing, owing to occurrences such as the long-term solar variability (Mörner, 2018). The controversy does not end there. There are concerns that global warming is not real and that it is a hoax created by some opportunistic parties whose interests—be they social, economic, or political—rest on the anxiety that such changes in the environment may bring about. While climate change opponents argue that global warming is false and a hoax, I would argue that global warming is real and calls for urgent measures to rectify it. Implications of the Global Warming Debate Two decades ago, Bord, Fisher & Robert (1998), observed that all the characteristic issues of global warming are challenging to apprehend. Climate change has remained a complex issue that is characterized by considerable uncertainty. Whereas individuals can experience other variations like temperature and rainfall, this is not possible with global warming. The concept of global warming originates from experimental data that climate change scientists have presented. Due to the uncertainty if global warming, different perspectives than inform positions in the debate about global warming demonstrate the essence of the subject for modern society. According to Sachdeva (2016), religion has played a major role in the global warming debate. In many religious doctrines, nature remains an integral component. In most cases, religions offer explanations regarding the creation of the world and the role of humans. It has been proposed that religion serves to bridge the gap between individuals and their environment. While religions may emphasize the connection with nature, this does not automatically translate to conservation (Sachdeva, 2016). Religion plays a critical role in shaping the attitude of the followers regarding global warming at it does with the other environmental issues. The views of religious groups on the issue vary. For instance, Evangelical Christians demonstrate a complex relationship with global warming. According to Smith and Leiserowitz (2013), American evangelicals are likely to accept that global warming is taking place than non-evangelicals; they tend to be supportive of climate change interventions. However, the fact that there is no common understanding of the subject of global warming indicates that despite the overwhelming concerns about the environment, it may be impossible to come up with cross-cutting policies to address any concerns about global warming in the foreseeable future unless the diverse perspectives on the subject are harmonized. Regardless of the position that one takes in the global warming debate, it is becoming apparent that humans are increasingly taking note of the possibility of their impact in the environment, and that they are aware that climate change can happen or is already happening. The IPCC considers concerns about global warming to take a central position in the environmental policy debates of many nations. While there may be disagreements as to who is responsible for global warming or whether it is something that should worry humans both now and in the perceivable future, the fact that the debate is taking a central position in public policy debates highlights the fact that humans are aware of the important role that a stable environment plays in their lives. Is Global Warming as a Hoax? Scientific literature proves that global surface temperatures have risen in recent decades due to the emissions of greenhouse gases. Especially CO2. So far, no scientific body of international standing that has refuted this position (Linden, Leiserowitz, Feinberg & Maibach, 2015). The controversy on whether global warming is real or a hoax is by now political as opposed to scientific. The disputes regarding the major scientific facts about the issue are more rampant in the media rather than in scientific literature. Despite the scientific evidence, over the past two decades, the skeptics of the reality of anthropogenic climate change have continually termed climate change scientists as “alarmists” (Brysse et al., 2013). The skeptics think that climate change scientists are merely over-interpreting and over-reacting to the evidence of human impacts on the climate system. The skeptics allege that the motivation for such exaggerations on the issue is to gain media exposure, public sympathy, and source for funding for the misleading research (Brysse et al., 2013). In other words, global warming skeptics maintain the perspective that it is not a real thing and that those who talk about it are mainly opportunistic organizations that prey on the fears and anxiety that it elicits among the general public. Some of the extreme skeptics have gone ahead to indicate that global warming is simply a “deception” and a “hoax” (Brysse et al., 2013). After the release of the Fourth Assessment Report (AR4) of IPCC, the claims that global warming is a hoax have increased, despite the increasing scientific evidence demonstrating anthropogenic climate change. The global warming skeptics are becoming more vocal than ever. They are coming together to demonstrate their solidarity against any scientific conclusions that global warming is as a result of emissions from human activities. A majority of the skeptics attribute global warming (if at all it exists) to worldwide increase in surface temperatures because of natural cyclones, rather than human activities (Brysse et al., 2013). Various conservative think tanks have emerged in the U.S. to oppose the efforts of global warming scientists. For instance, based on the account given by Harris and Ball (2017), global warming was “manufactured” by Senator Tim Wirth and Scientist James Hansen among others with the sole aim of initiating a climate crisis. To attain this end, they carefully came up with methods and metrics of measuring it to come up with the specific outcomes that they had envisioned (Harris & Ball, 2017). However, while Harris and Ball (2017) make these damning allegations in their study, they do not delve more in-depth as to explain how this happened precisely and how the climate change issue, which is now a global concern, spiral from the ideas of these alleged initiators. It is, therefore, reasonable to consider what is generally viewed as the scientific evidence of global warming, which is essentially the basis of the perspective that, contrary to the arguments of the skeptics, it is an undisputable reality. Other groups claim that the science behind global warming is flawed and take a variety of perspectives. While there are those who claim that global change concerns are not based on accurate scientific or conclusive scientific studies, others indicate that the methods are deliberately adopted to back already existing unscientific notions about the phenomenon. For instance, as noted by Froyn (2005), global warming issues are marred by scientific uncertainty. While this problem contributes to the doubts regarding global warming, it also shapes the path in which policymakers base their decisions on the matter. For example, abatement policy decisions on global warming are based on the fact that not many conclusive scientific studies point to the reality of global warming. The Scientific Evidence on Global Warming Climate change can be measured in several significant ways. According to National Geographic, the natural world around us can provide clues into the change in temperature patterns. For example, trees provide visual indicators that can help in identifying climate change: “Each year trees grow thicker and form new rings. In warmer and wetter years, the rings are thicker” (Nunez, 2019). There are also clues in our water sources, such as lakes and oceans. “Pollen, particles and dead creatures fall to the bottom of oceans and lakes each year, forming sediment” (Nunez, 2019). Scientists can study this sediment and then create a hypothesis about the earth’s overall health, particularly as it relates to climate change. The IPCC report is an essential document in which the alleged scientific evidence on the reality of global warming has been summarized. Based on the report, human activities are projecte...