Monday, January 4, 2010

Global Warming


How many times have people thought that Global Warming is just a hoax, possibly meant to be used by super powers to advance Global Governance? So many times I have heard the comment, "So much for global warming" when it is unusually cold here in Indiana; summer or winter. Perhaps it is a ruse being used in the aforementioned ways. But, if it is real, or even a possibility, should you just shrug it off? Are there things that individuals can and should do to contribute to a resolution?


I studied global warning about this time last year as I was writing a paper to test out of a college course in Communications I. I was able to test out of the class and learn more about the subject. See, I believe that Global Warming is a problem that affects us all. We hear these terms "green house gases, CO2 and Kyoto Protocol," and we go on our merry way, pretending like they don' t really matter to us.


According to Shasta Gaughen in the book "Global Warming: Contemporary Issues Companion":

Approximately two-thirds fo the energy earth receives from the sun is

absorbed by land masses and oceans and is then released into the

atmosphere as warm, long-wave radiation. The atmosphere of earth

is full of so-called greenhouse gases such as water vapor, carbon dioxide,

ozone, methane, and nitrous oxide that act like a blanket, trapping some

of the heat radiating from the land and oceans and preventing too much

energy from escaping into space...The trapped heat keeps earth at a

comfortable average temperature of about sixty-three degrees fahrenheit.

This process is known as the greenhouse effect (7).

Now we need the greenhouse effect, but the problems come because recently, with the industrial revolution, man has been releasing more and more CO2 (carbon dioxide) into the atmosphere. More greenhouse gases are being trapped

in the atmosphere, meaning more heat, ''...leading to higher temperatures around the globe and the potential for global climate changes (8).


The "potential" is the word that really causes a lot of fuss in the scientific community. Some scientists do not agree about the cause and affect. But if we err, shouldn't we err on the side of caution? It seems prudent to me to do so.


When we talk about warming of the earth, just how much warmer are we talking? "The Rough Guide to Climate Change" by Robert Henson suggests:

Independent teams of scientists have laboriously combed through

more than a century's worth of temperature records (in the case of

England, closer to 300 year's worth). The analyses all point to 0.8 C (1.4 F)

in the average surface air temperature of earth over the last century...(3).

The International Panel on Climate Change (a panel "of scientific experts assembled by the United Nations") (Gaughen 7) released a report in January

of 2001 warning that: "The panel found that the 1990s had been the warmest

decade on record and predicted temperatures will rise anywhere from 2.5 to 10.4 degrees (Fahrenheit) around the world over the next century..."


Maybe this does not sound alarming to you, but in some warm climates, it can be devastating. And the warmer air brings all kinds of problems into the weather patterns everywhere.


One of the most interesting and middle-of-the-road books I read on this subject was "Cool It: The Skeptical Environmentalist's Guide to Global Warming" by Bjorn Lomborg. If you only read one book on the subject, read this one. Bjorn Lomborg is really an economist more than an environmentalist. He raises some rather interesting skepticisms to some of the extreme views of, for instance, Al Gore's "An Inconvenient Truth: The Planetary Emergency of Global Warming and What We Can Do About It". One of the most insightful things that Lomborg says is this about the Kyoto Protocol:

...Even if all countries had ratified it (the United States and Australia did not),

and all countries lived up to their commitments (which many will have a hard

time doing)...the temperature by 2050 would be an immeasurable 0.1 degree F

lower...it surprises most people to learn how little its {Kyoto Protocol's}

adoption would actually change the future. (22)


Still, there are things that all of us can do to make our "carbon footprint", (the carbon dioxide we emit daily) smaller. One thing that is suggested is that we buy locally grown, organic produce as much as possible. Any fruits or vegetable grown locally do not have to be shipped long distances in a ship or truck or other mode of transportation. We are purchasing eggs, some cheese and as many vegetables as possible locally. This time of year, the vegetables aren't as readily available, but you may still find potatoes and other root crops at the Farmer's Markets.


Other things, suggested from Robert Henson's "Rough Guide to Climate Change" are:

use compact fluorescent bulbs for lighting,

wash clothes in as cool temperatures as possible

plant trees

buy fair-trade label coffees and other imported foods (Henson 318-321).

Fair-trade purchases will assure that you "reduce the risk that rainforests are being chopped down to support your tastes" (321)


I am convinced that Global Warming is a real problem. Let's do what we can to be part of the solution.
Works Cited
Gaughen, Shasta. Introduction. Global Warming: Contemporary Issues Companion
Henson, Robert. The Rough Guide to Climate Change: The Symptoms. The Science. The Solutions.
Lomborg, Bjorn. Cool It: The Skeptical Environmentalist's Guide to Global Warming.

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