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Global Warming, Scientifically Supported or Not?
Sample Essay
In the last ten years the fact that the Earth's climate is changing
has become widely accepted. Climate change, often called global
warming, is the process by which scientists measure the shift of
climate on a global scale. Scientifically there is little debate on
the subject. The Earth's climate is changing. Humanity is the most
likely cause of the change. Mainstream science sees no reason to
debate this further and yet the question is often raised, seemingly
from the dead.
Climate change includes many different processes. In general, the
Earth's temperature has risen 1.4 degrees Fahrenheit over the last
century. If the situation continues, the Earth could warm another 2
to 11.5 F over the next hundred years. This does not seem like much.
It has however had a number of already apparent effects on the
environment. The oceans have warmed and this has caused them to
become more acidic. Droughts, wildfires and other extreme weather
events have become more common and stronger. Most noticeably, the ice
caps and sheets have begun to melt, which is causing the sea levels
to raise. 1
The Earth's climate can be seen as a balancing at between the heating
effects of the greenhouse gases and the escape or reflection of heat
into space. There are three main ways that the Earth’s temperature
is regulated. Changes in the amounts of greenhouse gases change how
much heat in held by the atmosphere. The sun itself can experience
fluctuations in energy output which effects the energy levels that
reach Earth. If the Earth's surface and atmosphere change
reflectivity then the amount of heat caught or reflected will then
change the Earth's overall temperature. 2
It is believed that most of the warming is due to the rapid increase
of greenhouse gases created by humanity since the Industrial Era.3
All available evidence seems to support the theory that at this time
in history, the change is not 100% natural. Over 97% of self
identified climate scientists who are actively publishing accept the
evidence of climate change. Only some 2.5% of the top 200 researchers
as ranked by expertise deny that climate change is happening.4
In fact, as the amount of published work increased, the number of
climate deniers was found to decrease. Those who published fewer then
20 papers on climate science were more likely to be climate change
deniers, at some 80% of those authors. This means that these people
are not often published in peer reviewed journals. Those papers they
do publish are not as likely to be cited by others; they lack
scientific prominence as defined by the researchers.5
A few things can be inferred from all of this information. Scientific
evidence fully supports the theory of climate change. All of the
processes are not fully understood yet, but, humanities' heavy use of
carbon based fuel sources is most likely to be the impetus behind
global warming. Global warming is likely to get worse before it gets
better. Ignoring the causes and processes of climate change will most
likely lead to greater levels of warming and thus greater dangers to
the survival of human society. Those scientists who claim that global
warming is a hoax are not experts in the field. They are a very small
percentage of the number of those studying the phenomena. The work
they do publish is not heavily published in peer reviewed journals.
It would not be amiss to say that these people are fringe elements and not representative of the majority of scientists working. Furthermore, the fact that they are not published in peer reviewed journals or are heavily cited tells us that other scientists do not believe what they write is worth too much thought. If the experts do not see any merit in these claims then maybe, just maybe, neither should anyone else.
It would not be amiss to say that these people are fringe elements and not representative of the majority of scientists working. Furthermore, the fact that they are not published in peer reviewed journals or are heavily cited tells us that other scientists do not believe what they write is worth too much thought. If the experts do not see any merit in these claims then maybe, just maybe, neither should anyone else.
__________________________ ___________________________________ _________________
1.“Climate Change: Basic Information,”
United States Environmental Protection Agency, September 9
2013, http://www.epa.gov/climatechange/basics/
2. “Causes of Climate Change,” United
States Environmental Protection Agency, September 9 2013,
http://www.epa.gov/climatechange/science/causes.html
3. “Climate Change Indicators in the
United States,” United States Environmental Protection Agency,
September 13, 2013
http://www.epa.gov/climatechange/science/indicators/ghg/index.ht
4. William R. L.
Anderegga, James W. Prallb, Jacob Haroldc, and Stephen H. Schneidera,
"Expert credibility in
climate change," Proceedings
of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States.,
107, no. 27 (2010): 12107-12109, 10.1073/pnas.1003187107 PNAS
(accessed November 5, 2013).
5
Ibid.
Bibliography
United States Environmental Protection Agency. “Causes of Climate Change.” Last modified September 9 2013. Accessed November 5, 2013. http://www.epa.gov/climatechange/science/causes.html
United States Environmental Protection. “Climate Change Indicators in the United States.” Agency, Last modified September 13, 2013. Accessed November 5, 2013. http://www.epa.gov/climatechange/science/indicators/ghg/index.html
"Expert Credibility in Climate Change." Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States.. no. 27 (2010): 12107-12109 . 10.1073/pnas.1003187107 PNAS (accessed November 5, 2013).
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