We would like to point out our agreement with the fact that climate change is a real phenomenon, which, lately, became infested with the issues of politicization, which, subsequently, resulted in a massive disinformation problem (Van der Linden, Leiserowitz, Rosenthal, & Maibach, 2017). We can all agree that climate change is among the most important and even the number one challenge of our generation and generations to come. It is becoming more and more evident that the current climatic changes and related events are taking place all over the world, which come in a wide range of forms and locations. We would like to address and discuss the topic at hand, stripped from its political influences and agenda, and solely focus on evidence in order to ensure transparency, honesty, and integrity of the debate.
Dangers of Wrong Conclusions
We need to be ready to take plausible and effective actions in order to eliminate the potential dangers or at least minimize the possible consequences. However, we cannot to do so if we do not know the main source or catalyzer behind the climate change, and if we target and focus on the wrong drivers of these climatic changes, we might hurt and irreparably damage businesses, communities, cities, states, and even nations by affecting their economies as well as restricting their activities. Taking action against climate change requires a correct acknowledgment of the source of change, where our opponents argue that the cause is solely due to or mostly by human activity.
Research suggests that “convincing the public that climate change is real faces powerful ideological obstacles, and climate change is slipping in public importance in many countries,” which means that arguing for the human activity being a catalyzer of climate change is not only unsubstantiated but also dangerous for world politics as many nations rely on these activities to sustain economic and political stability and prosperity (Bain et al., 2015, p. 154). For example, imposing restrictions on states, which heavily rely on fossil fuels without taking measures against natural forces might lead to disastrous consequences since our efforts will be against a wrong cause (Neaves, 2017).
Our Point of View
Our position will primarily rely on four major evidence-based points. Firstly, according to Climate Depot Exclusive, the scientific community specializing on the topic of climate change almost unanimously agree that human-caused global warming claims are inaccurate and incorrect (Morano, 2010). To be more specific, only 1.6% of climate scientists believe that climate change is man-made, whereas 97% dissent with the later statement (Henderson, 2014). Secondly, studies conducted on the environmental effects of carbon dioxide concluded that the current global warming patterns are within the range of natural fluctuations of the past three millennia (Robinson, Robinson, & Soon, 2007).
In addition, evidence indicates that recent high-temperature measurements did take place a millennium ago; strongly suggesting that these are natural patterns rather than human activity-related changes (Moberg, Sonechkin, Holmgren, Datsenko, & Karlén, 2005). Thirdly, there is data that explicitly shows how carbon dioxide produced by human activity is negligible and has minor to no impact on the overall climate due to being reabsorbed by so-called carbon sinks, such as forests and oceans (Morano, 2007). In addition, studies show that CO2’s impact on climate is greatly exaggerated because the planetary climate is not as sensitive as one might think (Lindzen & Choi, 2011). Lastly, we argue on the basis of evidence that solar activity is a much stronger determiner of temperature fluctuations than CO2 emissions (Alexander & Bailey, 2007).
References
Alexander, W. J. R., & Bailey, F. (2007). Solar activity and climate change—A summary. Energy & Environment, 18(6), 801–804. Web.
Bain, P. G., Milfont, T. L., Kashima, Y., Bilewicz, M., Doron, G., Garðarsdóttir, R. B., … Saviolidis, N. M. (2015). Co-benefits of addressing climate change can motivate action around the world. Nature Climate Change, 6(2), 154–157.
Henderson, D. (2014). 1.6%, not 97%, agree that humans are the main cause of global warming. Energy, Environment, Resources. Web.
Lindzen, R. S., & Choi, Y. S. (2011). On the observational determination of climate sensitivity and its implications. Asia-Pacific Journal of Atmospheric Sciences, 47(4), 377–390.
Moberg, A., Sonechkin, D. M., Holmgren, K., Datsenko, N. M., & Karlén, W. (2005). Highly variable Northern Hemisphere temperatures reconstructed from low- and high-resolution proxy data. Nature, 433(7026), 613–617.
Morano, M. U.S. Senate report: Over 400 prominent scientists disputed man-made global warming claims in 2007. Web.
Morano, M. (2010). Special report: More than 1000 international scientists dissent over man-made global warming claims – Challenge UN IPCC & Gore. Web.
Neaves, T. T. (2017). The climate is changing, but not just because of humans. Here’s why that matters. Think. Web.
Robinson, A. B., Robinson, N. E., & Soon, W. (2007). Environmental effects of increased atmospheric carbon dioxide. Journal of American Physicians and Surgeons. Web.
Van der Linden, S., Leiserowitz, A., Rosenthal, S., & Maibach, E. (2017). Inoculating the public against misinformation about climate change. Global Challenges, 1(2), 1600008.