Introduction
Global warming is a process that heats up the earth’s surface. The activities on earth’s surface produce green house gases, which entrap light and heat from the sun causing temperature of the earth surface to increase. The green house gases include nitrous oxide, water vapor, methane, and carbon dioxide. Other dangerous gases include volatile organic compound, ozone, carbon monoxide, nitrogen monoxide, particulate matter, sulfur dioxide, and lead.
When the surface temperature increases the animals, plants, and human beings are affected. The high temperatures raise the sea levels, which then submerge the island; this threatens human livelihood in those islands. The increases in sea levels also threaten the lives of plant and animal around the sea environment. The sources of green house gases are burning of oil to produce energy, uses of missiles and bombs during wars, manufacturing and the destruction of forests and other vegetation cover.
The reality of Global Warming Skepticism
It is right to argue that global warming skepticism is real; Skeptics of global warming are numerous and they continue to come up with new perceptions on global warming. The global warming skepticism is about the controversies that have rocked the nature and causes of global warming as an issue. The controversy is all about whether the foregoing arguments that global warming is caused by poor human activities that emit green house gases into the atmosphere is real or it is an exaggerations, lie and poor measurements by the scientific community and the political class of the world.
Skeptics argue that climate change is a normal natural phenomenon. They say, in the past climate had changed and human beings, animals and plants had adapted to the new and all forms of climate changes. There has been great concern with human activities otherwise referred to as anthropogenic to be the route causes of climate change, however, some skeptics have doubted this view and instead they strongly believe that causes of global warming emanates from the natural factors. Skeptics have adopted the idea of scrutinizing the findings on global warming; many of them term the current scientific “facts” on global warming as the greatest “scandal” of the modern world.
While doubting anthropogenic activities as the main cause of global warming, skeptics see the sun as the main source of the problem. It is argued that climate change is not experienced on earth only, that other planets revolving around the sun are also having the experiences of heating up (Marshall, 2010). A number of astronomers have specifically provided information that the planet Pluto has also been under the experience of global warming.
In this school of thought, the global warming is as a result of changing seasons of the earth just like different hemispherical change of inclinations to the sun (Marshall, 2010). This is an indication that it is the sun that has the power to change seasons on earth and other planets; it has a greater impact on earth’s climate than the human beings can attempt to accomplish (Ball, 2007).
Scientist has also argued that alongside high temperatures on earth surface, planet Mars is also experiencing increasing temperatures and the main cause is attributed to natural phenomena; that is, the increasing radiations from the sun (Marshall, 2010). Several scientific reports have revealed that the temperature of the sun has been increasing and that the sun is currently hotter than it has ever been. Swiss and German scientist propagated a claim that radiation from the sun to the earth surface has increased; they ague that it is the increased radiation that causes temperature changes on earth’s the surface (Marshall, 2010).
Some skeptics have advanced an argument that rise in temperatures started approximately over eight hundred years ago, long before carbon dioxide level became high. In fact they believe that the level of carbon dioxide is high due to rise in temperature. This means according to them high carbon dioxide level is a resultant outcome of the rising surface temperatures.
Global warming skepticism not real
There are the section of both scientist and environmentalists who strong believe that global warming is a direct consequence of human activities. This section argues that scientific research has found out that there is explicit link connecting human activities that produce greenhouse gases and the spectacular heating of the oceans of the earth (Connor, 2005). This contradicts skeptics’ argument that global warming is a natural process because of the sun’s increasing radiation to the earth’s surface. Some of the climatologists say the oceans are major influencers of the earth’s climates. Several experiments done in different oceans have shown different temperatures at different depths (Connor, 2005). This has been attributed to the possible volcanic activities under the sea.
Yet other scientists believe that the increased amount of carbon dioxide released into the atmosphere by human activities is the prime cause of global warming. This process is called Anthropogenic Global Warming. According to supporters of anthropogenic, the human activities that contribute to the global warming started during industrial revolution; that was when new industrial practices and agricultural activities started to contribute to the change of environment and global climate. They argue that before then, man’s activities did not produce lots of green-house gases as witnessed today (West, 2010). Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) reported that activities of human beings have been the predominant source of global warming from the years 1950.
Global dimming is another ideology advanced by those who believe human actions are the main causes of climate change. Global dimming has been described as a situation in which atmospheric pollutants from fossil fuel emissions move and mixes with the clouds; the clouds are then able to reverse much of rays from the sun into the space. This process should naturally lead to cooling of the earth’s surface, which still could be dangerous. However, the whole process does live greenhouse gases surmounted thereby causing rise in surface temperatures still.
Historical arguments state that the most industrialized nations led by the United States of America have discharged most greenhouse gases into the atmosphere yet it is the less developed nations, which are faced with the greatest responsibility to tackle climate change.
Impact of global warming on sustainable world
A study by scientists claims that the current stage of global warming is irreversible for at least the next one thousand years and that the damage it has already caused is permanent. It is projected that the increasing global warming has an impact of reducing species and the habitats in which they live (Manabe, 1997). This diminishes the chances of natural adaptation of the ecosystem. Climate change affects both the current and the future generation.
The constant upward trend in temperature increase threats the survival of human beings, animals and plants. The temperatures are likely to have health consequences, lead to unpredictable weather changes and poor agricultural activities. The increase in temperature causes ice on mountaintops to melt there thereby causing sea levels to increase. The increase in sea levels threatens the existence of human beings, animals and plants living on islands, which faces submergence (Manabe, 1997)
Poor weather has also led to heavy rains known as El-Niño, which have caused many destructive and dangerous floods in some parts of the world. It is also predicted that the changes of weather due to global warming are likely to result in tsunamis, hurricanes, tornadoes, blizzards and thunderstorms.
There are more changes that global warming is expected to cause. These include serious decrease in the West Antarctic and Greenland sheets of ice, slowing the ocean transmission of warm water to North Atlantic and accelerate global warming because of carbon cycle feedback in the biosphere.
Conclusion
There have been two different schools of thought regarding the facts about global change. There is the group known as skeptics who cast aspersions on the argument that global warming is anthropogenic. They believe that global warming is because of natural factors like heating of the oceans and increased radiations from the sun. Skeptics consider the current global warming debate as a “scam” of the modern times. Amongst the skeptics are well-known world scientists (Ball, 2007)
Those who believe that global warming is because of exclusive human activities support another school of thought advanced on the global warming. These individuals do not subscribe to the idea that global warming is a natural occurrence. According to this school of thought greenhouse gases emitted from burning of fossil fuel by human beings cause global warming. The green house gases are also generated by burning of garbage and some flowers.
Trees are known to absorb excess carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. Cutting down of these trees and destruction of forests and other vegetative covers reduces the rate of carbon dioxide elimination from the atmosphere. However, carbon dioxide is known to increase atmospheric temperatures.
Global warming threatens the survival of human beings, animals and plants. Global warming causes glacier retreats, reduced flows of summer stream, increased diseases, it also leads to reduced yield in agriculture, and natural disasters like hurricanes, thunderstorms and tornadoes.
There have been heated debates on how the challenge of global warming can be tackled. Some of the remedies to the problem are by reducing greenhouse gas emissions through seeking alternative sources of energy as opposed to the use of fossil fuel, preserving the forestlands and avoiding the activities which lead to emission carbon dioxide and other green house gases.
With the two schools of thoughts both having scientists on their sides, the whole world has been thrown into confusion with regards to the real causes of global warming. The two sides seem to have genuine arguments. The radiations from the sun, volcanic activities and heating of the ocean waters are likely natural causes to global warming. Volcanic activities on the surface of the earth emit greenhouse gases. Those who argue that human activities also contribute to global warming cannot be ignored. If it is true that carbon dioxide is one of the green-house gases contributing to global warming then human beings have a direct link to global warming.
The two schools of thought should be integrated and the solution to global warming be found based on the two camps of arguments.
Reference List
Ball, T. (2007). Global Warming: The Cold, Hard Fact? Web.
Connor, S. (2005). The Final Proof: Global Warming is a Man-Made Disaster. Web.
Manabe, S. (1997). Exploring the way to sustainable world. Web.
Marshall, G. (2010). Global Warming-A convenient Lie. Web.
West, L. (2010). Industrial Age Accelerates Global Warming. Web.