Global Warming: A Man-Made Catastrophe

As the volume of ice caps in both the North and South poles has reach record lows, glaciers in areas such as the Himalayas recede farther than ever before, and the number of natural disasters, such as hurricanes, rises, it is hard to believe that the world is not heading into a global climate crisis. How ever the recent issue of debate has not been over these actual changes in climate, which have been proven through numerous studies and scientific inquiries. The debate is over whether or not this is a natural process, or if human activity is the root cause of all this rapid change. While some may attempt to argue that human activity has played no role in creating these circumstances, the fact is that there is simply too much evidence that indicates that human activity has indeed put us in this situation and that radical change in our lifestyles is necessary in order to reverse the trend.

The first evidence that humans are the root cause of the recent climate fluctuation is the fact that the climate has changed so rapidly and without precedent. In fact, according to Alex K. Rich, "the ten hottest years in recorded meteorological history (the past 650,000 years) have all occurred in the last nineteen years" (1). If those who claim that this is natural warming are correct, then why has the extent to which the planet is warming up gone up so fast in recent years? Why hasn't it simply peaked at the same level it did in all of the other years that temperatures rose? The fact is that the recent "increase in global temperature" is in direct correlation with "the increase in carbon dioxide, nitrous oxide, methane, and chlorofluorocarbons" (Driscoll 1). Because all of these increases in greenhouse gasses have come from human factories as the industrial age began, human activity can be directly linked to the recent spike in temperatures.

These greenhouse gasses that humans let off end up serving one major purpose: to keep the earth's temperature relatively constant by reflecting some of the heat the sun radiates towards the earth. As Alex Rich points out in his article "Climate Change is Already Occurring," "some of the heat absorbed by the planet is rereadiated, but greenhouse gasses like carbon dioxide, methane, ozone, and water vapor capture it, creating a kind of blanket of warm air" (2). The opponents of Global Warming will cite this role of greenhouse gasses as a crucial one and point out that greenhouse gasses are therefore good for the earth, since "modern calculations estimate that an atmosphere-less Earth would have an average temperature of 0 degrees Fahrenheit...compared with the actual current average of 57.9 degrees Fahrenheit" (Rich 2). However, they fail to realize that while this trapping of heat may keep us from freezing, it also makes temperature increases irreversible. This inability to lower temperatures due to the trapping of heat by greenhouse gasses translates directly into more hurricanes and lower ice caps. As the earth gets warmer from the trapped heat, the oceans warm up as well, and give rise to more hurricanes. Ice caps also melt under this increased heat, as seen by the fact that "sea ice is at its second-lowest level since they (scientists) started keeping records three decades ago" (Block 1).

The result of this glacier melting and hurricane increase has direct effects on the carefully balanced ecology of nature. As Margaret Williams states in an interview with Melissa Block, as ice caps melt "polar bears are forced into those deeper waters (oceans)... in an area without much to eat" (Block 3). The result is that the polar bears "have to face a choice: do we swim to shore, where there's not much food, or do we swim further north to another area of ice where there may not be much food either?" (Block 3). In either case, the ultimate result is clear: death by starvation. Proof of this is seen in the fact that just recently "10 polar bears" were spotted "swimming in open waters, an unusually high number" (Block 1). In fact this spotting and the decline in the polar bear population has even prompted the federal government to "put the polar bear on the threatened species list" (Block 1). The situation doesn't seem to bright for many organisms in the oceans that live off of oxygen. Though it may not seem like it, "the world's oceans now absorb millions of tons of the global warming gas each year" (Block 1). While those who wish not to call what we have now a crisis will state that this absorption "helps to slow the pace of climate change" (Block 1), the fact is that humans are now putting out too much for the oceans to take in. This excess of greenhouse gasses "increases its (the oceans) corrosive acidity" (Perlman), resulting in the death of "all kinds of marine animals" (Perlman 1). But what does this decrease in ocean life mean for humans? As the saying goes, it's a small world. The death of small, oxygen requiring organisms such as plankton leads to the death of larger fish, whose primary diet is plankton. In turn, humans then face a decline in the oceans fish, which compromise a large part of their diet. The death of these fish also has wide ranging economic consequences-areas of the world with large sea coast that rely on fishing as their primary economic venture, such as Japan, will suffer not only starvation due to a lack of fish but also due to a lack of money. Thus, the release of greenhouse gasses by humans not only increases the temperature of the earth, but results in the disruption of many ecological systems, all of which come back to hurt us in the end.

Seeing that so much of the argument in the case of global warming as a destructive and manmade issue is based on the fact that temperatures are rising, opponents of this idea claim that "for the past decade now, world temperatures have been static or slightly declining and that's according to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change" (Durkin 2). Though the factual basis of this argument may be sound, the scope of it is completely distorted- they look at temperatures over the last decade only instead of looking at the bigger picture, which is what really tells the story. In fact, this tendency to focus on the temperature from only this past decade is highly ironic-those who are now wanting to study the decline in temperature over the past decade are the very same people who insisted on a big picture view of climate change in the first place, and claimed that the other side was getting too worried over too small a period in time. This contradiction in arguments weakens the case that global warming is not man made and strengthens the fact that it is.

However, greenhouse gasses are not the only element in the rise of global temperatures and ultimately global warming. In fact, in some cases, it is the lack of them. As stated by Alex Rich, "50 percent (of the light and heat from the sun) is absorbed into the planets surface" (2). This light and heat however, can only reach the surface of the earth in two ways: either it passes all the way through the atmosphere first and then reaches the surface, or there is no atmosphere to pass through at all, and it directly hits the earth's surface. Were it to pass through the atmosphere, much of the light and heat would be reflected back into space. However were the light and heat to make direct contact with the surface of the earth, it would still be quite strong and result in even more heating of the earth's surface. Unfortunately, the second of these two is exactly what is occurring. As more and more chlorofluorocarbons (CFC's) are released into the atmosphere by human products such as Styrofoam, a larger and larger gap in the planets ozone layer is being created. As such, the rays from the sun come into direct contact with the earth, and the situation described earlier occurs. The effects of this unmolested entrance of the suns rays however is not limited to only heating. Direct contact with such strong UV rays as those which the sun gives off leads to increased chances for skin cancer. This increase in skin cancer, just like the death of fish in the oceans, has economic implications as well- with more people getting cancer, more public money must be spent on treating and fighting skin cancer, resulting in higher taxes. Direct contact of the sun's UV rays with the earth's surface can also have damaging effect on soil and crops. Thus, human products contribute to the destruction of the part of the atmosphere most beneficial to us, the ozone layer, while adding more layers to the unnecessary parts of the atmosphere.

The earth's climate is an issue that transcends all boundaries, even those of race, religion, and gender. It ultimately affects every single human and even every single animal on this planet. In the face of rising temperatures and receding ice caps, as well as the death of necessary ecosystems, it is now apparent that the release of greenhouse gasses as well as the destruction of the ozone layer can be chiefly attributed to the actions of man. No forms of false optimism can be taken anymore-there is simply no more time. It is now necessary for everyone, regardless of what boundaries may seem to separate them, to rise above their differences and act as a planet to save ourselves from the problems we have created.

Works Cited

Block, Melissa. "Melting Arctic Ice Imperils Polar Bears." (n.d.). TOPICsearch.EBSCO. MHS library, Houston, TX. 4 Nnov. 2008. .

Driscoll, Sally. "Border Walls: An Overview." Points of View: Border Walls (Jan, 2008): Points of View Reference Center. EBSCO. MHS Library, Houston, Tx. 20 Nov. 2008. .

Durkin, Martin. "Climate change skeptic looks south for a fair hearing." (n.d.). TOPICsearch. EBSCO. MHS Library, Houston, TX. 4 Nov. 2008. .

Perlman, David. "Warming threatens ocean life." (n.d.). TOPICsearch. EBSCO. MHS Library, Houston, TX. 4 Nov. 2008. .

Rich, Alex. "Counterpoint: Climate Change is Already Occurring." POV: Global Warming. 2007. Page 3. 03 Nov. 2008. .