Mathew Broderick
Cynthia Macri
CRTW 201-008
15 November, 2012
Researched Argumentative Essay
When the topic of global warming comes up in conversation many people
either groan and avoid conversation, or don their dueling gloves and prepare for
a heated debate. Some people feel guilty and concerned; some simply do not care.
Different points of view yield different stances on the subject. Coming
from the scientific and environmental points of view, myrmecologist Edward O.
Wilson discusses the severity of global warming, some of the threads of thought
that oppose his own, and some of the consequences of continued mistreatment of
the environment in his book The Future of Life.
While some people may claim ignorance on the subject, global warming and
substantial data showing annual increases in global temperature have been
broadcast throughout the media and discussed in schools and seminars around the
world. While there may be
developing countries that do not understand global warming or how humans
contribute to it, the developed countries that are the biggest contributors to
global warming are very well-informed of the situation.
The question is will the people who can act and make changes to save the
environment do so, or will they play dumb and look the other way while the world
as they know it crumbles at their feet?
Assuming that most individuals cherish their beloved planet, many
environmentalists and ecologists post blogs, write essays, publish works, and
give speeches informing the public about the future threat their planet faces.
They hope to educate and persuade as many people as possible to fight for
the future of the planet. From the
scientific point of view, this issue is of extreme importance, and requires
close examination of historical patterns, modification of current practices, and
close monitoring of the atmospheric content in the future. In his book, Wilson
jests but maintains a serious tone as he holds human beings accountable, “we
have driven atmospheric carbon dioxide to the highest levels in at least two
hundred thousand years, unbalanced the nitrogen cycle, and contributed to a
global warming that will ultimately be bad news everywhere” (23).
Although Wilson discusses these advanced chemical and biological
concepts, he keeps his point simple and hopes to use guilt to evoke action in
his audience. Many scientists
assume that the general public is familiar with the science behind the
atmosphere, and some people may disagree because they merely do not understand
how the contribution of extreme CO2 excess could contribute to a shift in global
weather pattens. Others are aware
of the situation, but are unwilling to make changes because their focus lies
elsewhere.
One of the main points of view that frequently opposes the
environmentalist and ecologist ways of thinking is that of the economist.
From the economist's perspective, the focus is on production and
consumption. He may think: “this is
only hurting the environment a little bit, if there are consequences they will
be far down the road and we can deal with them once we are more financially
stable and have developed better technology.” Nobody can argue with the
economist for prioritizing in such a manner, and Wilson attempts to reason out
the logic noting, “he is right, of course.
Every species lives on production and consumption... The economist's
thinking is based on precise models of rational choice and near-horizon time
lines. His parameters are the gross domestic product, trade balance, and
competitive index... The planet, he insists, is perpetually fruitful and still
underutilized” (24). The economist
is merely thinking in the way that he has been taught to think; he is logically
managing his immediate goals, but he is failing to utilize critical thinking to
fully grasp the issue at hand.
Waiting until global warming is a more immediate threat and assuming that the
damage will be stoppable or treatable at that point
are concepts that fail to take the immense risk into consideration.
The condition of the atmosphere may be beyond repair by the time major
economic organizations jump on board, and shifts in climate are already clearly
obvious all over the world. Unusual
weather patterns are leaving climatologists confused and baffled, natural
disasters are claiming innocent lives left and right, and the world almost seems
angry from the years of human ignorance and abuse.
Individuals everywhere, perhaps even the economics-driven thinkers
focused on industrial expansion, can no longer remain blind to these blatant
signs. Non-critically thinking
economists would benefit from conducting research and reviewing the information
behind global warming, before it's too late.
The definition of global warming is the increase of the average
temperature on the surface of the earth (Venkatarmanan 226).
Some people argue that the climate of the earth is supposed to fluctuate,
and that this is just a hotter time in the climate cycle, but this trend of a
steady increase in temperature doesn't seem like it will cease. Science and
technology journalist M. Venkatarmanan points out the dangerous pattern, “over
the last 100 years, the average air temperature near the earth's surface has
risen by a little less than one degree Celsius or one point three degrees
Fahrenheit” (226). Many may scoff
at this minimal observation, but climatologists predict that even this small
change can result in a major impact on the earth. Ken Caldeira, a journalist for
Scientific American, notes his observation of the evidence of global
warming already, “as predicted there has been more warming over land than over
the oceans, more at the poles than the equator, more in winter than in summer
and more at night than at day. Extreme downpours have become more common. In the
arctic, ice and snow cover less area, and methane-rich permafrost soils are
beginning to melt. Weather is
getting weirder, with storms fueled by the additional heat” (Caldeira 78).
Although the signs of unnatural global warming are quite evident, many do
not believe that humans have anything to do with such an occurrence.
The truth lies in the data. The cause of global warming is the green
house effect. In the Indian Journal of Science and Technology,
Venkatarmanan explains the green house effect that occurs in the atmosphere from
sunlight. To simplify the explanation: when the sunlight reaches Earth, some is
absorbed and the rest is radiated back to the atmosphere.
The leftover sunlight, which is supposed to escape to space, is absorbed
by greenhouse gases. This extra
absorption of energy warms the atmosphere, and eventually the greenhouse gases
act like a mirror and reflect the extra energy back toward the surface of the
earth (226). Logically, one may
infer that an increase in the presence of greenhouse gasses in the atmosphere
will further increase the temperature of the earth's surface.
Although the quantity of greenhouse gasses present in the atmosphere
today are pretty high, the situation is only compounding, and continuing
unregulated emission of greenhouse gases will lead to a dangerous future.
One could easily hold humans accountable for contributing the immense
quantities of greenhouses gases to earth's atmosphere and creating the
conditions for a threatening future. Human beings rely heavily on industry and
the usage of fossil fuels for energy.
According to Venkatarmanan, “The largest contributing source of
greenhouse gas is the burning of fossil fuels leading to the emission of carbon
dioxide” (226). Humans have been
burning large quantities of fossil fuels for many years.
Every time something burns, carbon dioxide escapes into the atmosphere,
and there are immense amounts of carbon dioxide released when a fossil fuel
burns. While humans may not have a complete record of the fluctuations in the
atmosphere from the past, one can infer that the result of prolonged combustion
of fossil fuels has contributed greatly to the presence of carbon dioxide in the
atmosphere. Considering the
industrial revolutions across the globe and the quantity of fossil fuels that
humans have previously combusted, a large portion of the blame falls on the head
of the human race. The economic
expansion and rapid technological development of this day and age have become
something that is expected by society, and industrial economists feel pressured
to continue delivering at the current rate.
Industrial leaders are aware of the hazardous effects of the carbon
dioxide and greenhouse gas emissions, but their immediate goals involve reaching
economic stability and societal pleasure.
As the economists realize their goals, and humans destroy plants to build
houses, hospitals, schools, and many other important structures, the situation
compounds itself. The plants and
natural vegetation utilize organic processes to pull carbon dioxide out of the
atmosphere. Flowers, crops, and
trees love carbon dioxide because it is the basic raw material that plants use
in photosynthesis to convert solar energy into food (“How Trees” 2).
When humans build places to live and clear out areas for crops, they are
eliminating some of the living tools for fighting global warming. In history
humans were ignorant to this fact, but in the modern day and age individuals are
aware of the price of killing a plant.
Aside from losing these natural atmosphere balancers, the decomposition
of dead vegetation emits small amounts of carbon dioxide as well.
This is a huge problem in Indonesia and Brazil currently, as immediate
conversion of the land into agricultural land is more of a problem than the
burning of fossil fuels. According
to the Australian Journal of Agriculture and Resource Economics,
“Indonesian sources have estimated
the current rate of conversion of forest to agricultural land to be 1.32 million
hectares per year” (Warr and Arief 297).
This economic-based land-use change accounts for the bulk of Indonesia’s
total greenhouse gas emissions.
This fact reinforces the concept that humans need to regulate more than just the
burning of fossil fuels to save the atmosphere.
Humans are causing harm merely by
clearing land to live and grow food on, but the real damage comes from the
industry-based deforestation of the natural rainforests around the world to
build factories or harvest the trees for paper.
Earth's trees are the grand-daddys of photosynthesis, “trees absorb
carbon dioxide while they grow and trap it for many years to come. On average,
over thirty years, a tree can absorb 230 kilograms of carbon dioxide” (“How
Trees” 2). Not only have human
beings created a potentially hazardous atmospheric condition, but they
unknowingly destroyed many of the best known mechanisms for repairing the damage
and continue to do so in large-scale today.
Human nature's desire to advance and survive is truly amazing, almost
scary, but if humans fail to compromise with the environment,
their mission of extending and improving life will backfire.
The consequences associated with the failure to control global warming
are numerous and severe. One consequence involves destruction of society as we
know it by numerous and increasing natural disasters.
Some people do not think that the small temperature change constitutes
apocalyptic natural disasters, but vast evidence exists to argue otherwise, “
It is well known that tropical cyclones form only over warm oceans from which
they gain their energy, largely from the latent heat of condensation. Thus, it
would not be surprising if a warmer and moister world contained enhanced overall
hurricane activity” (Anthes et al. 624).
According to this evidence, the threat of increased global disasters is
very real, and not as distant as many may hope.
Today we only see small changes in temperature, but what about in a
hundred years, or a thousand? If
humanity continues to advance unchecked, the future may hold temperatures more
than just a few degrees hotter than usual, and in turn, exponentially larger
hurricanes.
The hypothesis that an increase in global temperature will lead to a
world ridden with natural disaster is quite logical, but even those who are
skeptical can't deny the other implications.
Many species that cannot migrate easily or adapt to change will be killed
into extinction by the increasing global temperature. This could potentially
compound the problem by the death of many carbon dioxide-absorbing tropical
trees that cannot migrate. If they
die, then more carbon dioxide could enter the atmosphere.
According to biodiversity research, “estimated
global warming–induced rates of species extinctions in tropical biodiversity
hotspots are even projected to exceed those because of land use, supporting the
suggestion that global warming may be one of the most serious threats to
tropical biodiversity” (Kreyling, Wana, and Beierkuhnlein 594).
If events unravel the way this research suggests, the problem of trees
dying on their own could eventually outweigh destruction by human hand.
This is the “too late” that many environmentalists refer to when
discussing the need for urgency in repairing the atmosphere.
Although there are many justly entitled view points on the issues of global
warming and the governmental utilization of resources, the facts of the matter
scream for attention on this issue and call for immediate change.
Natural disasters are growing larger and more dangerous, and exotic
species are dying as a result in the climate shift.
Humanity must act now to reduce and reverse global warming.
There are many different areas in which humans can make small changes
that will make huge differences if everyone does their part, especially the
thinkers who favor economic expansion. Some of the changes necessary involve
reigning in on deforestation, and advancing efforts to plant news trees.
Regardless of which method humanity utilizes, the fate of the Earth
depends on society realizing its mistake, taking immediate responsibility, and
correcting the problem of Global Warming.
This must happen, or Earth is surely doomed.
Works Cited
Anthes, Richard et al. “Hurricanes and Global Warming – Potential Linkages and
Consequences.” Bulletin of the American Meteorological Society.
87. 5. (2006): 623-628.
EBSCOhost.com. Web. 1 November, 2012.
Caldeira, Ken. “The Great Climate Experiment.” Scientific American. NV.
NI. (2012): 78-83.
EBSCOhost.com. Web. 1 November, 2012.
N.A. “How Trees Can Combat Carbon Emissions.” Express and Echo. NV.NI.
(2007): 1-2.
Newspaper Source Plus. Web. 1 November, 2012.
Kreyling, juergen, Desalegn Wana, and Carl Beiekuhnlein. “Potential Consequences
of Climate
Warming for Tropical Plant Species in High Mountains of Southern
Ethiopia.” Diversity
and Distributions.
16. 4. (2010): 593-605. EBSCOhost.com. Wen. 1 November, 2012.
Venkatarmanan, M. “Causes and Effects of Global Warming.” Indian Journal of
Science and
Technology.
4. 3. (2011): 226-229. EBSCOhost.com. Web. 1 November, 2012.
Warr, Peter and Arief Anshory Yusuf. “Reducing Indonesia's Deforestation-based
Greenhouse
Gas Emissions.” Australian Journal of Agriculture. 55. 3. (2011):
297-321.
EBSCOhost.com. Web. 1 November, 2012.
Wilson, Edward O. The Future of Life. New York: Random House, inc. 2012.
Print.