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Is Mankind Creating Climate Change? from ProandCon
Temperatures on earth have increased approximately 1.4°F since the early 20th century. Over this time period, atmospheric levels of greenhouse gases such as carbon dioxide (CO2) and methane (CH4) have notably increased. Both sides in the debate surrounding global climate change agree on these points.
The pro side argues rising levels of atmospheric greenhouse gases are a direct result of human activities such as burning fossil fuels, and that these increases are causing significant and increasingly severe climate changes including global warming, loss of sea ice, sea level rise, stronger storms, and more droughts. They contend that immediate international action to reduce greenhouse gas emissions is necessary to prevent dire climate changes.
The con side argues human-generated greenhouse gas emissions are too small to substantially change the earth’s climate and that the planet is capable of absorbing those increases. They contend that warming over the 20th century resulted primarily from natural processes such as fluctuations in the sun’s heat and ocean currents. They say the theory of human-caused global climate change is based on questionable measurements, faulty climate models, and misleading science.
On Feb. 16, 1938 engineer Guy S. Callendar published an influential study suggesting increased atmospheric CO2 from fossil fuel combustion was causing global warming. [127] Many scientists at that time were skeptical of Callendar’s conclusion, arguing that that natural fluctuations and atmospheric circulation changes determined the climate, not CO2 emissions.
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| Carbon dioxide (CO2) is released and absorbed in the global carbon cycle. Source: United States Department of Energy “Simplified Global Carbon Cycle,” http://genomics.energy.gov (accessed June 2, 2010) |
In Mar. 1958 US climate scientist Charles Keeling began measuring atmospheric CO2 at the Mauna Loa observatory in Hawaii for use in climate modeling. Using these measurements, Keeling became the first scientist to confirm that atmospheric CO2 levels were rising rather than being fully absorbed by forests and oceans (carbon sinks). When Keeling began his measurements, atmospheric CO2 levels stood at 315 parts per million (ppm).
Is Mankind Creating Climate Change? from ProandCon.org
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