Global Warming…real or not?

Whenever it gets really hot, we blame global warming…

Whenever it gets really cold, we blame global warming…

Global warming seems to be the fallback position for environmentalists and other pundits whenever we need to blame some sort of climate change that effects where we live and play.

However, many have asked the question whether climate change is real or just something made up by folks that seem to benefit financially from this claim. One such person that has made a lot of money is former Vice President Al Gore who still flies around on his private jet and usually contradicts what he preaches.

Global warming is the slow increase in the average temperature of the earth’s atmosphere because an increased amount of the energy (heat) striking the earth from the sun is being trapped in the atmosphere and not radiated out into space. The earth’s atmosphere has always acted like a greenhouse to capture the sun’s heat, ensuring that the earth has enjoyed temperatures that permitted the emergence of life forms as we know them, including humans.

Without our atmospheric greenhouse the earth would be very cold. Global warming, however, is the equivalent of a greenhouse with high efficiency reflective glass installed the wrong way around.

Many experts are saying that Global warming drives many things that occur on our planet especially climate change and the type of weather conditions that it creates. To me this part of climate change makes a great deal of sense where heat is energy and when you add energy to any system changes occur. Because all systems in the global climate system are connected, adding heat energy causes the global climate as a whole to change. Much of the world is covered with ocean which heats up. When the ocean heats up, more water evaporates into clouds. Where storms like hurricanes and typhoons are forming, the result is more energy-intensive storms. A warmer atmosphere makes glaciers and mountain snowpacks, the Polar ice caps, and the great ice shield jutting off of Antarctica melt rising sea levels.

You may be a believer or not in Global Warming, but here are what the experts say causes Global Warming… there are three positions on global warming…. the first is that global warming is not occurring and so neither is climate change. The second is that global warming and climate change are occurring, but these are natural, cyclic events unrelated to human activity, and the third is that global warming is occurring as a result primary of human activity and so climate change is also the result of human activity.

The data clearly indicates global warming is happening and is human caused. Experts are saying that at this time in the natural cycle earth should be slightly cooling on trend, leading into what would have been the next ice age. Instead, earth is warming. When l read these accounts and look at the statistics of global warming…l can see where there are hard possibilities, but on the other hand, one can put holes into the counterargument. Aside from listening to the experts and the so-called experts the likes of Al Gore telling us much doom and gloom, global warming is definitely an issue and should be monitored, but to what degree and to what cost to the global community at large.

Contrary to most beliefs, many countries have adopted fuel-efficient technology that still allows them to lead modern lifestyles. For example, the European Union is pushing toward replacing diesel cars with electric vehicles in order to reduce Europe’s carbon footprint. The streets of many countries are occupied by fast, stylish cars that aren’t harmful to the earth’s atmosphere. The U.S. government has no shortage of power or resources to provide these vehicles to American consumers as well. Europe has also been using renewable energy from hydro power wind turbines, and solar panels to power people’s homes. If these environmentally friendly pieces of technology were to globally replace fossil-fuel, they could be not only the future of fuel-efficient innovation, but also the saving grace of civilization as we know it.

There is uncertainty about how great the impact of a changing climate will be. It could cause freshwater shortages, dramatically alter our ability to produce food, and increase the number of deaths from floods, storms and heatwaves. This is because climate change is expected to increase the frequency of extreme weather events – though linking any single event to global warming is complicated. The entire global warming case on either side of the ledger is as l have stated complicated because there are many arguments both in favor and against global warming. Do l believe that there is an affect to our global existence…YES… do l think that many are cashing in on this topic…YES… there has to be a balance and l do not see one in this case.

Even this week with the coffee crops in South America that have seen a freezing and the destruction of coffee plantations due to unexpected cold ice storms, global warming is being blamed for this destruction of coffee plantations. This is just the most recent claim that is being attributed to global warming and the green house effect in this part of the world. Is this fact or fiction, who really knows?

The scientific facts are very compelling, and the scammers are very believable, either way l will try do my small part to keep the environment as clean as l can, when l can.

Climate change is one of the most contentious issues facing society today. How we as a nation respond to climate change ultimately is a matter for policymakers to decide, but politics cannot and should not be separated from good science.

In the end, whatever that is said…we all need to do our part, whether that is something big or something small, the environment and mother nature need our attention.

Vincent Black/MS