Whoa, It's Hot in Here!
Philip Mote
January 1, 2002
Only a few decades ago, no one outside the community of climate scientists-and few people inside-recognized the possibility of human influence on the earth's climate. But in recent years environmental organizations have declared climate change the world's biggest, baddest environmental problem, dwarfing more local concerns (like dying lakes or nuclear meltdowns). Others say that climate change is natural, beneficial, or simply an invention of self-serving scientists and pro-global-government loonies. What is the truth of the matter? And does it matter? The basic facts about the greenhouse effect are well-established. Carbon dioxide (CO2) and other long-lived "greenhouse" gases (GHGs) keep the Earth warm and habitable: without them our planet would have an average surface temperature well below freezing. Many of these GHGs are becoming more abundant because of human activities-CO2's prevalence is up 32 percent from a preindustrial level that varied only by a few percent in thousands of years, and methane has increased because of rice paddies and cattle. It's not hard to see why the planet should be getting warmer. But is it? Because North American media strive to present an "objective" account of controversial issues by giving each "side" equal time and weight, there is probably more confusion about global warming than the evidence warrants. The following are some of the most common objections to the scientific consensus, with responses that clarify both the problem of global warming and its surprisingly feasible solutions. There is no firm evidence for global warming, and the scientific community is profoundly divided over whether there has been any human-caused change in climate. Actually, there is strong agreement among the ...
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