This week's assignments is regarding climate change. Why is it that people still doubt climate change is happening? My guess before I delve into the internet to extract the truth, is companies that contribute to climate change (or produce a lot CO2) put out ads, articles, speakers that insist climate change is not real. They have the resources and money to do so, where areas scientists and environmental protection agencies may not be able to inform the public as easily and aggressively as big companies can in the same way. Not to mention the U.S. considers other things a priority over climate change.
imagesource:http://0.tqn.com/d/politicalhumor/1/0/5/w/4/save-the-twinkie.jpg
imagesource:http://media-cache-cd0.pinimg.com/originals/e0/c2/1b/e0c21bb430eda203793815133d0c7706.jpg
1. According to evidence, is the climate changing right now?
Answer: Yes according to the center for climate and energy solutions, it has been increasing over time as is evidenced by the chart. In more recent times, the temperature has begun to rise at an accelerating rate.
imagesource:http://www.c2es.org/facts-figures/trends/surface-temp
2. What does evidence say about humans’ roles in the changing
climate?
Answer: Humans are causing their own demise. We are the ones that are largely responsible for recent climate change especially over the past century.All this industrialization benefits us in becoming more advanced but at what cost?"The majority of greenhouse gases come from burning fossil fuels to produce
energy, although deforestation, industrial processes, and some agricultural
practices also emit gases into the atmosphere."
source:http://www.epa.gov/climatechange/basics/
3. How is climate change likely to affect our society and our world?
Answer: Unfortunately and unsurprisingly, society will become affected negatively by climate change. The U.S. will be better able to cope with the repercussions of climate change but sadly poor countries will not be so lucky. We focus on tobacco use, poor nutrition and not enough exercise as preventable negative health factors but it should also be just as publicized that higher temperatures will exacerbate air pollution affecting human respiratory health,"may increase the risks of vector- and water-borne diseases"(from increased precipitation), as well as higher mortality rates from heat waves. I myself remember watching the news in the summertime and there are always a few unfortunate stories of dogs and babies left in hot cars that die from the heat.
4. Around what does this skepticism(about climate change) center? Why do you think that it still exists?
Answer:Because of information like this:"Probably two-thirds of the warming in the 1990s was due to natural causes; the warming trend already has stopped and forecasts of future warming are unreliable; and the benefits of a moderate warming are likely to outweigh the costs." all this is wrong and where the evidence to back this up was dug up from must have been from scientists paid off by corporate companies that produce large amounts of CO2. First of all, as stated in the EPA website, humans are largely responsible for recent climate change, as evidenced by the chart above climate change has not stopped and will continue to rise if we do not do something about it, and I do not know of any benefits of global warming-animals are being endangered as well as our health. The above quote comes from http://heartland.org/ideas/global-warming-not-crisis
5. Given what you have just learned, briefly describe what you think the world will be like in 50 years if we continue with our current path and do nothing to slow the rise of CO2 levels in the atmosphere.
Answer: My only guess is negative repercussions from society not taking climate change seriously, that results in higher rate of diseases spread though air and water, extinction of animals that cannot adapt to the quick changing temperatures, and other unforeseen frightening consequences.
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