IntroductionIn the coming months and years, mankind will face forces that will threaten Earth’s very existence. The sea level will rise to great heights, causing massive flooding resulting in complete destruction. The food chain will go into complete disarray causing humans and animals to starve to death. Environments will be irreparably changed forever. Wars among tribes and nations will ensue. There will be utter confusion and panic. This is an urgent and eminent threat. This is the defining issue of our time. Unfortunately this is not a blockbuster drama film, but this is actually what is being said about global warming and its potential effects.
Narration
The global warming debate is nothing new. In fact, the issue has been debated since the 1980s with no true consensus still to this day. Only recently has it become such a hot topic due to the increased media exposure. Currently, the issue of global warming has transformed into more than just the increased temperature of the Earth. The term climate change is now a more widely used term often substituted for the term global warming and focuses on anything in an environment that is different from years past. Global warming or climate change is also pointed towards for being the root cause of many natural disasters, such as Hurricane Katrina. Proponents say the biggest cause of global warming is humans and their increased production of greenhouse gases due to a “ridiculous over-dependence on carbon-based fuels” according to Al Gore. These gases are those in the atmosphere such as carbon dioxide, methane, nitrous oxide, and ozone that absorb and emit radiation while preventing heat from escaping. The projections of future climate change over the next century and beyond are “based on insufficiently verified climate models and are therefore not considered reliable at this point in time” (Khandekar, Murty, & Chittibabu 1557). Therefore, although there appears to be a rising global temperature at the moment, there is no evidence to link this to the harsh consequences said to be caused by human activity which is the proposed theory that is laid out by proponents of global warming.
Proposition
The human-caused climate change issue is greatly exaggerated and merely used for the gain of money, power, and control. (Value)
Forecast
Starting in the 1980s, the idea of global warming has since turned into an economic, social, and political issue. The media has taken advantage of the global warming hysteria and run with it. Those such as Al Gore have taken the idea and used it to promote their own ideology while bringing in revenue from films and books by exploiting the controversy. Countries and organizations have used global warming to gain funds as well as power and influence. All of these examples tend to exaggerate and skew the issue in order to frame it in their own context for their own personal gain.
Presentation
The main groups associated with the global warming frenzy include the United Nations, many governments, the media, many large corporations, scientific organizations, and a large portion of the general public (Carter 61). Even though there is “no scientific consensus as to the danger of human-induced climate change,” there is still great alarm within all of these groups (Carter 61). This alarm is greatly attributable to the media and its exaggerated and often misleading coverage of the climate change issue. In pursuit of circulation needs and high ratings in order to increase their revenues, the media is “full of doom and gloom” about human-caused global warming (Carter 61). Al Gore makes millions of dollars by making films and giving speeches on this topic even though he is not an expert on the subject and has been proven wrong on numerous occasions. However, the general public is drawn to these two sources of information because of their exaggerated claims and begins to accept these claims as true without regard to any factual support or lack thereof.
The underlying concern for all of these groups is that human activity and the increased production of greenhouse gases is causing destructive changes in the environment. This hypothesis has failed multiple tests thus far. There has been shown to be no close relationship existing between the 20th century patterns of increasing carbon dioxide and changing temperature which then translates to present day (Carter 62). The rates and magnitude of temperature change during this time fall well within previous natural limits of change. Lastly, the deterministic computer models that have been used have proved unable to predict the course of temperature change since 1990, so why would it now be reliable to predict temperature change up to the year 2100 (Carter 62)? Studies have also debunked the myth that increased carbon dioxide is a dangerous pollutant. Increased carbon dioxide has repeatedly been shown to be beneficial for plant growth and thus not a dangerous pollutant (Carter 62). Ignoring this, governments and organizations like the United Nations still want to have control over how much carbon dioxide humans produce in order to increase their power and influence over others. Therefore, since many of these groups’ claims have gone unproven, they must bend and shape the truth to their liking in order to benefit themselves.
Conclusion
Although there is much known about climate and weather, there is still much that is unknown. However, those who want to promote their own ideologies as absolute truth fail to recognize this fact. In reality, the climate change issue is significantly more complex than just an increase in the Earth’s temperature and thus far there has been no convincing scientific evidence for a measurable human effect on global climate (Khandekar, Murty, & Chittibabu 1557). In light of this, many people and organizations simply choose to ignore what does not fit within their constructed argument. This is easy to do because providing exaggerated and misleading concepts and ideas will help bring about their own personal desires. Whether it is money, power, or control, they are all pursing something and their means of getting it are all the same: deception through exaggeration.
References
Carter, R. M. (2007). The Myth of Dangerous Human-Caused Climate Change. The AusIMM
New Leaders’ Conference, (pp. 61-74). Brisbane.
Khandekar, M. L., T. S. Murty, and P. Chittibabu "The Global Warming Debate: A Review of
the State of Science." Pure & Applied Geophysics 162.8/9 (2005): 1557-1586. EBSCO MegaFILE. EBSCO. Web. 12 Oct. 2009.
