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Climate Change
SPECIAL REPORTS, NewScientist.com
(General Audience)
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THE DEBATE
what’s up with the weather?,
WGBH/NOVA/FRONTLINE, PBS Online,
Public Broadcasting Service (PBS)
(General Audience)
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Global Warming: The Origin and Nature of the
Alleged Scientific Consensus
Richard S. Lindzen,
Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT),
courtesy of Regulation, Cato Institute
(General to Advanced Audience)
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Still Waiting for Greenhouse
John L. Daly & Jerry Brennan
(General to Advanced Audience)
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Winning and Losing the Global Warming Debate
Roger A. Pielke, Jr. & Daniel Sarewitz
(General Audience)
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Are Human Activities Contributing to Climate Change?
Common Questions about Climate Change,
United Nations Environment Programme,
World Meteorological Organization (WMO),
courtesy of
U.S. Global Change Research
Information Office (GCRIO)
[ 24 May 2004 ]
(General Audience)
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Global warming is here now, say delegates
AFP courtesy of The Taipei Times
[ 12 December 2003 ]
(General Audience)
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Junk Science hits fan - Modeling used to promote concept of ‘global warming’ in error
Patrick J. Michaels, The Washington Times,
News World Communications, Inc.
[ 26 February 2002 ]
(General Audience)
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Little Global-Scale Warming Seen During Past 22 Years
UniSci, UniScience News Net, Inc.
[ 17 January 2001 ]
(General Audience)
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MIT study assesses effects of Kyoto Protocol
MIT News, MIT Joint Program on the
Science and Policy of Global Change
[ 6 October 1999 ]
(General Audience)
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The Collapsing Scientific Cornerstones of
Global Warming Theory
H. Sterling Burnett, Brief Analysis 299,
National Center for Policy Analysis (NCPA)
[ 30 June 1999 ]
(General Audience)
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LAKE BAIKAL TEMPERATURE RECORD MAY SHOW A WARMER WINTER WORLD
Greening Earth Society
[ 1999 ]
(General Audience)
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Global warming, a potential consequence of the greenhouse
effect, is one of the “hottest”, most controversial
topics in both science and world politics today. Due to the political
agendas of entities ranging from Greenpeace to the auto, energy and mining
industries, the waters regarding the subject have been muddied considerably.
Some people, including a number of prominent scientists and researchers,
deny the possibility of global warming altogether. The evidence, while
previously in conflict, now speaks clearly; global warming is a
reality. In my eyes, therefore, the issues requiring attention
are:
- Worldwide recognition of the problem by scientific, political and
civilian communities at large;
- Identification of causes;
- Accurate prediction of types of changes and speeds at which they
may occur;
- Determination as to what, if anything, can be done to reverse or
mitigate the process;
- Prediction and resolution of environmental, social, economic and
political impacts of resultant changes.
The greenhouse effect exists because certain gases, known collectively as
greenhouse gases, have accumulated in our atmosphere.
These gases, by virtue of their molecular structure, enable most solar
radiation (short wave infrared) to penetrate the atmosphere, but absorb
thermal energy radiated from the Earth’s surface (long wave infrared).
These gases prevent some surface heat from radiating into space, trapping
it within the atmosphere much as the glass in a greenhouse traps heat to
keep plants warm (albeit by a completely different process).
The greenhouse effect is essential for our survival; without it,
Earth would be a much colder place, incapable of sustaining life as we know
it. However, if the quantity of heat retained increases over time due
to an overabundance of greenhouse gases, the atmosphere and even the oceans
may begin to warm on a global scale. Heating of the air and oceans
would cause glaciers and polar ice to melt, raising sea levels worldwide.
In fact, we are witnessing the occurrence of such events now.
It appears that the debate over whether global warming is actually taking place
has been resolved, though there are still doubters. Global warming
is real, not imagined, and it is affecting our lives today.
Debate continues to rage over the causes of global warming,
since numerous greenhouse gases are produced by combustion and the burning
of fossil fuels. Is global warming a natural or man-made
phenomenon? When entertaining this debate, it is important to remember
that greenhouse gases are also produced by many natural processes that have
taken place throughout Earth’s geologic history.
Possible outcomes of global warming include food shortages, loss of natural
habitat, changes in ocean currents, and submergence of coastal and island
land mass; if abrupt, these changes could result in starvation, mass
migrations (of both animals and people), extinctions, world economic
catastrophe and, of course, wars fought over dwindling resources and
territory.
Emphasis must be given to resolving the debate over whether global warming
is a natural or man-made phenomenon; it is only through
resolution of this question that we can move forward. If global warming
is a natural process, it may very well be too large for mankind to
influence; we must then focus our efforts on how to adapt to its
consequences. If, on the other hand, global warming proves to be man-made,
we must determine what the effects of global warming are likely to be,
what can be done to moderate these effects, and whether the process has
already progressed too far to be influenced in a significant manner.
Finally, is global warming the end game? Will Earth simply
continue to warm; will our atmosphere reach a new, warmer equilibrium
state; or will global warming ultimately unleash physical changes that
result in dramatic atmospheric cooling effects, possibly plunging our
planet into a new Ice Age?
Authored by Kenneth L. Anderson.
Original article published 14 April 2003, updated 5 April
2005.
Follow links to the right to learn more about the ongoing debate over global warming.
At the left margin, Related Links address topics of interest
pertaining to global warming, greenhouse effect, climate change and other climatology and weather subjects. View the
Climate Change SiteMap
for a complete list of global warming and climate change topics.
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