Harris 1

Samuel Harris

Mrs.Parker

English 12

8 March 2017

Climate Change

Listen, global warming is a real problem, but its not the end of the world. A

30-centimeter sea level rise is just not going to bring the world to a standstill, just like it didnt

over the last 150 years(Lomborg). Climate change (or global warming) has become a heavily

debated issue in the last fifty years. There are those who believe climate change is just normal

trends in temperature fluctuation and those who believe humans are responsible for the

potentially disastrous changes in the earths temperature. While there is scientific evidence to

support the earths temperature rising, some opponents continue to argue against this issue and

whether or not the human race is responsible for it.

Climate change is the release of greenhouse gases into the earths atmosphere. People

began to notice a significant rise in the earths temperature around the year 1975. Even though

the earth goes through natural cycles where the temperatures fluctuate, some research shows that
the human race has contributed to some of the rising temperatures (see fig 1)

(Figure 1- This graph shows the rising C02 levels in the last 12 years. You can click on the

timeline and show the level of CO2 that was in the atmosphere. (From Facts. Global Climate

Change:Vital Signs of the Planet. Earth Science Communications Team. n.d. 10 Mar 2017.

https://climate.nasa.gov/vital-signs/carbon-dioxide/ )

Many people who believe in climate change, and who think it could be a threat arent

doing anything about it. They want to help but they are doing the wrong things, instead of

walking more, or even car pooling, they are recycling. Yes that is helping the planet but not in

they way they think. It isnt helping close the hole in the ozone layer. In a video about climate

change, youtuber Veritasium, talks about a law that the Australian Government passed. The law

was a carbon tax that was working quite well, but suddenly they repealed it and we dont know

why. The carbon levels were going down so why did they do it?(Climate)

When asked What can society do to prevent global warming? Western High schools

tenth grade biology teacher Jacqueline Bogdanski responded saying, They can do really simple

things like the whole recycle, reuse stuff like not use energy to dig for more stuff and reusing
things that we already have... Buying used stuff and just my recycling and reusing stuff, those are

big ones, but less energy consumption and just simply do little things like car pooling with each

other and little things like riding a bike to the store or walking. You can also do other stuff like

go through your home and insulate and upgrade to more energy efficient appliances

(Bogdanski). Mrs.Bogdanski also stated that she Absolutely believes in climate change but

she also says ...There are both manmade and natural causes and we cant really do anything

about the natural cycling of the elements, but we can certainly affect how much CO2 that

humans produce...definitely (Bogdanski) With her saying that, it shows that humans have a role

in the rising climate but we can change how much CO2 we put out.

Even if it is the natural cycling of the earth, you cant deny that the earth's temperature is

rising. Animals are losing their homes if it was due to humans or not (The Black Vault).

According to Nature World News, 2016 could have been the hottest year in the last 1,000 years.

Before that it was the year 2014, which set the benchmark pretty high. We have experienced

melting ice caps, rising sea levels, extreme weather conditions, and on top of that there have

been records of an Australian rodent that is the first mammal that has gone extinct because the

rising sea levels due to climate changes (Nature world news). ...I think really horrific stuff

maybe fifty years from now, there are a lot of predictions out there about rising sea levels by

2050 which is less than fifty years from now. Just look at what happen in California

(Bogdanski).

Deforestation is one thing that is affecting climate change; the trees and plants that are

being cut down take the carbon dioxide that we produce and turn it into oxygen which we breath.

When the amount of plants go down, the carbon dioxide goes up, and with the carbon levels
going up it could cause the rising sea levels, storms, floods, etc (Easy on Global). Deforestation

is bad as it is but considering that it could be helping climate change it becomes even worse and

its all the more reason so stop, or at least cut back on how many plants and trees are cut down,

or after every tree a company cuts down we plant two more in its place. Many people think that

climate change can end the world. Most think that the earth will just become a barren wasteland,

the ice caps will be gone. The ozone layer will disappear and everything will fall apart. All the

possible catastrophes could soon happen. A majority of the people think that climate change

could change the world and not for the better (Renganathan, Indira Global).

The Earths temperature has had a history of warming and cooling down. The natural

cycles from the ice ages to the more warmer decades but in the last couple years the temperature

has gone up faster than normal and most people think it is because of human activity. Ever since

the industrial revolution, factories and powerplants have been burning fossil fuels like coal and

oil. The energy that is sent from the sun is absorbed by the Earth because of the plants and trees

but the majority of the energy is sent out to space. Lately more and more energy is being thrown

back towards the Earth due to the fact that it cant pass back through the ozone layer. Studies

have shown that methane and carbon dioxide levels have reached an all time high in the last

420,000 years. According to NASA, arctic sea ice has gone down by ten percent in the last 30

years. With all the changes in the world, some of the species on the earth that can adapt to the

constantly changes environment could face exertion, which we have already seen with the

Australian rodent (National Geographic Global).

The other side of the debate is saying that climate change is not a thing, and humans are

not responsible to the rising temperatures. Over 17,000 scientists have signed a petition
circulated by the Oregon Institute of Science and Medicine saying, in part, there is no

convincing scientific evidence that human release of carbon dioxide, methane, or other

greenhouse gases is causing or will, in the foreseeable suture, cause catastrophic heating of the

Earths atmosphere and disruption of the Earths climate. They also say that if we cut off all uses

of greenhouse gases that it would actually end up hurting us more that helping, because of the

instant change the Earth would go though. They also provide information they have collected

with a Satellite reading of temperature in the lower troposphere ( an area scientists predict would

immediately show any signs of climate change) show no warming since readings began 23 years

ago (Arguments Against Global ).

The only solutions that I have seen over and over is to cut back on burning greenhouse

gases, instead of driving cars people could walk more. ...recycle reuse stuff like not use energy

to dig for more stuff and reusing things that we already have... Buying used stuff a...car pooling

with each other and little things like riding a bike to the store or walking ...go through your home

and insulate and upgrade to more energy efficient appliances... as a consumer you drive the

market. So if you push the manufacturers to produce things are more energy efficient because

you simply dont want to buy it you are driving the economy and the market. Your choices do

matter (Bogdanski). So the big things are just simple: stop producing more Carbon dioxide

than we need to, but if you dont believe in climate change, then you dont think anything needs

to be fixed.

Scientific evidence proves the Earths temperature is rising. Some see it as a problem and

some dont, but either way its still a cause for concern. Research has been done on the causes of

climate change, but they are not conclusive. Scientists are continuing their research in an effort
to find answers before it may be too late. No matter how each person may feel about this subject,

it is changing daily and it is affecting everyone. There is only one Earth and it is up to all of us to

protect it without negatively impacting our own lives. A balance must be found to preserve all

life.
 Work Cited

"Climate Change Is Boring." YouTube. N.p., 29 Aug. 2014. Web. 14 Mar. 2017.
https://youtu.be/eNx9tvCrvv8

(The Black Vault) "Global Warming / Climate Change." The Black Vault. N.p., 29
July 2016. Web. 14 Mar. 2017.
http://www.theblackvault.com/documentarchive/global-warming-climate-change/

Bogdanski, Jacqueline Personal Interview 1, March, 2017

(Vital signs of) "Carbon Dioxide Concentration | NASA Global Climate Change." NASA.
NASA, 23 Sept. 2016. Web. 14 Mar. 2017.
https://climate.nasa.gov/vital-signs/carbon-dioxide/
(vitial sings of NatureWorldNews. "2016 May Be Hottest Year Yet: Global

(Nature World New) Warming at an 'Unprecedented' Pace in a Millenium, NASA Says."

Nature World News. N.p., 02 Sept. 2016. Web. 14 Mar. 2017.
http://www.natureworldnews.com/articles/27988/20160902/2016-hottest-year-glo
bal-warming-unprecedented-pace-millenium-nasa.htm

"Essay on Global Warming for Children and Students." Essay on Global Warming for
Children and Students. N.p., 07 Mar. 2017. Web. 14 Mar. 2017
http://www.indiacelebrating.com/essay/global-warming-essay/

Renganathan, Indira. "Global Warming." PoemHunter.com. N.p., 14 Apr. 2008. Web. 14

Mar. 2017
https://www.poemhunter.com/poem/global-warming-20/

NationalGeographic. "Global Warming 101 | National Geographic." YouTube. YouTube,

18 May 2007. Web. 14 Mar. 2017.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oJAbATJCugs&feature=youtu.be

"Arguments Against Global Warming, Evidence Against Global Warming - The Public
Square." Arguments Against Global Warming, Evidence Against Global Warming
- The Public Square. N.p., n.d. Web. 14 Mar. 2017.
http://www.aproundtable.org/tps30info/globalwarmup.html