The Earth is constantly changing and has various cycles to keep the Earth in balance. When gases like carbon monoxide and methane build up in the atmosphere solar energy is trapped and causes the Earth to warm up; this phenomenon is known as global warming or climate change. It wasn’t until 1896, when Swedish scientist Svante Arrhenius, proposed that humans can accelerate this effect by burning fossil fuels.
Climate change is a largely debated subject among scientists, politicians, and the general public as to whether or not it is happening.
Climate change is a crisis the world should take seriously. Many people believe climate change is a hoax, and many spread false propaganda to work in their favor against climate change, but the scientific community has data to back up the fact that climate change is a problem.
Many believe climate change is a hoax for multiple factors. The first reason they think this is because there has been no significant temperature change since 1997.
From 1997 to 2016, there has been a global increase in temperature from 0.47 °C to 0.87°C. This is a small increase compared to previous dates before 1997, but it is also a small period to look at compared to Earth’s timeline. Some of the model calculations used to make predictions in the past have proven to be flawed. This has led some scientists to argue that the increase in temperatures could be a normal climate shift. Another reason is that Arctic ice caps have increased by 50% since 2012.
In 2008, Al Gore, a politician, and environmentalist made a public prediction that “the entire North ‘polarized’ cap will disappear in 5 years.” Although this was a prediction, many people saw it as if this happens climate change is real, if it doesn’t then that means climate change does not exist. Many times when predictions are made by scientists or advocates that don’t necessarily pan out, it gives reason for people to doubt. This has been a problem when it comes to climate change since these types of predictions are hard to make.
Companies, politicians, and scientists who would be negatively impacted or are paid off have been spreading propaganda to the public. This is because total global warming acceptance could lead to the destruction of their company or agenda. Climate change denial is highest in the United States thanks to companies like the Koch industries and oil and gas companies. Jim Inhofe, a United States senator who is in charge of the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee, brought a snowball into the senate and threw it on the floor. He did this to prove climate change is not happening. He later went on to state that schools are brainwashing kids to believe climate change is real. Any scientist could give him undeniable facts that prove climate change, but because Jim Inhofe could lose his seat in the senate for losing his funds from major companies he will continue to deny it. “Of his contributors, the biggest is Koch Industries – an oil, gas, minerals, timber and chemicals corporation…
The second biggest contributor is Murray Energy, which boasts it is “the largest privately owned coal company in America”. The third is the oil and gas company Devon Energy.
The fourth is the Contran Corporation, whose billionaire owner Harold Clark Simmons has a political profile similar to that of the Koch brothers.” There should be a reform of political funding to stop huge corporations and wealthy businessmen who pay off politicians to advocate in their favor. This is greatly affecting the environment and potentially affecting people’s health and lives just so companies can make a little money. The company’s short-term benefits are nothing compared to the long-term negative impacts that affect every organism on this planet. Not only are politicians corrupted, but some scientists are also paid by big companies. Many times when one sees a book or article written by an organization against climate change they have to back their information up with what a scientist says. These scientists are paid by corporations to provide false scientific research or to just advocate in the company’s favor. It was reported that Wei-Hock Soon, a scientist who doubts climate change is man-made has “received more than $1.2 million from ExxonMobil, Southern Company, the American Petroleum Institute, and the Charles G. Koch Charitable Foundation.” He is one of the many scientists whose interests only lie in his bank account and not what happens to the world.
Despite how people feel about climate change there is evidence that it is a major problem that faces us today. Since the beginning of the industrial revolution, when fossil fuels have become a huge role in our everyday lives, the amount of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere has risen. Scientists have historical data dating back to 800,000 years ago from ice core studies that show the amount of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere today is higher than it has ever been before. With these high levels of carbon dioxide, there have beenrecordingd highs in temperature for many consecutive years. As the temperatures rise the ocean absorbs more heat causing sea surface temperatures to rise and an increase in sea levels. This leads to more frequent coastal flooding along with making the ocean more acidic. We can observe these effects by watching the impacts it has on coral reefs which are being destroyed along with impacting any organism that needs calcium carbonate to make its shell. Another impact that will be most visible to us is the change in the weather. There will be heavier rainfall, longer and more severe droughts, hurricanes will be stronger along with heavier flooding. This happens because warming temperatures increase the rate of evapotranspiration which is the total amount of water evaporating from the soil, plants, and bodies of water. This process makes droughts more likely to happen and intensify. The atmosphere now holds 4% more water than it did 40 years ago due to the temperature rise which increases the risk of extreme rainfall. Habitats are being affected dramatically which is causing the world’s 6th mass extinction that is different from all the others.
If a person went back in time before humans significantly used fossil fuels they would experience a cleaner environment where the only greenhouse gases came from volcanic eruptions and other natural causes. Fast forward to the industrial revolution, the environment is being overly polluted and temperatures are rising. Today, the world has a choice that could make or break human existence. If no action is done to eliminate the oil and gas companies and corrupted politicians, future generations will face the hardships of dealing with rising temperatures, intensified weather pollution, and mass extinctions.
The Dangers of Human Influence on Climate Change. (2022, Jul 25). Retrieved from http://envrexperts.com/free-essays/essay-about-the-dangers-of-human-influence-on-climate-change