Temperature: The heat or coolness that is measured with a thermometer.
Heat record: Hottest temperatures of all time (Recorded like data).
Is climate change really happening..? It is hard to tell if climate change is really happening because some people believe that it is a serious problem that needs to be stopped and many others say that climate change is just a “hoax”.. Is there any real proof that climate change is happening? On Daily Sabah they explain that “last year, the Earth sweltered under the hottest temperatures in modern times for the third year in a row, US scientists said Wednesday, raising new concerns about the quickening pace of climate change”(Earth is getting hotter and hotter, breaking heat record for third year in a row). They explain that climate change is a trend because they have been looking back at the heat records. The National Centers for Environmental Information states, “The 21st century is a new record high annual temperature has been set (along with 2005, 2010, and 2014) and also marks the 39th consecutive year (since 1977) that the annual temperature has been above the 20th century average. To date, including 2015, 15 of the 16 warmest years on record have occurred during the 21st century. 1998 is currently tied with 2009 as the sixth warmest year on record, they keep being broken year after year”(Global Analysis- Annual 2015). The NOAA (National Oceanic And Atmospheric Administration) explains that the annual temperature is above the 20th century average and it keeps rising. They know this because almost each year heat records consecutively break time and time again. These people seem to have a pretty clear understanding on what they believe is climate change, but there is no proven facts that climate change is really occurring because we need years of more data. On Daily Sabah they say that it is the third year in a row that the heat levels have been record breaking. But the only way to find out if climate change is really happening they will need 50 years plus of data to see if it isn't just a coincidence or a short term trend.
What are the different points of view about the idea of climate change? Many people believe that climate change is just another scientific scandal that people have made up while others believe that it is a serious problem that needs to be stopped.
Oklahoma attorney general, Scott Pruitt, says in his confirmation hearing, “We must reject as a nation the false paradigm that if you're pro-energy, you're anti-environment, and if you're pro-environment, you're anti-energy. In this nation, we can grow our economy, harvest the resources God has blessed us with, while also being good stewards of the air, land and water” (Pruitt). Scott Pruitt is explaining that we can still harvest our resources and try and save them while we still make different innovations with technology. He came up with the idea that environmental protection can be accomplished without undermining the economy. However, there still are people on the other side of the spectrum like for instance, Donald Trump. Donald Trump Current President of the United States, previously claimed that, “Climate change is a hoax, and It’s a scam invented by the Chinese”. By Donald Trump saying that climate change is a hoax because he does not think it is real these things, he sparked a lot of room for debate because many people believe that he sounds uneducated by saying this. Trump has now started to deny the fact that he said this and is starting to refer to climate change as an urgent problem, this is why it is unclear to many if they believe in climate change and the long term effects that are being claimed that will take place from it.
The author Jennifer A. Dlouhy is writing about a professional, Scott Pruitt the Oklahoma attorney general. People reading this article will find that credible because he is a professional in this topic about climate change and being pro energy and pro environment. She also attaches videos of the different debates and ideas in her article so people can see what the debates are like first hand, and they can better their understanding of both sides of the argument.
Greenhouse gases: Gases that are released which lead to the warming of the atmosphere.
Climate change: The environmental and temperature changes that are affecting the earth.
What is a cause of Climate change? A researchers from Just Facts states that people don't have to believe in the idea of climate change, all they need to do is look at the facts. James Agresti explains what the greenhouse effect is and what it does to the earth. “The greenhouse effect is a warming effect caused by certain gases that retain heat from sunlight. Without such gases, the average surface temperature of the Earth would be below freezing, and as explained by the Encyclopedia of Environmental Science, “life, as we know it, would not exist”(Agresti). They explain that the greenhouse effect brought life to the planet but is isn't slowing down. We keep generating more and more greenhouse gases which is continuously heating up the planet. A series of different engineers and scientists from Do Something also explain what climate change is and the correlation it has with greenhouse gases, “Climate change is the increase of Earth's average surface temperature due to greenhouse gases that collect in the atmosphere like a thickening blanket, trapping the sun's heat and causing the planet to warm up”(11 Facts About Global Warming). This fact that greenhouse gases are warming the planet is found from many credible sources and isn't just made up. Years of research have been put into figuring out why the planet is a place for life, and why scientist believe the earth will keep getting warmer.
Man made: made or caused by human beings.
Fossil Fuels: a natural fuel such as coal or gas.
What are the ideas behind man made climate change/ global warming?
Some ideas behind man made global warming is that many scientist believe that climate changes main source of occurring is from greenhouse gases, which humans play a role in producing. Former NASA scientist Roy Spencer who has a Ph. D in the study of climate change explains, “The basics of why so many scientists think global warming is man made. Earth’s atmosphere contains natural greenhouse gases (mostly water vapor, carbon dioxide, and methane) which act to keep the lower layers of the atmosphere warmer than they otherwise would be without those gases. As of 2008, the concentration of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere was about 40% to 45% higher than it was before the start of the industrial revolution in the 1800’s” (Spencer).Us humans play a large role in the amount of greenhouse gasses that are being given off, we play a large role because of the amount of fossil fuels that we use in our daily lives. The Industrial revolution was a huge turning point because instead of manufacturing things in homes we shifted to powered, special-purpose machinery, factories and mass production.
Climate change: The environmental and temperature changes that are affecting the earth.
Emission: the production and discharge of something, especially gas or radiation.
Are we finding ways to deal with climate change? Since climate change has many different points of view about if climate change is really happening, or is it getting warmer or colder. But most scientists agree that greenhouse gases play a role in the change of climate, The Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU) explains that “For example, the production of steel, other metals, cement and chemicals (including plastic) account for roughly 50 per cent of all industrial greenhouse gas emissions.But recycling of scrap metals, once done to reduce costs, also reduces greenhouse gas emissions” (The Norwegian University of Science and Technology). The scientists from Norwegian University explain that if we can control our production of metals and different chemicals. Also if we can find a way to safely recycle these metals and chemicals, we could start to see some positive changes when it comes to the environment. From the David Suzuki Foundation (Solution is in our Nature) the members of the foundation cover the fact that we all play a role in climate change. Also that we all have our own tiny carbon footprint that does have a part in dealing with climate change. The David Suzuki Foundation states that “the choices we make in our day-to-day life — how we get around, what we eat, how we live — play a major role in slowing climate change” (David Suzuki Foundation). They are saying that our day to day life plays a role in climate change and the only way we would be able to slow down climate change is if everybody was on board. To get everyone on board there would have to be clear factual evidence instead of all these maybes and ideas that are being talked about in each article.
Are the recorded temperatures on a graph accurate to the idea that “each year gets warmer and warmer”? Three years in a row the heat records have been broken all over the globe, scientist are keeping a close eye on this trend because no one knows if it will keep occurring or if it is just three year trend that will turn out to be a myth? From the NOAA (National Oceanic And Atmospheric Administration) they go on to make a table that shows the heat records...
1
2015
0.90
1.62
2
2014
0.74
1.33
3
2010
0.70
1.26
4
2013
0.66
1.19
5
2005
0.65
1.17
These were the records shown, you can see that it goes from 2015 as being in first to 2014, to 2010, to 2013, to 2005. So these number do not necessarily go in order, that shows that we need more data to figure out if this is just a unique trend, or if it is a real problem that is taking place. From the temperature and perception maps time series they explain that “ Much of the record warmth for the globe can be attributed to record warmth in the global oceans. The annually-averaged temperature for ocean surfaces around the world was 0.74°C (1.33°F) higher than the 20th century average, easily breaking the previous record of 2014” (Temperature and perception maps time series). A Lot of the change being noticed is happening on the oceans because the temperature change is so obvious and clear that scientist can get a pretty good idea on how much the temperature is changing. Overall we need to keep studying this broad topic of climate change and see if the earth keeps changing this drastically.
The NOAA (National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration) choose to make its evidence clear by creating different data tables with the different annual temperatures for each year. They also listed all facts they didn't include very much opinions, they just stuck to what has been proven.