The issue of global warming has plagued the minds of the educated world since it first became known. However, because of the doubt that many people have about its very existence and the uncertainty that the popular media has promoted by capitalizing on this doubt, the problem has not been properly addressed. Although all scientific evidence points towards the fact that global warming is the lead cause of a potentially destructive climate shift the likes of which has never been seen before, much of the media tends to display opposing perspectives in hopes of getting the attention of and, in the process, selling their products and services to the populace.
Increasing efforts to spread awareness of the phenomenon have not been as successful as some had hoped, primarily because much of the educated (non-scientist) population believes that the ongoing climate changes are part of a natural cycle and that not enough scientific evidence exists to indicate otherwise. People who have seen convincing evidence especially scientists like myself have not yet taken responsibility for educating the remainder of the population about the seriousness of the matte
The most important thing to realize is that the climate changes that we have experienced in the last few years are not a part of a natural cycle, contrary to what the energy companies would like you to believe. For the entire history of the world, global temperature averages have directly followed atmospheric carbon dioxide levels; since the industrial age (a relatively short period of time if you consider how long the world has existed), carbon dioxide levels have skyrocketed and global temperatures have followed. Although the temperatures that we are currently experiencing are not unprecedented, they are on pace to reach heights that this planet has never seen before if they follow the trend that scientists are predicting. Meanwhile, a drastic increase in the number of temperature extremes (both high temperatures and low temperatures haven't you noticed that winters are getting colder and summers are getting hotter?) and natural disasters (for instance, hurricanes are more frequent now than they were 20 years ago) indicates that the climate around the world is not fluctuating normally. Instead, we are seeing something that will lead to a major change in global currents and, eventually, another ice age. Such trends are easy to notice for scientists, whose profession requires daily experimentation and data analysis, but remain out of reach for much of the population. This makes it necessary for scientists to do all that is possible to spread such vital information. At the moment, all we do is publish our research in journals that only other scientists read, but we fail to spread the information to the general public.
Scientific evidence supporting global warming is lacking only in the popular media: about half of magazine/newspaper articles suggest that either it's not happening or that it's not caused by humans. Research journals, meanwhile, contain a wide variety of articles involving its causes and effects, nearly none of which dispute its existence. In fact, if a professor in my department were to say that he doesn't believe in global warming, he'd become the laughingstock of the faculty. The few scientists that do discredit the notion of an unusual global temperature change are usually the ones that have a financial interest vested in energy companies.
Unfortunately, these scientists are the ones who are much more likely to be featured in an interesting news story, since it's not easy to sell magazines and newspapers if you just write about a bunch of people who agree with each other. Most researchers rarely extend their influence beyond the circle of people in their own field, so their expert opinion gets lost in the plethora of articles that is constantly published in scholarly journals rather than in the popular media. To make the educated voice heard, environmental scientists must aim not to publish just in Science and Nature, but also in Time and Newsweek. and the problem is that scientists don't usually like to write non-scientific work and non-scientists don't like to read scientific work.
An average educated person will often fail to acknowledge a major problem if significant action is required to solve it. Ethnic cleansing, genocide, and slavery have gone virtually unnoticed in the past because any action would be inconvenient (even recently, in places like Rwanda); often, we don't even notice the problem until considerable damage has already been done. Similarly, global climate shifts pose a major concern that could potentially cause incalculable amounts of casualties as can be seen by the disproportionately large number of hurricanes, droughts, and other natural disasters in recent years and it is vital that the people are informed about the matter before the damage becomes uncontrollable. Because the public is mostly concerned that the scientific evidence for global warming is inadequate or faulty, it becomes the responsibility of the scientist to show that this is, in fact, not true. This is my attempt, as a scientist, to reach out to a common audience rather than just to colleagues. I hope that other scientists follow suit and establish the fact that the phenomenon is, in fact, very real and very dangerous.
All these factors aside, we need to keep in mind that whether humans are causing it or not, we have a major problem coming that we need to address. Even if global warming isn't our fault, the change in climate is definitely real (this is a known fact that even oil companies don't deny) and we need to adapt to it. We keep coming up with ideas like biodiesel and ethanol (which are actually no better for the environment than petroleum), but we ignore the fact that we still haven't found a way to reverse the damage already done. The climate change will affect all of the worldwide currents and will propel us into another ice age unless we reverse it. If we can't reverse it, then why aren't we trying to find ways to live through the ice age? Even if it doesn't happen during our lifetime, are we prepared to pass on such a massive problem to our kids and our grandkids?
It's time for scientists to take action and tell the general public what we've known for years. This article is the first step hopefully, we'll see more in the future.
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Shan-ul-Hai, the chief author of Globally Rational, is a self-described cosmopolitan scientist. His articles typically involve the application of evidence-based logic to some of the world's most interesting and thought-provoking affairs. His background as a Pakistani-American supplements his training as a scientist and his skill as a writer, leading to a myriad of of unique perspectives.
Mr. Keith(1,956) Mr. Keith (19 days 8 hours ago.)
Sorry, There is no proof that global warming is a result of AMERICAN pollution. I stress AMERICAN because CHINA keeps taking our jobs and undercutting our prices and we lose our jobs.
CHINA has no care to even think about doing ANYTHING about global warming.
So, let us keep continuing to cripple the AMERICAN economy while CHINA just gets bigger and Stronger. Global warming is happening, but to blame AMERICA is a joke. Respond to this comment
Shan-ul-Hai (19 days 8 hours ago.)
I didn't blame America for it... this is a very global issue that needs to be addressed on a global level.
As a side note, if you take a look at global statistics, the US consumes over 3 times as much oil as China, despite our smaller population. Respond to this comment
Joel Hendon(4,300) Joel Hendon (15 days 14 hours ago.)
Very few people that I know are arguing there is no global warming occurring. The argumen is that it is not the CO2 that is doing it. You contend that it is and that the warming increase is following the rise in CO2. You will have to prove to me some way that this is a true statement. Historically, Co2 increase has followed the heat increase, not the other way around. Also, the effect of CO2, cannot possibly be as serious as contended since it is only a tiny portion of our atmosphere whereas water vapor is far more extensive in absorbing heat than is the CO2. We need to control our pollutants into the air, but CO2 is not the culprit.
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