Climate Change

EXAMINING THE STATE OF CLIMATE

SCIENCE, THE PROPOSED

SOLUTIONS TO GLOBAL WARMING, AND THE CLAIMS

OF CLIMATE CHANGE SKEPTICS

Climate Change

What is Climate Change?

The term “Climate Change” usually refers to the phenomenon of human caused alterations to the natural

processes that guide our planet. Carbon Emissions, Mining, Freshwater depletion, and Deforestation are all

products of human consumption which drives the changes in our climates and ecosystems.

CO2 and Temperature Indicators

CO2 measurements over the last several decades confirm that since the industrial revolution, human activity has resulted in a dramatic increase in greenhouse gasses being released into the atmosphere

Annual temperature increases also verify the hypotheses of climate scientists, as temperatures have been steadily rising despite the fact that we should currently be in the midst of a global cooling phase.

What’s the deal with Greenhouse Gases?

Greenhouse gases are gases that absorb long wave radiation reflected by the earths surface from our sun. Greenhouse gases include: Water Vapor CO2

Methane and Ozone

CO2 parts per million increase and decrease in roughly 100,000 year cycles, with high carbon ranges near 300 ppm. Today, CO2 ppm is around 380, and by 2050 CO2 levels are expected to be over 500 ppm.

Is Climate Change a Manmade Phenomena?

As the figure clearly illustrates, when climate models consider only natural causes of climate change (blue color), the actual recorded climate (black line) cannot be predicted.

However, when human forcing is added to natural forcing the pink curve matches very well with the observed climate across the globe.

Claims of Climate Skeptics – The “Climate Gate” Scandal

In late 2009, the Climate Research Unit at East Anglia University was attacked by hacker attempting to prove climate change science was a hoax. Skeptics found an email referring to the use of a “trick” to “hide the decline” in global temperatures.

Unfortunately, the so-called 'trick' was nothing more than a statistical method used to bring two or more different kinds of data sets together in a legitimate fashion by a technique that has been reviewed by a broad array of peers in the field.

So What Can We Do? Abandon Fossil Fuels – the burning of fossil fuels is far and

away the largest cause of global warming. Biking to work, and using energy wisely are effective strategies for

reducing your “carbon footprint” Population Pressure – Having 8 children is just not responsible

in this day and age. There are 6.6 Billion people on Earth today…how many more can our planet carry?

Invest in clean energy technologies – instead of rewarding oil companies with your investments, look for innovative leaders in renewable energy industries (wind, solar, and nuclear power)

Consume Less – It might not seem like you can do much on your own, but reevaluating your consumption patterns can benefit your everyday life as well as help limit the damage caused by industry driven resource depletion.