I believe “Global Warming” is a kitchy catch phrase for a real event that is occurring as we speak. I have watched “An Inconvenient Truth” which provides evidence from many scientists that the rapid rise in CO2 levels is a trend that, if it continues at the current rate, will trap enough solar energy to cause—for one thing--serious depletion of the polar ice caps, which causes a domino effect of change within the Earth System. While the movie purports that humanity is the cause of the unprecedented speed with which this is occurring, other scientist and nay-sayers still claim the cycle is natural, if one were to look at Earth’s history of climatic ups and downs. They say the evidence is exaggerated. I believe that it is OBVIOUS that humanity has changed this world more abruptly than any other species, and quite possibly any other event in Earth’s history, save perhaps theoretical asteroid collisions blamed for mass extinctions in the past.
Aside from the debate on whether or not we are causing rapid global warming, there is PROOF we have caused changes to the planet in many other ways. We have damaged the oceans with our human behaviors, killing life-sustaining reefs, according to the World Resources Institute (who studied human affects on the reefs near Belize) and the Coral Reef Monitoring Network (see http://www.livescience.com/environment/coral_reef_041207.html). We have polluted the waters of this planet, possibly beyond repair, with industrial chemicals, human waste, and other pathogens (including artificial hormones and unused medicines [see http://www.bu.edu/sjmag/scimag2005/features/drugsinwater.htm]) we mindlessly dump into the waters (point-pollution evidence is irrefutable in this argument). While the EPA and NOAA may monitor changes in our own nation’s fresh water supply, other countries, like China and India, are dumping more and more toxins into the system with seriously lax regulations and enforcements (according to a recent report, the deputy minister of construction in China says that 90 percent of China's cities and 75 percent of its lakes have some degree of damaged water [see http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/english/doc/2005-06/07/content_449451.htm]). We have raped the rainforests through clear-cutting and have drained the wetlands to make room for farm ground and cities. We have helped in the rapid transport of damaging invasive species all around the world—by plane, car, and boat (see http://www.ucsusa.org/invasive_species/invasive-species-update.html). We have putrefied the air in our cities with our wasteful consumption of petroleum products and disregard for the impact it places on the environment.
How is it, then, that we can believe we are not causing damage to this planet? Look at all we do, in the name of “Human as Superior Being.” How can human beings continue to behave this way without guilt? What can we do to stop this human invasion of the planet? I know this might all sound too philosophical for a science class, but I wonder what it is going to take to WAKE US UP! Is money the driving factor to all this behavior (I think I already know the answer to that one)?
2 comments:
"PROOF" - that's a strong word!
When your students ask you to describe the evidence that supports anthropogenic global warming, how do you explain it to them?
Yeah, I know. "PROOF" is strong. But I do utilize data as proof (which I usually call "evidence" in class) from scientific investigations, such as the "plastic trashbag gyre" article(http://sierraclub.typepad.com/insider/2007/09/the-deadliest-i.html)
or another article that tells of studies of how human waste contaminates our waters with pollutants other than e-coli (http://www.bu.edu/sjmag/scimag2005/features/
drugsinwater.htm). I often have students do the research on the anthropogenic effects of global warming--whether the evidence or opinions are pro or con human influences or causes (see my reply to your blog on prior knowledge). As it is, several articles point to solar influences, which tend to have at least some degree of support from the scientific community. I also ask the kids to imagine Denver or L.A. without human presence--to describe the air quality, noise level, trash level, etc. to determine at least some of our invasive qualities :-).
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