Global Warming: Fact or Fantasy? Essay

While there is a growing concern over the doomsday and gloom events that the earth will likely suffer if people will continue harassing the environment, a big inquiry within the issue on global warming bomdards people everyday: is global warming fact of fantasy? Environmentalists, politicians and concerned citizens are getting involved in the so-called great divide over how real the threat of global warming is or how scary will it be for the people who are caught believing in politicking through science. The scarcity on the supply of potable water and the warming of the oceans, seas and the earth’s surface are all well documented inciting a compelling evidence indicating that global warming may not be the impending doomsday that many scientists forecast. The divided arguments over the reality of global warming is said to be heightened by by commercial and political interests infiltrating the global initiative to curb the devastating effect of global warming. On the other hand, several concerned scientists believe on the promise of the precautionary measures mobilized by governments across the globe in the pursuit of delayinng or even getting rid of the future threats of damage caused by global warming. While there is still no consensus on the vital controversy, this paper takes a stand by suggesting that there is a clear over-manipulation on the issue and instead of exposing to people the real scenario and the real solution to the problem of global warming, there is a great deal of populist pressure overshadowing the advocacy. The aim of this paper is to explore the controversies behind global warming that confuse people across the globe. The Earth is Indeed Getting Warmer According to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), the earth is really getting warmer and that globally averaged surfac temperatures have increased by 1. 1? over the 20th century (Tennesen 4). Under the jurisdiction of the World Meteorological Organization and the United Nations Environmental Program, the institution has estimated that by year 2100, the earth will be 2. 5 to 10. 4? warmer than the present (Tennesen 4). It is said that the human civilization has been causing disturbances to nature by way of abusive of carbon and hydrogen which are considered as the building blocks of nature (J. Tickell and K. Tickell 16). Many scientists and environmentalists believe that greenhouse effect initiates global warming. Greenhouse effect is the ability to of the gases circulating around the Earth’s artmosphere to keep the planet warm (J. Tickell and K. Tickell 17). In this sense, man has brought imbalance to nature and amplified the greenhouse effect by producing billions of tons of greenhouse gases (J. Tickell and K. Tickell 17). This is why man becomes a The Environmental Fantasies With all the scientific evidence cementing the idea that the earth’s rising temperature is alarming, uncertainties and confusion still envelops the global struggle against global warming. Why is is this so? According to Greg Easterbrook, â€Å" Environmentalists, who are surely on the right side of history, are increasingly on the wrong side of the present, risking their credibility by proclaiming emergencies that do not exist. † (qtd. in Percival and Alevizatos 401). He adds that scientists and concerned people known as doomsayers are giving uncautious answers as to whether how alarming global warming could be in the near future when in fact, the main answer should be â€Å"We still don’t know† (qtd. in Percival and Alevizatos 407). The unpredictable state of nature is what instigates several fantasies on the reality of global warming. The populist mechanisms of environmental advocates are making it vague for humans to comprehend and understand all contingencies pointing to global warming. The fantasies which the populists continuously argue include the weather anomalies and those ideologies imposed by the cold earth theorists (Ross 205). Those who support cold earth are still holding their ground againts the media frenzy over global warming saying that the warming theory is just a fabricated government cover-up strongly impacted by the short-term interests of the energy industry (Ross 206). The theorists seem to laugh off the apocalyptic projection of concerned individuals over the impact of global warming because they recognize the need for accurate and realistic estimation of the damage. The cold earth theorists argue that carbon dioxide, the known factor in all reports of global warming, accounted for only three percent of temperature variation and that the documented increase in the earth’s temperature is actually an aspect in hastening the end of the interglacial period (Ross 204). Due to the strange and unpredictable character of the weather, it is quite easy to overrate or even underrate what it will soon bring to the earth. The theorists attest to the idea of scientific frailty by bringing in uncertainties in the issue that seem to attract political and economic interest. Factors such as career prestige, government funding, lobby, formulate and administer policy and the advancement of the discipline of climatology are what fuel political interests in the issue creating such a thing as fantasies (Ross 211). All of the factors given are generally associated with precautionary measures being undertaken by governments and organizations worldwide to combat the problem on the earth’s warming and the . Some critics say that the worldwide initiatives against global warming become a form of constructive power that transforms the world into a different image, detaching it from its real meaning and value and delivering it up to the realization of technical description and control (Ross 212). This realization brings up the idea of fantasies overshadowing the reality of global warming. The vigorous publicity rendered towards global warming is leading towards a more mature idea of ecology as a resource management. Conclusion The only thing factual about global warming is that people are starting to feel its wrath. Nature’s wrath is an inevitable circumstance resulting from man’s continued use of carbon dioxide and other harmful substances that cause nature’s rift. Though there are skeptics who believe that the precautionary measures of governments are just mere fantasises based on selfish and populist ideals, scientific uncertainties should not an excuse to to delay governmental actions where there are clear threarts of danger that could be grave and irreversible (Berry 216). The fantasies which this paper have explored given an insight on how ill-prepared and ill-informed the people are when it comes to the real situation and threat of nature. It is said that the pursuit for better and liveable environment is not a mediocre and a cheap course to take and the skeptics who are not ready to accept the cost that comes with the pursuit. It is a classic thought that the public is not ready to accept the unlimited extra costs for the maintenance of good environment (Berry 216). The consumers are not willing to pay more to have a better environment to live in and they begin to doubt the real costs of confronting the problem of global warming. The fantasies explored in this paper are all associated to economic and political ideals and the skeptics of global warming belong in the consumer group who contribute greatly to the global pursuit by paying taxes and buying goods. This scenario is largely attributable to the skepticism against the initiatives conducted by the government to lessen or even alleviate the future effects of global warming. Even with the skepticism, it is a reality that people could not compromise the earth they are living in. Works Cited Berry, Robert, J. , ed. Environmental Dilemmas: Ethics and Decisions. London: Chapman and Hall, 1993. Print. Percival, Robert, V. , and Dorothy Alevizatos, eds. Law and the Environment: A Multidisciplinary Reader. Philadelphia: Temple University Press, 1997. Print. Ross, Andrew. Strange Weather: Culture, Science and Technology in the Age of Limits. London: Verso, 1991. Print. Tennesen, Michael. The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Global Warming. New York: Alpha Books, 2004. Print. Tickell, Joshua, and Kaia Tickell, From the Fryer to the Fuel Tank: The Complete Guide to Using Vegetable Oil as an Alternative Fuel. California: Tickell Energy, 2003. Print.