Scientists Sound the Alarm on Global Warming, but Americans Sleep In

Current Event #2                                                                                Michelle Paulson

Earth Science IH                                                                                 3/20/14

SCIENTISTS SOUND THE ALARM ON GLOBAL WARMING, BUT AMERICANS SLEEP IN

"the only way to get our society to truly change is to frighten people with the possibility of a catastrophe."

~daniel botkin

Works Cited:

Walsh, Bryan. "Getting Worried About Global Warming | TIME." Time. Time, 18 Mar. 2014. Web. 20 Mar. 2014.

Gans, Herbet J. "Public Opinion Polls Do Not Always Report Public Opinion » Nieman Journalism Lab." Nieman Journalism Lab. Nieman Foundation at Harvard, 29 Apr. 2013. Web. 20 Mar. 2014.

AAS Climate Science Panel. "What We Know." What We Know. American Association for the Advancement of Science, n.d. Web. 20 Mar. 2014.

Michaels, David. "Doubt Is Their Product." Scientific American Global RSS. The Scientific American Magazine, June 2005. Web. 20 Mar. 2014.

University Corporation for Atmospheric Research. "How Much Has the Global Temperature Risen in the Last 100 Years? | UCAR - University Corporation for Atmospheric Research." How Much Has the Global Temperature Risen in the Last 100 Years? | UCAR - University Corporation for Atmospheric Research. University Corporation for Atmospheric Research, Dec.-Jan. 2013. Web. 20 Mar. 2014.

Dugan, Andrew. "Americans Most Likely to Say Global Warming Is Exaggerated."Americans Most Likely to Say Global Warming Is Exaggerated. Gallup Politics, 17 Mar. 2-14. Web. 20 Mar. 2014.

Riffkin, Rebecca. "Climate Change Not a Top Worry in U.S." Climate Change Not a Top Worry in U.S. Gallup Politics, 12 Mar. 2014. Web. 20 Mar. 2014.

Jones, Jeffery M. "In U.S., Most Do Not See Global Warming as Serious Threat." In U.S., Most Do Not See Global Warming as Serious Threat. Gallup Politics, 13 Mar. 2014. Web. 20 Mar. 2014.

Summary:

            Gallup, a popular website known for its data driven polls from all over the United States and the world just released some rather disappointing results for its poll on Americans’ views on global warming. According to the poll (GALLUP POLL 1), 2/3 of Americans believe that global warming is happening in their lives, which it is (CLICK FOR MORE INFO), but a not-as-hot 36% of Americans believe that global warming would prove to be a serious threat to their way of life. Unfortunately, and 51% of Americans surveyed gave it little to no regard for climate change (GALLUP POLL 2). Forty two percent of the surveyed believe that scientists place too much emphasis on global warming (GALLUP POLL 3). Online polls like these are far from perfect (CLICK FOR AN ARTICLE ON OPINION POLL INACCURACIES) but they illustrate the nation’s problems infinitively better than they can survey about them because the glaring oversight the American public has on global warming will have drastic consequences. According to a report made by the American Association for Advancement of Science (LINK HERE FOR THE REPORT), unchecked global warming has encroaching hazards that range from miniscule to downright disastrous. Irrefutable is the evidence of rising levels of greenhouse gases, higher temperatures, early springs, melting ice sheets, acidifying oceans, and fluctuating rainfall patterns. Global warming is as obviously bad for the environment as smoking is for the lungs and heart, and even evidence for that took decades to gather. The same tactics used by cigarette companies to shed doubt upon the dangers of smoking are used for the dangers of global warming, using researchers to deliberately try and undermine years of hard-earned scientific research just because they pose a threat to business. (CLICK FOR AN ARTICLE ON DOUBT STOKING TACTICS). Thus, the AAAS has made its crucial goal to relate climate change and global warming to the disaster of the average American’s life. For years and years, gathering mines of information over time, all the scientists have been chanting that global warming and climate change are environmental dangers that will impact the world soon and are already.

Significance:

It is high time that the United States and the rest of the world get their act together and believe in it because if the world fails to realize this, CO₂ concentration will reach over 400 ppm and stay that way for a century or for forever. Therefore, over the twenty first century, the entire globe may warm up more than it ever has during the last 65 billion years. If this is not a cause for alarm, then certainly the world will never know what is. Also, ignorance of the world’s issues, even by the educated middle class and elite, will lead to a correlation with overlooking other issues so that history may even repeat itself. While the world is gradually becoming too hot for certain life to exist and even forcing pests to hatch faster and the ice to melt faster, there can be even more problems, such as the prolonged depletion of the ozone layer, thus lessening protection against UV rays, and just as importantly, the children of this world and their children will not be able to enjoy the world and all the diverse species that live within like how people today could. A shortcoming like this will force everyone now and in the future to pay dearly if students and teachers and everyday pedestrians alike do not take care of this planet and its fragile conditions for all sorts of life.

Critique:

            This article was exceptionally well written, with many informative links used within this review. Please check them out; even skim them a bit, if interested. However, while the article was fairly informative and well written, there could afford to be a bit more details on how doubt of global warming and climate change is stirred up, even with a link, because one must pay the Scientific American magazine to access articles fully. The article also had the gist of a persuasive essay. Perhaps in the next article, Time could equivocate by adding a concession paragraph or two. If they were added, Time would come across as even more intriguing and credible than it already is (it is a very good source, do not get this wrong). For further current events, please look to Time magazine and its site. From politics to science, Time offers an excellent variety of choices for the next current event. Hopefully, more articles will come up on this subject as soon as possible!