Global Climate: The Confusion

CRAIG DAVENPORT PROFESSOR CAMPBELL RESEARCH PRESENTATION MARCH 13, 2014

The Global Warming Debate

The climate has been fluctuating over the last few decades, with a large spike starting a few decades ago. However over the last fifteen or so years the climate increase has stagnated, even giving evidence of cooling. It is hard to tell if these climate changes are due to carbon emission driven global warming or just a part of one of Earths natural cycles. The evidence is hard to read, with both sides of the debate giving evidence that can prove their side, or incriminate the other side. Global warming is very prominent in the concern of todays politics, as evident with President Obama addressing global warming in his 2014 State of the Union speech. However, at this point in time, either side could be right, the all around truth has yet to be determined.

The Global Warming Debate

In this research project, I aim to explore both sides of the argument. There are plenty of facts that lend themselves toward supporting global warming and the dangers of human carbon emissions. Yet, at the same time there is a fair counter argument filled with facts that could derail global warming, even suggest a global cooling phase. I intend to investigate both sides of the argument and provide enough information for those who would be affected by this situation, which is anyone living on planet Earth, to be able to be more educated on what is going on with this home of ours. There may not be enough information to gather a definite answer, but there is definitely room to become educated and form opinions.

Terms to Know

Polar Vortex- strong winds high in the atmosphere around the Arctic that keep bitter cold temperatures up North. Climate- the average temperature of a period of twenty to thirty years. Global Warming- the idea that human carbon emissions are causing the average temperature of the Earth to increase until it is catastrophic. Global Cooling- the idea that the Earth is no longer in a period of warming, and now it is cooling. Greenhouse Effect- the more greenhouse gasses, such as carbon dioxide, are emitted into the atmosphere, the more heat they entrap, causing the Earth to warm.

Changing Climate In Argentina Is Killing Penguin Chicks Christopher Joyce, NPR

Punta Tombo, a stretch of seashore in Argentina, where thousands upon thousands of penguins make their home, has had dwindling numbers in the penguin colonies. This can possibly be linked to climate change. Dee Boersma, a conservation biologist for the University of Washington, has collected data over the last thirty years on these penguin colonies.

Electronically tagged penguins have had to travel farther to find food, linking the warmer climate to possibly pushing their food farther away.

Changing Climate In Argentina Is Killing Penguin Chicks Christopher Joyce, NPR

In 2010, Boersma identified the harder, wetter, stronger rainstorms in the area to the decline of the penguin population.

With penguins fledglings unable to survive water until they lose their down after forty days of life, these rainstorms kill a large amount of penguin chicks. These rainstorms are possible side effects of climate change and the global warming phenomenon.

All of the changes in the rain fall and the climate are new struggles for the penguins to fight through, struggles they have not faced in the last thirty years.

How reliable is this source?

This article comes from National Public Radio and was released on January 30th, 2014, making it a credible and recent source. National Public Radio is a government funded organization that reports stories such as this and it is a valid and reliable source. Author Christopher Joyce, is a member of the Science Desk with NPR and won the 2001 American Association for the Advancement of Science excellence in journalism award, which gives him more credibility when reading his articles. The article was intelligently articulated as well as put in simple enough terms that the vast majority could understand and not be lost in science jargon. It presented information in a way that was easy to read: emotional as well as factual.

Is it Relative to my Research Project?

Being an article from the end of January of this year, this article is quite relative. The warnings of extinctions of species such as polar bears and penguins is a common point brought up in global warming debates. The audience is specified toward the general public in hopes of bringing light to the situation of these penguins and how climate change is affecting species around the world. The general public is the main audience for the research project I am doing, so it gives me an idea of ways to write my paper to address a wide audience. The idea of climate change is brought up and gives this article relevance to my project because it provides evidence of consequences http://www.concierge.com/ of the changing climate taking place even today.

Frigid air from the North Pole: What's this polar vortex? Alan Duke, CNN

A polar vortex is a circulation of strong winds high up in the atmosphere surrounding the North Pole that essentially keep the colder, harsher temperatures up in the Arctic instead of venturing down toward civilizations.

Their intensity varies over time, and when the wind speeds dip dramatically, a jet stream may escape and dip farther south, causing colder temperatures to appear in the Northern Hemisphere

With this extreme weather, there is a possible link to global warming, as is with any new extreme weather. The article talks about how it is known that extreme weather is linked to the warming of Earth, linking this dip of jet streams from the polar vortex to global warming.

Is this Source Reliable?

This article came from CNN, making it a fairly reliable news article, especially since it was an interview with CNN International Senior Meteorologist Brandon Miller.

This article was published on January 6, 2014, making it relative in todays society. Especially with the record snow and cold temperatures the US has experienced recently, it is very relative.

Is this Source Reliable?

The interview is addressed toward the general public again. It has a much simpler concept to it and it is tailored that way, so that it is easy to understand.

However, in doing this it also loses reliability because it makes claims and does not support them. Such as saying the extreme temperatures caused by this polar vortex are linked to global warming because there is research that says so, yet it never addresses what research or gives anything to back it up. So in that regard, it is not the most credible.

How Relative Really is this Source?

In the aspect that the polar vortex can be a side effect of global warming, this article is relative. Yet, it does not provide a lot of information nor does it back up its claims which loses relativity.

It provides examples of questions to help in my process of attempting to explain both sides of global warming to the general public who may need things on a simpler level than with all of the science heavy terms.

http://www.startribune.com/

The Period Of No Global Warming Will Soon Be Longer Than the Period of Actual Global Warming Peter Ferrara, Forbes

Over almost the last twenty years, there has been a period of little to no variation in global temperature, which is just about as long as the period of global warming from the late 1970s to 1990s, which leads to the belief that it has just been normal climate change over natural cycles of the Earth. Satellite records from Remote Sensing Systems indicate that the last seventeen and a half years the climate has been rather stagnant.
http://www.forbes.com/

The Period Of No Global Warming Will Soon Be Longer Than the Period of Actual Global Warming Peter Ferrara, Forbes

Over the last ten or so years, the highest amount of carbon dioxide has been released into the atmosphere, which according to Economist Magazine in March of 2013 has been about 100 billion tons of carbon dioxide. Ferrara indicates that the carbon dioxide could even be beneficial and worked back into the environment as food for plants which will help the ecosystems.

Can this Source really be Credible?

This article came from forbes.com, which is a rather opinionated website. It is reliable for opinions and different views of one topic. However, for facts, it does not always have the most reliable information. Peter Ferrara, the author, has extensive political background, making him good at arguing a topic. However, with his opinions he will back it up and provide sources from outside to back up his claims, which adds to reliability.

How Relative is this Source for Global Warming?

This article provides significant arguments against global warming, which is a side I have not yet explored in this research presentation. By having both sides of the argument, I am able to provide information for the audience to generate their own opinions. This entire article is attempting to debunk the ideas of global warming, which is very relative to my research. The audience for this article is not the average person looking for something quick to read. There is a lot of research in this article making it harder to read, yet it opens up a lot of doors to even more questions about the belief that is global warming.

Global Cooling is Here Don J. Easterbrook

The IPCC, International Panel on Climate Change, predicted in the early twentieth century that temperatures would significantly increase, up to eleven degrees Celsius by 2100. Average temperatures fluctuate over periods of twenty to thirty years according to oxygen isotope ratings from Greenland ice core and glacial readings.

http://www.globalresearch.ca/

Global Cooling is Here Don J. Easterbrook

According to NASA, the oceans have switched to their cooling mode, which happens about every twenty-five to thirty years. This is when the cooler water from the depths rise to the top and cool the ocean. The article suggests that the amount of anthropogenic carbon dioxide emissions account for only 0.008% of the carbon dioxide in the atmosphere, which is suggested as not enough to make an impact significant as what has been proclaimed from global warming.

Reliable? Credible? Valid?

This article was published on January 7, 2014 by GlobalResearch.ca. It is a rather reliable source since the majority of its claims are backed by facts and sources with citations.

The author, Don J. Easterbrook, is a Professor Eventus of Geology at Western Washington University, adding to his credibility and making the article more credible.

Relative? Simple? Complicated?

The article is very heavy on the science side of the global warming debate. It is full of facts and is not an easy read. Giving examples of a very strict research paper without any aspects of the easy read with facts integrated fluently. There is a lot of evidence in this article that speaks out against global warming being real. It is very relative to my research because it provides an argument for the lesser heard side of global warming, which is global cooling. The audience for this article may not be the same as those who would have read the previous articles, however, there are a lot of beneficial facts to consider for this research project.

New Thoughts, New Routes to Explore.

These articles have brought new questions to my attention such as:

What is considered normal in terms of where the climate should be? Who decided that?

Is the majority of our research into climate change based solely on the last century and a half? What if it is just that we finally started paying attention to the changes in weather now that we are more intelligent and can find reasons for them climate change.
If global warming or cooling is not real, then where is all of this extreme weather coming from? Could it really be just a natural cycle for the Earth? Why are animals such as the Argentinian penguins suffering? Is climate change going to cause mass extinctions and the end of humanity?

Where Will this Road Take Me?

I believe I have found plenty of research to argue for global cooling, which has been harder seeing as the majority of popular sources talk a lot about global warming.

I hope to find more scientific arguments for global warming to combat the research I have found for global cooling or just plain no global warming problems at all.
This topic has no definite answers as of yet, only more and more options to explore and form educated opinions on. It is hard to tell when the indisputable truth over climate change will be determined.

Works Cited

Duke, Alan. "Frigid air from the North Pole: What's this polar vortex?." CNN.com. CNN, 6 Jan 2014. Web. 10 Mar 2014.
Easterbrook, Don. "Global Cooling is Here." Global Research. Global Research, 7 Jan 2014. Web. Feb 7, 2014. Ferrara, Peter. "The Period Of No Global Warming Will Soon Be Longer Than the Period of Actual Global Warming." Forbes. Forbes.com, 24 Feb 2014. Web. 6 Mar 2014. Joyce, Christopher. "Changing Climate In Argentina Is Killing Penguin Chicks." NPR.org. National Public Radio, 30 Jan 2014. Web. 26 Feb 2014.