Climate Change Vs Environment

The words climate change invoke disagreement and debate, especially when addressing the arguments of Steffen et al. and Idso et al. Steffen et al. argue that variations in CO2 levels, caused by industrialization, are significant enough to create a new epoch called the anthropocene. Meanwhile, Idso et al. argue that climate change is a naturally occurring phenomenon within normal ranges, which will be beneficial to the environment. Both articles focus on the origins and effects of climate change; however, Steffen et al. focus on human influence on CO2 levels and their negative impact on the climate, while Idso et al. argue that climate change is naturally occurring and can be beneficial. The transition from the Holocene to the Anthropocene …show more content…
Emphasis was placed on free trade, innovation, and making a profit, while completely ignoring environmental issues like pollution. This lack of concern and awareness of the environment allowed high amounts of degradation to happen in a short period of time. This is still prevalent today. Industrial countries use significant amount of fossil fuel and produce greenhouse gases at a high rate. Even if there are agreements signed through global governance, these issues continue to prevail. Thus, humans continue to worsen climate change conditions through our industrialized and material society. Idso et al. argue that warming temperature is natural. Temperature varies greatly throughout history. Earth has been warming for 20,000 years. Also, some warming occurred before greenhouse gases built up in the atmosphere. Meanwhile, later greenhouse gas rises can be attributed to the urban island effect. This is the concept that temperature recordings taken from within cities are hotter. Thus most of the rise in temperature measurements are due to increased city …show more content…
Steffen et al. focus on the accumulation CO2 as an indicator of climate change by comparing atmospheric CO2 concentrations during the Holocene and during the Anthropocene. In contrast, Idso et al. present their argument with an emphasis on temperature. They reason that temperatures have been warming and cooling more drastically for 10,000 years. One example argued is that between 6-3 million years ago there was a 2-3˚C warmer peak temperature than there is now. A large discrepancy between the two arguments is the time frames in question. Steffen et al. limit their scope comparing temperature changes between the 1750s, 1800s, 1850s, 1950s, and 2000s. Meanwhile, Idso et al. analyze their argument in a much greater time scale. The evidence Idso et al. use to reinforce these claims are cherry-picked and