Glaciers melting, water rising, the earth getting hotter: what do we usually attribute this to? Global warming, also known as global climate change. According to Merriam-Webster dictionary, global warming is “the recent increase in the world 's temperature that is believed to be caused by the increase of certain gases (such as carbon dioxide) in the atmosphere.” Interestingly enough, most of the scientific community is in turmoil about if global warming is really happening, making it difficult for the population to know what to think. However, there is evidence that the Earth’s temperature is rising: our polar ice caps are melting, and ocean levels are rising, showing that even if certain scientists aren’t sure about if global warming is
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According to other scientists, it isn’t. So who do we believe? As reported by NASA, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, there is extremely substantial evidence that points to and proves that global warming is a very prominent and real issue. The most notable evidences are rising sea levels, overall increase in the average global temperature, extreme weather events, and ocean acidification, just to name a few. The first thing indicating global warming, is that it’s actually getting warmer. Scientists from NORA (National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration) have stated that:
For most of the past 10,000 years, global average temperature has remained relatively stable and low compared to earlier hothouse conditions in our planet 's history. Now, temperature is among the highest experienced not only in the “recent” past—the past 11,000 years or so, during which modern human civilization developed—but also probably for a much longer period. (Scott, “What’s the hottest Earth has been …show more content…
An unknown fact to most people is that our oceans are one of our main sources of oxygen, and also one of our main absorbers of carbon dioxide. However, due to the increase in carbon dioxide in our atmosphere, the ocean absorption rates have also gone up, leading to our oceans becoming more acidic. According to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, our oceans absorb a quarter of the carbon dioxide that we release into the air, which is equivalent to about 2 billion tons per year (PMEL, “Ocean Acidification”). With all this absorption, the typical ocean pH has risen to 8.1, an increase of about 30% over the last 200 years. With all this very compelling evidence, why are we struggling to acknowledge if global warming is real or not? Many academic studies have shown that people answer surveys about global warming differently based on the way they are worded. Also, we get a lot of our information from different media sources, who typically have different opinions based on political background. Then there are the scientists themselves. Some people actually take the time to refer back to actual scientific sources, but as stated before scientist are
According to other scientists, it isn’t. So who do we believe? As reported by NASA, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, there is extremely substantial evidence that points to and proves that global warming is a very prominent and real issue. The most notable evidences are rising sea levels, overall increase in the average global temperature, extreme weather events, and ocean acidification, just to name a few. The first thing indicating global warming, is that it’s actually getting warmer. Scientists from NORA (National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration) have stated that:
For most of the past 10,000 years, global average temperature has remained relatively stable and low compared to earlier hothouse conditions in our planet 's history. Now, temperature is among the highest experienced not only in the “recent” past—the past 11,000 years or so, during which modern human civilization developed—but also probably for a much longer period. (Scott, “What’s the hottest Earth has been …show more content…
An unknown fact to most people is that our oceans are one of our main sources of oxygen, and also one of our main absorbers of carbon dioxide. However, due to the increase in carbon dioxide in our atmosphere, the ocean absorption rates have also gone up, leading to our oceans becoming more acidic. According to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, our oceans absorb a quarter of the carbon dioxide that we release into the air, which is equivalent to about 2 billion tons per year (PMEL, “Ocean Acidification”). With all this absorption, the typical ocean pH has risen to 8.1, an increase of about 30% over the last 200 years. With all this very compelling evidence, why are we struggling to acknowledge if global warming is real or not? Many academic studies have shown that people answer surveys about global warming differently based on the way they are worded. Also, we get a lot of our information from different media sources, who typically have different opinions based on political background. Then there are the scientists themselves. Some people actually take the time to refer back to actual scientific sources, but as stated before scientist are