The Controversial Issue Of Climate Change

The Earth's climate has changed throughout history. Just in the last 650,000 years there have been seven cycles of glacial advance and retreat, with the abrupt end of the last ice age about 7,000 years ago marking the beginning of the modern climate era — and of human civilization” (Shaftel, 2016). When thinking of a controversial topic that gets people heated the most, I think of climate change. Climate change has been a controversial topic for years, now being the 20th century, many people don’t know if climate change is real or not. Our largest living organism is the Great Barrier Reef, and it is being affected by warmer ocean waters. The ocean’s temperature is warming due to increases in sea surface temperature which has led to an increase …show more content…
“Greenhouse gases can warm the planet by absorbing the Sun’s heat, and then remitting it into the atmosphere”(Ricketts, 2011). These greenhouse gases are causing the Arctic ice cap to melt at an increasing rate. Studies are predicting that the arctic could be ice free between the years 2020-2060 because of greenhouse gases (ProCon, 2016). Greenhouse gases isn’t the only cause either. Burning fossil fuels such as coal and oil will increase the concentration of carbon dioxide. This is a human activity, NOT environmental. Another greenhouse gas, such as water vapor, can play a big role when fossil fuels are being burned. “Water vapor increases as the Earth's atmosphere warms, but so does the possibility of clouds and precipitation, making these some of the most important feedback mechanisms to the greenhouse effect”(NASA, …show more content…
The other side to believing climate change is real, is believing it’s not real. Many people think it’s an environmental cause or it’s just non existent. It is natural for the Earth’s climate to change, so many people think that the ocean’s warming could just be natural. Scientist, Fred Singer had an interview with NAS about climate change and said, “I would like to see the public look upon global warming as just another scientific controversy and oppose any public policies until the major issues are settled, such as the cause. If mostly natural, as NIPCC concludes, then the public policies currently discussed are pointless, hugely expensive, and wasteful of resources that could better be applied to real societal problems” (NAS, 2011). Many people think that if it comes from a scientist, it’s true. The thing is, there are lots of scientists who don’t believe in climate change, and there are a lot who do. It goes hand in hand with each other.  In my opinion, climate change is human caused. It is just essentially pollution. We are polluting the world by burning fossil fuels and polluting our waters with trash. At the same time, I believe it is also environmental. The Earth does warm and cool naturally, but when the temperature is affecting live organisms like the Great Barrier Reef, it gets a little bit difficult to