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Description
Rachel Lawhorn
Period 4
Ecology- Mr. Pagel

Global Warming

My opinion on global warming is that, though it is evident that we have made the planet warmer with our excessive dependency on technology and fossil fuels, the facts are beginning to say that  there isn’t much we can do, and that the there is only so much damage CO2 emissions can do to the atmosphere.  The reasons for this are that the evidence shows climate changes that have been occurring randomly for centuries, evidence also shows that the temperature has actually lowered over time, and also that the effects our “solutions” would have on our economy would not be worth it.
        There is historical evidence that shows climate changes occurring indiscriminately over the course of the Earth’s existence. Paintings, artifacts, and traces in the Earth itself show that temperatures have risen and fallen before we ever had the technology we have today. The ice age itself is a prime example. There were no automobiles or factories during or before the ice age. So while many think that we are destroying the world, they forget that the world has changed and had ups and downs since its existence. Continents have shifted and molded, temperatures have changed rapidly, and creatures have evolved. This is all part of the Earth’s natural cycle, and while we may have sped up said cycle, the facts show that change is inevitable, and not really under as much of our control as we perceive. The Earth is a lot more powerful and independent than we give it credit for. There is a universe out there much bigger than our little planet, and it doesn’t necessarily keep to itself. There are many possibilities. History shows constant disasters; it almost seems like things were worse back in the day. There were massive floods, typhoons, earthquakes, etc. What explanation do we have for those? Did they have cars thousands of years ago? No, so where exactly do we get off blaming ourselves solely for all these catastrophes?
        Aside from historical facts, there are facts today that show the atmosphere actually is NOT rising in temperature. Climate experts around the world have been checking the temperature of the atmosphere in the poles, and over the years the temperature has actually DECREASED by half a degree. The media would have us believe otherwise and exaggerate because they want to scare us; it’s how they make money. We only hear one side of the story because the other one isn’t  as “exciting” or “interesting” as the other, so humanity is running around in a panic like a chicken with its head cut off, because the only information we receive tells us that we are doomed. If you pay close attention and listen to the truth, the truth clearly shows that the atmosphere isn’t getting warmer to the point where the “world will end”; it is simply undergoing a change, and whether that change is in our hands or not isn’t quite known. Glaciers have been receding and getting larger even before global warming, and it doesn’t always have to do with the temperature. Sometimes it happens at random, such as many other occurrences in the climate. If you compare the temperature with the glaciers, you will see that sometimes the glaciers have receded even when the temperature of the Earth was at a low. It can’t always be explained.  Sometimes the Earth seems to abandon what affects it, and it takes its own course. For example, if you pay attention to Al Gore’s documentary, when he shows the relationship between burning fossil fuels and the temperature; they both follow each other almost in sync. However, when he shows the part where the CO2 emissions suddenly rise, he does NOT show what happens to the temperature, this is because the temperature has NOT risen. It seems that at some point, the burning fossil fuels no longer have an effect on our planet.  There has yet to be an explanation of this strange phenomenon, but explanation or not, there has not been a rise.
        Another reason why panicking about global warming is negative; is the financial issue. Some of the ideas and solutions people have come up with can be incredibly methodical and expensive with very slight and unworthy results. Experts say that our solutions are costly and damaging to the economy with a very small and minutely successful outcome. It’s almost too late for us to change at this point, we’re sort of past the point of no return. We’ve done so much damage environmentally that we’re better off using all this wasted money on things like AIDS, cancer, schools, and science, so that maybe humanity can one day be better educated about the problem and find a REAL solution to the issue at hand. It’s almost ghastly to spend so much money for such pathetic results when there are so many other causes that need financial support.
        In the end, my opinion on global warming is pretty clear. I do believe that we are at fault, but simply not as much as we believe, and that it is out of our hands.  The Earth will do what it wants and still go through extreme changes whether we act now or not. My reasons for believing this are that shifts in the climate have been going on way before we ever started using fossil fuels, records show that the temperature has actually gone down, and also that the expenses of making a small difference could be financially and economically devastating. There are a lot more problems besides global warming; problems that can actually be fixed more quickly and with much more ease. Putting all of our time and energy into this cause is almost a demoralizing procrastination. It’s as if we believe we have beaten the world to nearly a pulp, and now that we’re “doomed” we suddenly want to make a change and take extreme acts at the expense of all our delicate systems and other current crisis; sort of like how I put this paper off until the night before it’s due, now I have barely any time to get anything else done. We screwed up, it’s time to face the music and stop making things worse by giving ourselves too much credit for our effect on the world.

Description
Rachel Lawhorn
Period 4
Ecology- Mr. Pagel

Global Warming

My opinion on global warming is that, though it is evident that we have made the planet warmer with our excessive dependency on technology and fossil fuels, the facts are beginning to say that  there isn’t much we can do, and that the there is only so much damage CO2 emissions can do to the atmosphere.  The reasons for this are that the evidence shows climate changes that have been occurring randomly for centuries, evidence also shows that the temperature has actually lowered over time, and also that the effects our “solutions” would have on our economy would not be worth it.
        There is historical evidence that shows climate changes occurring indiscriminately over the course of the Earth’s existence. Paintings, artifacts, and traces in the Earth itself show that temperatures have risen and fallen before we ever had the technology we have today. The ice age itself is a prime example. There were no automobiles or factories during or before the ice age. So while many think that we are destroying the world, they forget that the world has changed and had ups and downs since its existence. Continents have shifted and molded, temperatures have changed rapidly, and creatures have evolved. This is all part of the Earth’s natural cycle, and while we may have sped up said cycle, the facts show that change is inevitable, and not really under as much of our control as we perceive. The Earth is a lot more powerful and independent than we give it credit for. There is a universe out there much bigger than our little planet, and it doesn’t necessarily keep to itself. There are many possibilities. History shows constant disasters; it almost seems like things were worse back in the day. There were massive floods, typhoons, earthquakes, etc. What explanation do we have for those? Did they have cars thousands of years ago? No, so where exactly do we get off blaming ourselves solely for all these catastrophes?
        Aside from historical facts, there are facts today that show the atmosphere actually is NOT rising in temperature. Climate experts around the world have been checking the temperature of the atmosphere in the poles, and over the years the temperature has actually DECREASED by half a degree. The media would have us believe otherwise and exaggerate because they want to scare us; it’s how they make money. We only hear one side of the story because the other one isn’t  as “exciting” or “interesting” as the other, so humanity is running around in a panic like a chicken with its head cut off, because the only information we receive tells us that we are doomed. If you pay close attention and listen to the truth, the truth clearly shows that the atmosphere isn’t getting warmer to the point where the “world will end”; it is simply undergoing a change, and whether that change is in our hands or not isn’t quite known. Glaciers have been receding and getting larger even before global warming, and it doesn’t always have to do with the temperature. Sometimes it happens at random, such as many other occurrences in the climate. If you compare the temperature with the glaciers, you will see that sometimes the glaciers have receded even when the temperature of the Earth was at a low. It can’t always be explained.  Sometimes the Earth seems to abandon what affects it, and it takes its own course. For example, if you pay attention to Al Gore’s documentary, when he shows the relationship between burning fossil fuels and the temperature; they both follow each other almost in sync. However, when he shows the part where the CO2 emissions suddenly rise, he does NOT show what happens to the temperature, this is because the temperature has NOT risen. It seems that at some point, the burning fossil fuels no longer have an effect on our planet.  There has yet to be an explanation of this strange phenomenon, but explanation or not, there has not been a rise.
        Another reason why panicking about global warming is negative; is the financial issue. Some of the ideas and solutions people have come up with can be incredibly methodical and expensive with very slight and unworthy results. Experts say that our solutions are costly and damaging to the economy with a very small and minutely successful outcome. It’s almost too late for us to change at this point, we’re sort of past the point of no return. We’ve done so much damage environmentally that we’re better off using all this wasted money on things like AIDS, cancer, schools, and science, so that maybe humanity can one day be better educated about the problem and find a REAL solution to the issue at hand. It’s almost ghastly to spend so much money for such pathetic results when there are so many other causes that need financial support.
        In the end, my opinion on global warming is pretty clear. I do believe that we are at fault, but simply not as much as we believe, and that it is out of our hands.  The Earth will do what it wants and still go through extreme changes whether we act now or not. My reasons for believing this are that shifts in the climate have been going on way before we ever started using fossil fuels, records show that the temperature has actually gone down, and also that the expenses of making a small difference could be financially and economically devastating. There are a lot more problems besides global warming; problems that can actually be fixed more quickly and with much more ease. Putting all of our time and energy into this cause is almost a demoralizing procrastination. It’s as if we believe we have beaten the world to nearly a pulp, and now that we’re “doomed” we suddenly want to make a change and take extreme acts at the expense of all our delicate systems and other current crisis; sort of like how I put this paper off until the night before it’s due, now I have barely any time to get anything else done. We screwed up, it’s time to face the music and stop making things worse by giving ourselves too much credit for our effect on the world.