The Science of Global Warming

Introduction

The topic of Global Warming is one that is both important and controversial to our society. Not only does it have the potential to cause catastrophic environmental change, it will also require social sacrifices and economic burdens to remediate the situation. It is not an issue that can be instantly regulated with a vote. We cannot just stop using hydrocarbons as an energy source. Our society and economy have deep roots in generating energy by burning fossil fuels. Sadly as we continue to feed our energy addiction, the Earth's atmosphere is in distress as anthropogenic concentrations of CO ₂ continue to increase.

Two actions by the human race must be taken to alleviate the possible effects of global warming and the steady increase in CO ₂ concentrations. First, we must develop more efficient energy using machines. Already there are green technologies that are being used by many conscious people, such as energy efficient light bulbs and household instruments, but often this equipment is more expensive than their more wasteful competitors. Secondly, we must develop technology that maximizes the energy obtained from sources other than fossil fuels. These sources are renewable and plentiful. Energy obtained from wind, water and the sun can be harnessed, but once these energies are converted to electrical power, they are not stored easily and cannot be transported without it dissipating. For humans to really be able to utilize theses energies we must develop superconductors which can transport energy over long distances at normal temperatures. Some may argue that nuclear power is the answer. Nuclear power in fact gives off less radiation than burning coal, and produces no CO ₂. However the problem lies in the disposal of the nuclear waste, which can only be buried within the Earth creating an environmental hazard of its own.

Often it is confusing to make a sound decision of one's own when there are powerful interests on both sides of the controversy which have sought purposely to introduce confusion in their dialogue in order to advance their interests. Oil company spokespeople try to debunk the idea of global warming by hiring their own scientists who make claims that have no real scientific evidence. They have made claims that more water would evaporate creating more dense cloud coverage causing a cooling of the Earth. Some suggest that oceans can dissolve excess CO ₂ in the atmosphere, or by planting more trees CO ₂ can be extracted from the atmosphere during photosynthesis. Environmentalists use fear to portray their message that we will be in serious danger if we allow it to happen. There are many models that predict what will happen to these problems when the concentration of CO ₂ continues to increase, but due to the lack of understanding of the diverse variables associated with climate change these models cannot be accepted as certain. The truth is that scientists do not have concrete models to predict precisely what will happen in the future as the rise in CO ₂ continues. What we do know is that CO ₂ is increasing and so is the average temperature of the Earth.