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Global warming: natural, man-made or a hoax?
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Azrainman @ Flicker
Years ago while debating the theory of global warming there were typically three categories that peoples beliefs fell into to: Those who adamantly denied there was even such a thing – claiming that global warming was just a “hoax” – that it just didn’t exist. Then there were those that adamantly believed that global warming was a natural cycle and that man had nothing to do with our changing climate.The last category believed that global warming was indeed happening and that it was caused by mans activity here on earth.
As we fast forward to today there still seems to be some controversy surrounding global warming as to the what’s, how’s and why’s of our changing climate. Ever since the release of Al Gores movie “An Inconvenient Truth”, the subject of global warming has begun to get even more mainstream attention….. which has led us to again look at those beliefs and ask important questions like: Is there such a thing as global warming and if so - who caused it? Is it man-made or is it part of the earth’s natural cycles? If it is caused by us why didn’t we know about this sooner? Why is it that just in the last few years we have begun to hear a lot more about “going green”? Why all of a sudden is everybody talking about global warming anyway? Is there anything we can do to stop or slow down global warming?
These are all very good questions and questions which beg to be answered. Unfortunately there are no easy answers because the subject of climate change is indeed complex and bigger then most of us realize. One thing is a fact though: Our climate is changing and there are more record breaking disasters happening globally because of it. According to data from NASA we have experienced two of the hottest years on record within the past decade, 1998 and 2005. For over 9 years consecutively we have been experiencing temperatures in the top 25 on record for warmth and this is more than a coincidence.
According to a study completed by researchers and scientists at MIT there has been a 100% increase in the intensity and duration of severe storms such as hurricanes and tornadoes since the 1970s. The study found that this is most likely due to the increase in greenhouse gas emissions which is then increasing the temperature of the earth. According to the National Climactic Data Centre estimates, $100 billion of damage was caused by hurricanes hitting the
So obviously we do need to invest more time and energy into understanding what is happening so we can make changes that can impact our climate in a positive way.
It’s no secret anymore that man has played a significant part in warming our planet by the burning of fossil fuels . The biggest question now is can we undo some of the damage that has been done or at least slow down the warming process? Absolutely. There is no better time to make changes than the present. Ignoring climate change will not make it go away, and sticking our head and in the sand will certainly only makes matters worse. The time for arguments has passed. Arguing about it will only delay doing something about it. The only course of action we should be on now is one of seeking solutions with a pro-active attitude.
Come join me here at the Examiner to take a look at our changing climate as we look for solutions to make our Earth healthier again. It will be a journey of understanding from an examiners in depth look inside our changing climate – the good, the bad and the ugly.
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