Thesis Statement: Climate change is natural because 1) the global climate mainly depends on how far the earth is from the sun. 2) The intensity of the sun plays an instrumental part in determining the climate patterns of the globe 3) there is no scientific proof that shows that mankind activities are responsible for global warming.
Climate change is the change in the patterns of the climate of a region or the entire globe. It can also be referred to as global warming which is the increase in the average temperature of the earth for a period of a hundred years. The debate on whether global warming is natural or man-made has existed for a long period of time. Getting the answer to this question has been made harder by the fact that there has been little or no funds allocated to research on the natural mechanisms of global warming. According to the United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), the only way to get computerized climate models to produce observed warming is through human caused pollution. Many people, including some scientist, are of the idea that global warming is caused by human activities. However, the validity of this assertion has made some people cast doubt on the available evidence.
Many scientists believe that global warming is manmade basically due to the composition of the atmosphere. The earth’s atmosphere is made up of natural greenhouse gases that include water vapor, carbon dioxide and methane. These gases are responsible for keeping the lower atmosphere warmer than it could have been without them. Mankind activities such as burning of fossil fuels like coal and petroleum release carbon dioxide into the atmosphere which in turn enhances global warming. This fact clearly shows that mankind activities which result to increase in carbon dioxide in the atmosphere play a major role in climate change (Schmidt, & Charles, 2008).
Additionally, many scientists are of the idea that climate change is mainly caused by the use of fossil fuels that release carbon dioxide and numerous other gases into the atmosphere. These gases then trap heat within the atmosphere, which has numerous effects on the ecosystem, including severe weather conditions, rise in sea levels and droughts that make landscapes susceptible to fire. Empirical evidence shows that by trapping heat, carbon dioxide acts like a blanket. Therefore, when human beings add more carbon dioxide into the atmosphere, they make the blanket thicker thus leading to global warming (Rowland, & Michael 2010). Also, many scientists are of the idea that the earth could be less warm without carbon dioxide. This fact clearly shows that mankind activities which results to increase in carbon dioxide in the atmosphere play a major role in climate change (William, 2010).
However, there are various reasons to believe that climate is natural. Up to date, there has been no scientific proof that the current climatic changes are as a result of human activities. The rise in carbon dioxide in the atmosphere has been cited as the prime reason for climate change. This carbon dioxide and other gases are responsible for trapping heat in the atmosphere thus leading to global warming. However, research shows that the carbon dioxide emitted from human activities only constitute 0.00022% of the total carbon dioxide that was naturally emitted from the earth’s mantle during geological history. In addition to that, the earth experienced warmer periods before carbon dioxide levels rose almost eight hundred years ago. Moreover, the huge surge in carbon dioxide emission during the World War II did not result to increase in global temperatures. Records indicate that temperatures fell for more than three decades after World War II thus proving that human activities are not responsible for climatic changes over the years (David, 2009).
Throughout geological times, there have been significant changes in the global climate. Available records also show that throughout the earth’s history, there are times when temperatures were higher than now, in some circumstances ten times higher. Natural climate trends have shown that there has been a 0.7C increase in average global temperatures over the last decade globally. The IPCC theory which cites that mankind is responsible for the changes in global temperatures is driven by only sixty scientist as opposed to the 4000 cited on record showing that the whole theory cannot be trusted (Schroeder, & Christopher, 2009). On top of that, emails that were leaked from the British climate scientists in the ‘climate-gate’ scandal revealed that global warming figures had been manipulated to exaggerate the whole situation. The idea of climate change being natural is further supported by a large body of scientists who have a feeling that the sun has played a major part in climate change over the past decade. According to Plimer, a professor of Geology and Earth Science at Adelaide University, accusing carbon dioxide and crucifying it for global warming is an ‘absurdity.’ His sentiments are further supported by Willie Soon, an astrophysicist and geophysicist at the Harvard University who is puzzled by the findings of shallow scientists that a climate crisis is looming into the earth due to global warming (Jim, 2014).
There has been no scientific evidence to proof that human activities are responsible for the global climate changes. Throughout geological times, records show that there have been significant changes in the global climate. Available records also show that throughout the earth’s history, there were times when the global temperatures were higher as compared to now. For many centuries, glaciers have receded and grown cyclically proofing that it is a myth to believe that mankind is responsible for global warming. The global climate mainly depends on the orbit-how far the earth is from the sun. Additionally, the intensity of the sun plays an instrumental part in determining the climate patterns of the globe. In my opinion, climate change is natural.
- David, W. Down to the Wire: Confronting Climate Collapse (2009). Cambridge: Harvard University Press.
- Jim, M. Feeling the Heat: Dispatches from the Frontlines of Climate Change (2014). Berkeley, CA: University of California Press
- Rowland, K. & Michael J. Will the Sky Fall in? Global Warming-An Alternative View (2010). Hingham, MA: D. Riedel Publishing.
- Schmidt, K & Charles, W. In Hot Water: Global Warming Takes a Toll on Coral Reefs. (2008). Environmental Health Perspectives, vol.116, No. 7
- Schroeder, S & Christopher, H. Global Warming and the Problem of Policy Innovation: Lessons from the Early Environmental Movement (2009). Knoxville: University of Tennessee
- William, F. Plows, Plagues and Petroleum: How Humans Took Control of Climate (2010). Princeton, Princeton University Press
