As promised in Essay XII. I am now ready to offer my opinion concerning climate change, commonly called global warming and the effects of the human imprint on the environment. The first part of this essay consists of another letter to the Rockford Register Star now called “My View”
A few years ago I wrote a “Letter to the Editor” in response to a letter by a skeptic. That letter inspired a series of essays which this year became a blog. My website is called lessonsonscience.com but a better way to access it is simply to Google Essays on Science for the Common Good. I encourage you to read all of the first eleven essays plus the preface and outline but a few of them do go into some detail on some of the topics which now are aimed primarily at high school or college biology students.
I have converted my major points to bold print. Concerning the human imprint on the environment, let us turn to essay XIII. I would ask any doubter, ”Do you believe that temperatures on a world-wide basis are increasing and if so what are the factors (causes) if not from anthropogenic (human) effects of increased greenhouse gases?” To this I suggest reading essay XIV, especially paragraphs 1 and 4. A basic premise is that photosynthesis removes CO2 from the atmosphere and any process that returns CO2 to the air such as cellular respiration, decay, and burning fossil fuels at a faster rate than what photosynthesis removes is a bad thing since it offsets the normal ecological balance of the two processes. See essays VII and VIII.
It is essential that we understand some terms before proceeding further.
Greenhouse effect: light and heat from the sun enters the atmosphere striking the earth’s surface where some is absorbed by surface features and converted into other forms of energy such as chemical energy of food. Some is radiated back into space, and some is trapped in the atmosphere by clouds and various pollutants thereby raising the temperature similar to a hothouse or greenhouse, thus the term “greenhouse effect”.
· Global warming: the cumulative result of the greenhouse effect on a worldwide basis
· “The transfer rate of carbon from the atmosphere by photosynthesis just about equals the rate at which respiration and decay return carbon to the atmosphere. However, when fossil fuel burning is added to the equation, the rate of CO2 returned to the atmosphere is greatly favored.”
In 1991 the National Association of Biology Teachers (NABT) adopted the following position.
Causes of Climate Change
1. Increased use of fossil fuels
2. Increased rate of deforestation, resulting in less carbon “locked up” in the forest
3. Increased amount of “greenhouse gases” (CO2,CH4 (methane), N2O (nitrous oxide), CFCs (chlorofluorocarbons)) causing the atmosphere to absorb radiant heat
4. Growth of the human population as it affects all of the above
Consequences of Global Warming .
1. Shifting of agriculture zones
2. Desertification and local mass extinction
3. Changes in animal migration patterns
4. Sea levels rise as a result of melting polar ice and thermal expansion in the oceans, which can cause destruction of human structures and natural habitats along sea coasts
And finally: This experiment (global warming) essentially began at the beginning of the Industrial Revolution. Since then we have increased the atmospheric content of carbon dioxide by about 25 percent by burning oil, coal, and other fossil fuels
The October 19, 2008 issue of the Rockford Register Star article “On thin ice” says “the Arctic Ocean is recording record temperatures as the ocean is getting warmer and less salty as ice melts”. Also from essay XIV: The graph below shows ice core data charting average temperature from the past thousand years in the Northern Hemisphere. The line at 0.0 represents average temperature from 1961 to1990. Any year with an average temperature below the 0.0 line was colder than average and is shown in blue; any year with an average temperature above the 0.0 line was warmer than average and is shown in red”. I’ll let the reader draw your own conclusions.
Remember, more people on the planet means more greenhouse gases and more tipping of the photosynthesis / carbon dioxide returned balance.
If the past six essays haven’t opened your eyes to the reality of global warming and the role humans play, nothing that I write here will change your mind. You certainly can’t claim ignorance, only stubbornness to accept the truth. Years and years of tough honest research have produced the undeniable evidence that we now have. Science isn’t political; it doesn’t exist to serve political ambitions of some power hungry individuals. It seeks truth wherever that leads. It doesn’t seek to make headlines. Re-read essay II if necessary
Another cornerstone of physics, chemistry and biology comes to mind, the second law of thermodynamics which states that in all energy conversions, if no energy enters or leaves a system, the potential energy of the final state (products) will always be less than the identical energy of the initial state (reactants). Specifically I am referring to entropy which is a measurement of the disorder or randomness of a system.
Thus, molecules move from an area of high pressure to an area of low pressure and your desk, closet, or room go from order to disorder (organized to messy]. The universe and our world slowly wind down. The photosynthesis /respiration / decay balance favors the reverse direction-and disorder ensues.
I could write more, especially a synopsis of past agreements such as the 1997 Kyoto Protocol, the Paris Agreement of 2015 and the recent talks in Katowice, Poland, but most of the agreements that rely less on fossil fuels, although well intended, have been a dismal failure.. Let’s face it, a world that has seen countless wars including two World Wars and can’t solve other problems will be hard pressed to resolve this one, especially if left to governments such as our own (we are one of the two largest contributors of greenhouse gases) and to leaders who also refuse to “see the truth” (also our own). Controlling global warming has to be a grassroots effort. We all leave a carbon “footprint” every day of our lives. Changes must come from a cooperative effort of the scientific community, inventors, businessman, governments, and, most of all a will to leave a better world for future generations. As I said in an earlier essay “God gave us a mind to ask the right questions.” In closing I leave you with a collage of newspaper article titles
Coal question looms large as climate talks begin in Poland
Nations reach deal on gases
UN chief says climate change is the most important issue we face
Coal question looms large as climate talks begin in Poland
GOP victory: Game over for the climate?
Obama to plead U. S. case at global war summit
Historic conference opens with 197 nations: big news
Climate change is here and getting worse
U. S. China reach landmark climate dealReport this
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Status is onlineLarry Baumer–Published • 7mo