Why Global Warming is a Fact and not a Theory?

Introduction

Global climate change is a topic which drives tremendous interest from scientific researchers. The subject on global warming has effects on science, geology and biology, attracting many research studies. Global warming is the temperature scale of the earth's climate system. It happens when carbon dioxide and other air pollution collects in the atmosphere, forming a thick blanket trapping the heat from the sun and warming up the planet in the process (Florides, Georgios and Christodoulides 390). It is a complicated problem whose impact is not easy to grasp on a full scale. According to scientists, the causes of global warming have been increasing, with most scientists becoming almost certain that the causes of global warming are due to increased concentration of greenhouse gases which are produced by human activities. Most people have debated that due to the impacts and causes of global warming experienced every day; Global warming is a fact and not a theory (Florides, Georgios and Christodoulides 390). These facts arise from the evidence provided including; the rise in global temperature, the shrinking of ice sheets and warming of oceans.

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Since the 1950s, there have been noticeable climatic changes with the atmosphere and ocean warming. The amounts of ice and snow have diminished with the concentration of greenhouse gases increasing. The facts that human beings reached these conclusions provide clarity on their influence on the climate system (Banning 285). Different studies have seen scientists collecting data on the temperature in different parts of the world. Recorded data on temperature and climate changes report back to the 1890s when the instruments for reading temperature became available in all parts of the world. For more than 140 years, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration have maintained the annual and monthly records on temperatures in oceanic surfaces (Galam 3619). This data shows that there is a rise in temperature more than 1.8 degrees that is beyond pre-industrial levels, and a long term trend in global warming which is ambiguous and why the earth's climate in the past has been colder and warmer, as compared to how it is now (Van der Linden 171). In the past years, there were shifts in orbits cycles that influenced the amount of sunlight that fell in the Northern hemisphere; this shift played a vital role in waning and waxing ice, for many decades. The global surface temperature increased each time there was a natural increase in atmospheric carbon dioxide. This fact remains true even when ocean circulation might cause northern and southern hemisphere local temperatures to be out of phase.

Through many years, it has been proven that an increase in atmospheric carbon dioxide causes a warmer global warming average surface temperature (Van der Linden 172). The current trends in warming are also due to increased carbon dioxide which leads to an increase in temperatures. Recent events in global warming are due to; emission of gas, coal and burning of oil. There are various indicators of changes in climate including; snow, droughts and storms patterns and changes in lake and sea ice. There has been a significant shift in the distribution of plants and animals with severe effects on food supplies and crop pests (Galam 3619). These shifts are well documented, explained and evidenced since scientists can identify causes of human fingerprints in the changing patterns. As compared to other factors; natural factors including volcanic eruptions and solar variation, which affect climate, social activities such as deforestation and frequency in burning charcoal have contributed to changes in climate over the past forty years. Burning coal and gas destroys the natural habitat of animals, overloading the atmosphere with excess carbon dioxide and trapping already existing gases in the atmosphere. It is hard to mistake the contributing factors of humans in the occurrence of global warming.

Despite the evidence provided by human activities and scientific studies, concerning global warming is a fact, critics have argued that the whole idea is a theory. Most of these critics challenge any of the evidence that supports global warming being a human-made occurrence, embracing arguments that refute global warming. Most critics are not open to scientific evidence of global warming and explaining to them the experimental nature of all climatic changes continues to prove difficult (Latour 225). Critics have suggested that there is no warming and that most of it, if it occurs, is caused by the sun, the oceans and the cosmic rays, with human beings out of the picture. Their opinions, in most cases, lack scientific evidence, are incoherent and inconsistent. No single scientist can convincingly argue that Global warming and changes in climate are merely a theory and not a fact since they will have to provide enough evidence showing that changes in climate are not a threat to any species.

Conclusion

When looking at whether changes in climate are facts or theories, it is vital to identify why critics claim that it does not exist in the first place. Roy Spencer in his book "Climate Confusion" mentions that "Science is the truth" and in other instances argues that science does not directly affect the population of humans on earth. However, most people who are sceptic about climatic changes, especially politicians, deny because it would hurt jobs and the economy by reducing emissions; this is because they probably want to ensure their constituents are happy. Looking into scientists who claim that man has nothing to do with climate changes and their sources of funding establishes why they might want to keep people from believing the facts about global warming. Cases on global warming and climatic changes need to be explained better in some cases, to ensure a better understanding, so that everyone will become cautious of the polluting factors and work towards better environmental pollution solutions.

Works Cited

Banning, Marlia Elisabeth. "When poststructural theory and contemporary politics collide-The vexed case of global warming." Communication and Critical/Cultural Studies 6.3 (2009): 285-304.

Florides, Georgios A., and Paul Christodoulides. "Global warming and carbon dioxide through sciences." Environment international 35.2 (2009): 390-401.

Galam, Serge. "Public debates driven by incomplete scientific data: the cases of evolution theory, global warming and H1N1 pandemic influenza." Physica A: Statistical Mechanics and its Applications 389.17 (2010): 3619-3631.

Latour, Bruno. "Why has critique run out of steam? From matters of fact to matters of concern." Critical inquiry 30.2 (2004): 225-248.

Van der Linden, Sander. "The conspiracy-effect: Exposure to conspiracy theories (about global warming) decreases pro-social behavior and science acceptance." Personality and Individual Differences 87 (2015): 171-173.