Climate Change Argument Essay

Recently, James Hansen, NASA's former top climate scientist, and sixteen of his colleagues penned a terrifying report in "Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics Discussion," an online open-access journal published by the European Geosciences Union. The paper, entitled "Ice melt, sea level rise and superstorms: evidence from paleoclimate data, climate modeling, and modern observations that 2°C global warming is highly dangerous," is being widely debated by academics around the world.

Right now, the scientific community is divided. Indeed, some researchers believe that Hansen's predictions are too radical and catastrophic, while others in the scientific community argue the opposite. For the time being, let's assume that Hansen's predictions are correct

If the scientists are telling us to prepare for ecological collapse, average people should know. Clearly, some people are attempting to prepare for the worst of climate change. Yet, governments and corporations lag behind. In the United States, for instance, many people in South Florida understand the dire future that surely awaits them (flooded coastal cities, forced migration, etc.), but their conservative state government refuses to acknowledge the realities of climate change, let alone adequately prepare for the aftermath of rising sea

Most people are simply not plugged-in to radical environmental thought and action. For the most part, people are just now waking up to the fact that climate change and ecological devastation have reached critical mass (a recent study suggests that 40% of the world's population has never even heard of climate change). Obviously, we need to be honest with people. But we also have to be careful as people often become discouraged when learning about climate change.

Here, the question is: How can we educate people about the future of the natural environment without alienating and disempowering them?

Undoubtedly, the evidence is frightening. When I first started learning about climate change, I didn't know how to respond, and in some ways, I still don't. What's the proper response when one learns that the entire human species, including billions of non-humans, face the prospect of extinction by the end of the 21st century?

That being said, once people learn about the science concerning the climate, and once they overcome the initial shock of learning what the future potentially entails, many will undoubtedly seek possible alternatives and appropriate