Global Warming

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Global Warming

There is little doubt that the air’s carbon dioxide concentrations have been increasing since the Industrial Revolution and there are few who do not attribute this increase to the rise in humanity’s use of fossil fuels. There is also little dispute that the earth has warmed slightly over the same period. During our interview Adam told me that he believes strongly in the dangers of global warming and feels great animosity towards critics of this theory. Our conversation had an angry tone as Adam explained his hostility towards those who “say that there is no compelling reason to believe that the rise in temperature is caused by the rise in carbon dioxide.” I spent the entirety of the interview trying to explore why Adam exhibited such strong resentment towards global warming's critics and why he felt so passionately about this topic.

I first asked Adam to tell me his definition of global warming and how he believed it is caused. He explained that he had been learning about global warming in school since first grade and continued to talk about these issues in collage classes. Therefore, he felt knowledgeable about the topic. The earth’s climate, he said, is changing because human activities are altering the chemical composition of the atmosphere through the buildup of greenhouse gases, primarily carbon dioxide. The heat-trapping property of this gas is undisputed. Energy burned to run cars and trucks, heat homes and businesses, and power factories are some factors responsible for the increased concentration of carbon dioxide. “Human beings are causing the release of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases to the atmosphere at rates much faster than the earth can cycle them,” Adam explained. Too great a concentration of greenhouse gases can have dramatic effects on climate and significant repercussions on the world around us.

Rising global temperatures, he explained, are expected to raise sea levels and could alter forests, crop yields and water supply.

I was surprised at how knowledgeable Adam was on the topic. While I also believe that global warming is a potential danger and disregard skeptics theories, my understanding of the topic is not as extensive as his. Adam and I went to the same high school and lived in the same town, so what set us apart?

This question was answered when Adam told me about the thre...

... middle of paper ...

... listen to many congressmen talk about the issue, Adam explained. I was amazed at this educated response from my interviewee. The fervor and immense amount of knowledge on the topic that Adam displayed was amazing to me. It scared Adam, as it did me, that even politicians so readily discount scientific evidence.

Adam went on to say that “the carbon dioxide we emit today will probably affect the climate well into our children’s future and likely into the future of our grandchildren.” Despite the widespread recognition of this fact, worldwide emissions of fossil fuels continue to increase every year. Emissions will increase even further as the developing world moves towards greater industrialization. At the conclusion of our interview I began to understand and share with Adam the feeling of anger he exhibited towards skeptics of global warming that had at first puzzled me. It seems as if extensive efforts are being made to discredit scientific evidence not because proponents of the theory actually believe there is no correlation between the rise in temperature and carbon dioxide but rather because society is afraid they may be forced to sacrifice their standard of living.

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