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Volume 41, Issue 7
December 2, 2003

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December 2, 2003

Legend's View
Global warming debate heats up

Global warming is an issue that usually keeps a low profile in the media and popular culture. Recently it modestly graced the pages of newspapers again in regards to a study that was heavily relied upon in 2001 during the U.N. Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. The study, published in 1998, was presented in the science journal Nature and indicated that global temperatures are and have been rising at an accelerated rate since the beginning of the industrial revolution.
Evidence in a new analysis conducted by the social science journal Energy and Environment said that temperatures in the 15th century were higher than temperatures now as well as the projected increase this century.
During the 2001 panel, countries tried to work together to lower the human impact on global warming, spurred on partially by the Nature study. The proposals were intended to lower greenhouse gasses caused from burning fossil fuels. President Bush indicated that the potential dangers faced from warming were not sufficiently legitimate to counterbalance the economic repercussions of emission caps and other actions intended to curb the industrial effect on increasing temperatures. He did not agree to implement the internationally planned changes that were drafted during that conference. This drew criticism and praise from both the scientific and economic realms.
The back-and-forth of this issue has been occurring for decades. While some researchers purport countless negative effects from global warming, others claim that increasing temperatures will reap benefits worldwide.
As stated in the USA Today, geoscientist Michael Oppenheimer draws a similarity between this debate and the big tobacco controversy that took place in past decades when industry scientists tried to prove cigarettes did not cause lung cancer. Now, it is an accepted fact that tobacco smoke is directly linked with the wasting disease.
If it is proven that global warming will have deleterious effects impacting all life on Earth, it would be a monumental discovery.
If the potential negative consequences of global warming gain the middle ground and become fact it will be one of the most pervasive and powerful forces in international politics.
Any heavy legislation will have very direct impacts on everyday life, stemming mostly from increased energy costs. Many aspects of the socioeconomic structure of this country would be significantly affected.
Although it is usually buried deep in the pages of the paper, global warming is one of the most profound debates occurring worldwide.