Is Global Warming a Concern? Essay Example

There is a worldwide political, scientific, and social debate on whether or not the threat of global warming on humanity’s future is real. Back in 1990, Schneider stated that there are several uncertainties in scientific research that make it almost impossible to predict how the increased release of greenhouse gases will impact the environment. Since 1990, more researchers focused on the potential impact of greenhouse gas emission, and – according to the EDF Energy’s (Wang and Chameides)  recent publication -, there are now visible impacts of global warming. Everyone has seen the photos and maps of the North Pole with its disappearing ice cap, and the media repeatedly blames global warming for tsunamis, earthquakes, droughts, and floods. The report created by EDF Energy (Wang and Chameides) lists several environmental impacts of global warming, such as heat waves, droughts and forest fires, rising sea levels, and even the outbreak of diseases. According to Wang and Chameides (3), “climate theory and models predict that global warming will increase the frequency and/or intensity of some types of extreme events”.

Similarly, Field et al. also created a summary of trends in the past few years that shows weather and climate trends developing. Based on the research, average Earth temperatures rose sharply between 2000 and 2010, and are predicted to rise even further in the next decades. Similarly, the rise in temperatures between 1986 and 2005 were recorded as high, in particular in the polar regions. This, in turn, can result in an increase of heat-related mortality of animal species and humans, limited availability of drinking water in some areas of North America, lack of irrigation capabilities, which would impact global food production, and potentially cause famine.

Global warming – based on the above reviewed publications – is a real threat, and needs to be tackled through effective policies.

Works Cited

Field, C. et al. “Climate change 2014: impacts, adaptation, and vulnerability. Vol. 1. IPCC, 2014.

Schneider, Stephen H. “The global warming debate heats up: an analysis and perspective.” Bulletin of the American Meteorological Society 71.9 (1990): 1292-1304.

Wang, J., & Chameides, B. (2005). Global Warming’s Increasingly Visible Impacts. Environmental Defense.