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Every one of us has heard about the coming doom of global warming. We hear about it on TV, read about it in Newspapers. More importantly, the governments all over the world have passed laws that infringe on liberties and taxes that make everyday more expensive – all to appease a bunch of loudmouth, self-righteous environmentalists who believe they are the keepers of the Earth.
But for a change, let us try to analyze it using some facts rather then pure rhetoric that we are subjected to. The reference to global warming that we often hear about means rising of earth's average temperature due to man made activities. And what we will have to examine whether the temperature is really rising? What I will do here is present some facts and no argument, no rhetoric.
Going by the data, here is a graph showing rise of temperature from 1880 to 2000 and it shows rise of roughly 0.6 C in last 120 years.
But there are some issues here that gets little discussion in the world debate. We have yearly record after 1880 only because temperature began to be measured only in late 19 th century. Most of these measurement stations are located in Western Europe and North America near major cities.
And here is a graph showing the temperature change as measured by satellites after 1979. Now the following graph shows comparison of temperature as measured by satellites and land.
We can see the difference measured due to satellite and earth stations, so what brings the difference?
The main reason behind the difference is an effect called the “urban heating” effect. Actually, what happens is extra heating that happens in cities due to roads, automobiles, and buildings. Those who measure temperatures in the stations actually deduct a constant from the temperature measured so as to cancel out the effect of urban heating. But no one knows how much to deduct from the temperature measured. Some may deduct 0.5 while some may deduct 1 degree C. Also, heating that influences the base station measurements are only local urban effects. They are not part of global warming. Also, these stations overstress the populated northwestern hemisphere and ignore the forests, deserts and other part of Globe. Due to these faults, they can hardly be said to represent the true reality.
In contrast, take the case of satellite measurements; they measure the temperature over whole globe and at enough height to ignore the urban effects. In other words, they rectify all the mistakes of ground stations – these temperature measurements have been verified by the weather balloons. The results they show are summed up as Dr. Roy Spencer, meteorologist and team leader of the NASA/Marshall Space Flight Center says, "The temperatures we measure from space are actually on a very slight downward trend since 1979 ... the trend is about 0.05 C per decade cooling."
Now for some more facts:
• In 1998, The Oregon Institute of Science and Medicine (OISM) issued a petition for signature by atmospheric scientists saying there is no scientific evidence indicating that greenhouse gases cause global warming. That petition was signed by more than 17,000 scientists and leaders involved in the issue.
• Total amount of ice in Greenland and Antarctica has been increasing since last 30 years.
• From 1946 until 1975, while industrialization expanded and carbon dioxide concentrations in the atmosphere increased, urban surface temperatures (the regions of earth where most heating and rise in temperature will occur – if ever – as compared to any other region.) actually cooled.
• There has been approximately 1 degree F rise in temperature in the last 100 years in the urban areas. About 90% of the rise had been before 1950 even though industrialization has occurred at much faster pace after 1950. No one can account for the reason behind this anomaly.
• No scientist has any clear proof of whether global warming is occurring and if it is then how much of it is.
• Since environmental organizations have forced many countries to ban DDT, malaria returned as a menace in many poorer nations. As a result almost 50 million more people have died. Who is responsible for their death?
• There is no scientific proof linking Global Warming and hurricanes.
• Majority of environmental organizations in USA are lead by lawyers not scientists.
An excerpt from an ABC news report states:
Global warming in Antarctica is allowing scientists to undertake a census of marine life. The ice shelves of Antarctica are melting as the frozen continent warms up more quickly than any other place on earth.
What they conveniently forgot to mention is the fact that almost all the stations at Antarctica are located at single ice sheet – which is melting. When taking in account all the other ice sheets, total amount of ice on Antarctica is increasing and average temperature on it has been on a slight downward trend.
This is just one of innumerable reports that we read about global warming everyday. It shows that some scientists simply twist data, ignore some important facts, and give incomplete picture to further a present day superstition. After all, it is easy for newspapers to convince people. In a survey it was found out that 77% people believe that global warming is occurring due to greenhouse gases like carbon dioxide, but only 22% know what carbon dioxide really is.
In his book State of Fear, Michael Crichton calls this as an unsaid nexus between politicians, newspapers and environmental organizations. Other people may call it a new-age religion started by people who are after power. Or it may be another myth started by left to gain lost power. There may be another reason behind it; it might be that global warming is really occurring or is going to occur. But what matters, is that we believe genuine facts rather than pure rhetoric.
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