Example Of Logical Fallacies And The News Essay

- The News and Issues in Climate Change
- The News and Issues in Climate Change
Recently, the United Nation's Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) published a report on its findings regarding climate change. Their Fifth Assessment Report (AR5) is an attempt to organize the current assessment that the scientific community has as to the overall condition of the environment. This not only includes problems that are predicted to occur in the future, but also recommendations of ways that these problems might be able to be alleviated. While these prescriptions are meant to be helpful, they effect many aspects of life that create issues between various people or groups of people concerning certain rights and obligations.
First of all, the report claims that it is supported by a much larger amount of information than it has in the past. This is due to a higher volume of study as well as a larger spectrum of information being researched. This is further aggregated by the ability to connect to and discuss information with individuals across a wider distance and range of subjects. The purpose of the report has also been updated to focus upon risk evaluation as well as support for governance in the dynamics of a changing climate.
The report claims that its findings indicate a sharp miscalculation in past assumptions of climate change. More precisely, the problem has been found to be much more pervasive than previously thought. This is indicated by radical shifts in not only worldwide weather patterns, but worldwide migration patterns as well. While it is important to understand and mitigate the impacts of worldwide weather and ecological patterns, many believe that this shouldn't be considered as more important than preserving the stability of economic systems. These two issues are often at odds.
Many agree with this report, and believe that current practices to curb climate issues fall short of what is needed. Gillis claims that “decades of foot-dragging by political leaders had propelled humanity into a critical situation”. While this precarious situation is upon us, it is also important to understand that worldwide attention to the issue is growing, and governments are now beginning to prioritize the environment more than ever. Scientific reports warn that if the problem isn't addressed quickly, they will soon become too difficult to solve.
Opponents to the report claim that the effects of climate change shouldn't overrule the strength of the U.S. economy. “The first rule of climate policy should be: do no harm to economic growth” (Tol) These opponents also cite various sources that make differing claims as to how easy or difficult curbing emissions might be. Due to the inability for these findings to agree, they claim that it is apparent that there is not enough information on the subject. It is claimed that this report was “intentionally dramatic” (Tol) in order to achieve a certain reaction from the public. Tol argues that the information needs to be based on a more solid foundation before being discussed.
There is always a logical issue when projecting events into the future. Science itself is based on the idea that information gathered from past data will reflect future patterns. While this issue is innate within science, the more information that is gathered, the more accurate the projections can be. While it might be difficult to make predictions about the future, it is much easier with the worldwide scientific community collaborating. Also, there is the assumption that the economy and environmental protection are always at odds. While they can be in contention of one another, the steadily decreasing costs of green energy and production materials has made it much more easy for governments to cheaply and efficiently promote sustainable practices and standards without creating negative impacts upon the economy.
- References
Gillis, Justin. (2014). Climate Efforts Falling Short, U.N. Panel Says
. FOXNews.com. June 2014.
Tol, Richard. (2014). UN climate change expert reveals bias in global warming report. New
York Times. June 2014.