Term Paper Proposal
The topic: Analyzing whether climate change is a natural phenomenon or as a result of human activity.
Climate change is an aspect that has been subject to widespread academic scrutiny over the years. Before solutions for this problem are drafted, it is imperative for stakeholders to conceptualize the issue thoroughly. This is the reason behind my decision to choose this topic. Most people assume that there is a scientific consensus as appertains global warming. Recent statements made by scholars, however, indicate that the scholarly world is divided into those who attribute climate change to natural forces while others see it as a product of pure human activity. Understanding the source of the problem will be influential in designing the solutions to deal with the issue.
The scholarly debate
Many environmental enthusiasts seem to argue that current trends in global warming, and climate change come as a result of human activity. Political actors, in trying to come up with environmental solutions base their arguments on the assumption that scholars unanimously agree with the idea that humans are the cause of global warming. A look into the scholarly work done in the 90’s reveals that ¾ of the scientists who had contributed to scientific journals saw man as being responsible for climate change . According to this report, most scholars agree that human activities such as carbon emissions have led to the trends observed in climate. These researchers go further to provide proof of the relationship between human activity and climate change. In the case of observing glaciers, for example, a reduction in the percentage of land covered by glaciers has been attributed to an increase in the concentration of Greenhouse gasses .
The other side of the debate has scholars who do not see climate change as a product of exclusively human activity. According to them, an assumption has been made in the scholarly world that human activity results to climate change. This assumption is mostly founded on unfounded arguments, with real research refuting such assumptions . For instance, a survey conducted by the American Meteorological Society showed that among its members, only 40% believed that global warming and its effects were as a result of human activity . Most of the scholars shed a shadow of doubt on the reliability of the data that leads to the conclusion that climate change is a result of human activity. They argue that global warming needs to be viewed as a natural occurrence.
Thesis statement
This paper argues that human activity is the primary cause of global warming. According to evidence provided by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change Shows that human interference with the climate explains the current trends seen in global warming (Naomi) There is irrefutable evidence that human activity, and not nature is the primary cause of the problem of climate change. Evidence suggests that methane and CO2 are responsible for raising the temperature of the atmosphere. The former arguably raises the temperatures more than the latter meaning that the increased methane gas emissions as a result of human activity have had a great impact on the climate. Human activities such as the use of oil, accumulation of sewage waste and deforestation increase the percentage of greenhouse gasses in the atmosphere .
In a rejoinder to the critics who argue that there is a disjointed front within the scholarly world on the part that human activity plays in climate change, it can be argued that such criticisms are faulty. This is because they are formulated with the goal of stopping states from adopting strict laws to limit the emissions of greenhouse gasses .
Works Cited
Bast, Joseph and Roy Spencer. The Myth of the Climate Change '97%'. 26 May 2014. 15 April 2016 <http://www.wsj.com/articles/SB10001424052702303480304579578462813553136>.
Oreskes, Naomi. " "The scientific consensus on climate change." ." Science306.5702 (2004): 1686.
Stenhouse, Neil, Edward Maibach and Sara Cobb. ""Meteorologists' views about global warming: A survey of American Meteorological Society professional members."." Bulletin of the American Meteorological Society 95.7 (2014): 1029-1040.
Thompson, Lonnie. ""Climate change: The evidence and our options."." Behavior Analyst 33.2 (2010): 153- 170.
