Causes of Global Warming: Human Influence vs. Natural Factors

Introduction

The causes of global warming are complex and multifaceted, with human activities playing a central role in driving this pressing environmental issue. The planet’s resources have been slowly running out since the scientific along with technological revolutions. The exponential growth of the planet’s population has already harmed the surroundings. This article will discuss whether global warming is a result of human activity or natural occurrences. This question has been raised in response to a claim made by Bose as he mentions that human activities are causing the world’s atmosphere to change stating that humanity was mostly focused on manual work as well as animal labor throughout the pre-industrial age.

History of Global Warming

Our way of life was quite basic as well as primitive at this period, and the surroundings were clean. Humans entered the technological age, sometimes known as the age of machinery, in 1785 when Scottish inventor James Watt developed the steam engine. The development of the internal-combustion engine throughout the last half of the 19th century gave the Industrial Revolution pace. The Industrial Revolution began in Europe as well as progressively extended to the US before reaching the majority of the world. As the population rises, there is a corresponding increase in the utilization of natural resources and the waste that results from that usage. Among the most important long-term effects of this has been global warming.

Global warming affects more than simply changes in Earth’s temperature; it also has an impact on things like sea levels, air currents, rain cycles, as well as cyclone frequency. All of the planet’s major living groups are experiencing effects. Many people wish to deny that climate change is a real issue to achieve political advantage. However, it is our responsibility as global citizens to make sure that the news only reports the truth.

Human Influence

Media, lawmakers, and the general people have all shown an increase in worry over climate change worldwide in recent years. The notion that human actions may harm the environment and that governments must take corrective measures has sparked it.

Recent data indicates that this worry is unfounded. The global climate is not noticeably affected by human activity. Despite human activity, the environment will continue to vary, varying in temperature in various time frames and for various reasons. I would also contend that moderate warming would generally be advantageous should it occur. The most important scientific query is: Are human actions the primary driver of documented warming during the past thirty years, as opposed to natural influences?

It seems pretty likely that people are contributing to global warming at a first impression. After all, the combustion of fossil resources to produce energy results in significant atmospheric carbon dioxide emissions. Since the start of the industrial era, CO2 levels have been gradually rising, and they are currently 35% greater than they were 200 years ago. Furthermore, CO2 is a “greenhouse gas” that powerfully absorbs thermal (heat) radiation, as proven by direct experiments. Therefore, it is important to consider the claim that the combustion of fossil fuels intensifies the “greenhouse effect”.

Natural Causes of Global Warming

When attempting to comprehend recent warming, we must also take into account the natural forces that regularly changed the climate before industrialization and, in fact, before any traces of human life were found on the planet. Admittedly, geological history reveals a consistent warming and cooling cycle that lasts 1,500 years. Several politicians and environmentalists just cite a purported “scientific consensus” when claiming that consuming fossil fuels is the main contributor to current global warming. This is flawed on two different levels.

Firstly, there isn’t any agreement on this: A growing number of climate experts are seriously challenging the political haste to pronounce judgment on this matter. The 2,500-strong “consensus” of the United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), for instance, is a myth: The majority of the panelists lack scientific training, and a large number of them disagree with certain aspects of the IPCC analysis.

Merely 52 climatologists, according to the latest report by the Associated Press, were involved in writing the study’s “Summary for Policymakers.” That is contrary to how science operates, which is the second argument against relying on “scientific evidence” in these situations. After all, scientific breakthroughs typically result from a small group of researchers challenging the consensus opinion, or even just one individual (considering Galileo or Einstein). The research follows the methodological approach and comes to decisions based on data, not by a simple majority vote.

Solar Variability

The topic of the natural processes affecting climate is extremely diverse but scientifically intriguing. This is a significant subject that has received a lot of writing. Mountain formation, tectonic shifts in the planet’s orbit, volcanic activity, and solar fluctuation are examples of natural causes. On various time scales, various factors are active. But on a time frame critical to human experience—say let’s a range of decades—solar variability might be the most significant factor. The effects of the solar system can be seen in a variety of ways, including variability in solar radiation (energy content), that has been assessed by satellite systems and is linked to the solar cycle; variance in the UV portion of the solar radiation; and differences in the solar wind, which modify the concentration of cosmic radiation (which, when they strike the planet’s surface).

Using proxy data, researchers have been able to determine how the sun affected the weather in the old days. The percentage of oxygen’s strong isotope, oxygen-18, to its most prevalent isotope, oxygen-16, serves as a traditional estimate for warmth. The Oxygen-18 measurements (showing heat) are described in a report released in Nature in 2001. Additionally, it displays relevant Carbon-14 data, that are closely connected to how strongly cosmic rays impact the planet’s surface.

Policy Implications

There, a fairly intricate association may be shown, virtually year by year. Even while this type of research cannot pinpoint the precise process causing global warming, the causal link is pretty obvious: The sun impacts climate because the stalagmite temperature is unable to change it. If the above line of thinking is right, then the human-caused CO2 level will rise and have very little impact on global warming. On the other hand, man cannot influence the natural determinants of climate change. They can’t be stopped. This straightforward fact would have the following policy repercussions:

• No matter what type of mitigation strategy is employed, regulating CO2 emissions is useless and even harmful because it is so expensive. 
• Since non-fossil fuel forms of energy must be produced, frequently using significant amounts of conventional energy, their development may be counterproductive. Additionally, they do little to reduce the importation of oil. 
• Due to their uneconomical nature and high subsidy requirements, wind, as well as solar power, are becoming less appealing. 
• Due to the same reasons, switching from coal to natural gas when generating electricity is less practical.

This is not meant to be a defense of energy efficiency. Regardless of what one may think about rising temperatures, conserving energy decreases waste keeps costs down, and reduces power prices.

Adapting to Climate Change and Taking Control of Our Future

The environment has changed repetitively for at minimum tens of thousands of years and has demonstrated enormous fluctuations over geological history, to reiterate a point expressed at the outset. Humans have successfully adapted and will strive to do so. One shouldn’t, however, exclude the possibility that human activity is contributing to global warming. This clarifies the issue as something that is under our control to solve while also assisting us in understanding the reasons why our environment is shifting. We are unable to completely prevent the warming that the heat-trapping elements currently in the environment generally.

Several gases, like nitrous oxide as well as carbon dioxide, may persist for over a century. However, we have a limited opportunity to prevent the worst effects of global warming and build a more sustainable world if we take bold action to cut future emissions as well as adjust to those climatic consequences we cannot prevent. It entails making investments in a renewable energy system as well as in settlements that are healthier, more pleasant, as well as adaptable. Moreover it entails changing transportation, food production, as well as our way of life to minimize carbon emissions. It entails combating the false information disseminated by affluent interests as well as fossil fuel industries. Additionally, it entails advocating for ecological equality and justice for everyone.

Conclusion

You’ll see that this has been a deliberative conversation on the causes of global warming. We questioned if there is currently noticeable man-made warming, which is a crucial question. We provided facts to show there isn’t, implying that government efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions seem foolish and wasteful. However, state governors as well as city mayors are calling for federally mandated CO2 regulations, the Supreme Court has declared CO2 a contaminant that may need to be monitored, and every industrialized country (aside from the United States and Australia) has accepted the Kyoto Protocol.  What is happening here?

We may only hope that reason will win out despite an outpouring of falsehoods like Al Gore’s film and the constant debunking by the press. The current expenses are still low and mostly concealed by taxes, fees for power, and fuel prices. These expenses will skyrocket if the naysayers get their way. But despite unreasonable and unfounded scientific concerns about the effects of climate change, I think that real science and common sense will win out.

References

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