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Eco-Features
Global
Warming
Much
has been said in the media about the warming of the world’s climate.
It is a complex issue and how can we make sense of all of it? And what
can we do about it?
When
a problem arises that has no simple solution, we sometimes ignore it in
hopes it will go away. Many have found the scientific results of global
warming disconcerting. Some
others, particularly in politics, the media, and in industry, want to
deny the advice of the scientific community altogether. Most people do
not understand the process of scientific debate, but it is fundamental
to the discipline. Scientists develop hypotheses from observations,
collect data to test the validity of the hypothesis, and revise the
hypotheses. Not everyone agrees with the interpretation which often
leads to several competing hypotheses. Eventually, scientists arrive at
a consensus on which hypothesis best explains the observations. This
process drives the scientific community. The scientific community has
reached a consensus and it is this - there is strong support among
scientists that our world is getting warmer. Here is what the American
Geophysical Union had to say in 1998:
the “present understanding of the Earth’s climate system
provides a compelling basis for legitimate public concern over future
global- and regional-scale changes resulting from increased greenhouse
gases”. In other words, the world is warming and scientists agree
think we should be concerned. Greenhouse gases are not gases that escape
from your backyard greenhouse. They are pollutants in our atmosphere
that act like a greenhouse by trapping the sun’s energy, warming the
Earth in the process.
What
can we do? Reduce our production of greenhouse gases is key. We make
those gases when we burn fuel in our cars and homes. So driving less and
driving cars that burn less fuel is a good start.
More
on vehicles and their pollution
More
Eco-Features
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Ecological
Footprints
Saving
the Oceans
Gaia
Stockholm
Conference 1972
Population
Growth
The
Jantzi Social Index
The
Great Naturalists
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