A tad pessimistic, but how far off base is it, really?
It's too late.
It could be. We've been deep in the red for over half a century, downward spiraling, and we're just now considering how to apply the brakes. More realistically, we're not even sure that our brake design works. At best, we
level out in the red. Which is why we need to work on our break design! Trying
to level out from the downward spiral is the first step forward.
China trumps all
True, but that doesn't mean that all hope is lost. I loved that in the 2012 election,
climate change was hardly an issue. One NPR story I heard mentioned climate
change and the campaign trail. It reported virtually no knew news from the
president, and that Romney supported clean coal above other means of energy.
When Romney’s people were pressed for answers, they said that anything the U.S. does is fiscally futile because China isn't on board with preventative climate
change measures. Just because they don't want to do anything now doesn't mean that they never will. (Wishful thinking)
Pretend to fix it
Partly true. We're not sure how effective the measures we plan to take will be. So without a measure of our effectiveness, we must ask if the strides we take do anything at all. But if there is no progress to be seen, others will not follow. Therefore, some measures taken may be talked about as though they do more than they really do. Progress for the sake of progress will hopefully yield something that will make an impact.
Too expensive to fix
To truly fix, probably true. But fixing it is a lofty goal. A realistic aspiration could be that we develop plans to start to fix it, and begin to level out from our downward spiral.
There's nothing we can do
To undo the damage, possibly true. To prevent more
damage, not so much. It's not certain that preventing further damage will
benefit us at all, so virtually anything we try to do could or could not help
the cause. Climate change is an accumulation of many years of mistreating our
planet. It’s not as though the effects of anything done today can be seen
anytime soon.
Self regulation
This is a legitimate argument. If you can accept the fact that the Earth is older than dirt, than you know that the planet has gone through many phases of heating and cooling. It is quite possible that we are currently experiencing a natural cycle of the earth. It is equally possible that the current warming is due to strictly anthropogenic causes.
It's not from human activity
As addressed previously, this is possible. However, CO2 emissions data show a dramatic spike which correlates perfectly with the Industrial Revolution. As long as rising CO2 levels are the cause of global warming, than the climate change
can be blamed on anthropogenic causes.
The science is wrong
Highly unlikely.
It's the interpretation of the science that could be wrong.
Maybe climate change isn't so bad
Maybe not for our lifetime.
Global warming isn't true
Its not Santa Claus or Bigfoot, you don't choose to believe in global warming! The problem is that many choose to be uninformed/misinformed. Just because Al Gore brought it up doesn't mean that it's just politics to be debated about. It's
real and it's a growing threat. Although consequences may or may not be seen
now, who's to say that they won't come?
Naomi Bryner is a junior Chemistry and Biology double major at York College of Pennsylvania.
It's too late.
It could be. We've been deep in the red for over half a century, downward spiraling, and we're just now considering how to apply the brakes. More realistically, we're not even sure that our brake design works. At best, we
level out in the red. Which is why we need to work on our break design! Trying
to level out from the downward spiral is the first step forward.
China trumps all
True, but that doesn't mean that all hope is lost. I loved that in the 2012 election,
climate change was hardly an issue. One NPR story I heard mentioned climate
change and the campaign trail. It reported virtually no knew news from the
president, and that Romney supported clean coal above other means of energy.
When Romney’s people were pressed for answers, they said that anything the U.S. does is fiscally futile because China isn't on board with preventative climate
change measures. Just because they don't want to do anything now doesn't mean that they never will. (Wishful thinking)
Pretend to fix it
Partly true. We're not sure how effective the measures we plan to take will be. So without a measure of our effectiveness, we must ask if the strides we take do anything at all. But if there is no progress to be seen, others will not follow. Therefore, some measures taken may be talked about as though they do more than they really do. Progress for the sake of progress will hopefully yield something that will make an impact.
Too expensive to fix
To truly fix, probably true. But fixing it is a lofty goal. A realistic aspiration could be that we develop plans to start to fix it, and begin to level out from our downward spiral.
There's nothing we can do
To undo the damage, possibly true. To prevent more
damage, not so much. It's not certain that preventing further damage will
benefit us at all, so virtually anything we try to do could or could not help
the cause. Climate change is an accumulation of many years of mistreating our
planet. It’s not as though the effects of anything done today can be seen
anytime soon.
Self regulation
This is a legitimate argument. If you can accept the fact that the Earth is older than dirt, than you know that the planet has gone through many phases of heating and cooling. It is quite possible that we are currently experiencing a natural cycle of the earth. It is equally possible that the current warming is due to strictly anthropogenic causes.
It's not from human activity
As addressed previously, this is possible. However, CO2 emissions data show a dramatic spike which correlates perfectly with the Industrial Revolution. As long as rising CO2 levels are the cause of global warming, than the climate change
can be blamed on anthropogenic causes.
The science is wrong
Highly unlikely.
It's the interpretation of the science that could be wrong.
Maybe climate change isn't so bad
Maybe not for our lifetime.
Global warming isn't true
Its not Santa Claus or Bigfoot, you don't choose to believe in global warming! The problem is that many choose to be uninformed/misinformed. Just because Al Gore brought it up doesn't mean that it's just politics to be debated about. It's
real and it's a growing threat. Although consequences may or may not be seen
now, who's to say that they won't come?
Naomi Bryner is a junior Chemistry and Biology double major at York College of Pennsylvania.
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