Position Presentation
Transcript: "Global warming is a buildup of six types of heat-trapping gases in the Earth's atmosphere." (Greenblatt 2) "These gases are called 'greenhouse' gases because they act as a greenhouse by retaining the sun's heat in Earth's atmosphere." (Greenblatt 2) Interviews Do Average Citizens Understand What Global Warming Is? Q5: Do you believe that the government is doing anything to fix global warming? L: "No. The government holds a COMP Conference each year to discuss the matter, but nothing has been done about it. The US has stopped the progress on global warming and even persuaded New Zealand and Canada to pull out of the Kyoto Protocol, which is ending this year after 15 years." C: "They're researching it." The Kyoto Protocol (1997) Global Warming #17 Interviews Con't Q2: Do you believe global warming is a major issue? L: "Yes." C: "No" Q4: Do you think anything should be done about global warming? L: "Yes. We need to do two things: 1.) Limit the amount of carbon emissions into the air. This can be done by using renewable energy, using more effective means of transportation, and stop the burning of fossil fuels. 2.) We need to be prepared for higher temperatures. Stronger and more rich countries should offer aid to poorer countries that will be in need at times of disasters." C: "No. Things are already being done to fix it and no more should be done." Q6: The US is having nothing to do with global warming because they believe it will inhibit economic growth, is there another solution? L: "Yes. We must take it very very seriously. There has been an increase in hurricanes, drought, forest fires, and other natural disasters. We need to cut carbon emissions by stopping overusing or wasting products we already have, weatherizing homes with new doors, windows, and insulation, increasing mass public transportation, changing cars to electric, and moving our electric source closer to home. This will also increase job opportunities in the US." C: "Yes. Cut out all unnecessary travels, learn what your carbon footprint is, live green, lower heating, and support nuclear power." What is Global Warming? Q3: Have you noticed any changes that could be a result of global warming? L: " Yes. The average temperatures have increased, as well as the intensity of natural disasters. Also, the polar ice caps and glaciers are melting at an incredible rate." C: "The summers have gotten hotter, storms are coming more often and are more sever, et al." Cooper, M. (2001, January 26). Global warming treaty. CQ Researcher, 41-64. Retrieved from http://library.cqpress.com/cqresearcher/ Greenblatt, A. (2009, January 9). Confronting warming. CQ Researcher, 19, 1-24. Retrieved from http://library.cqpress.com/cqresearcher Cooper, M. (2001, January 26). Global warming treaty. CQ Researcher, 41-64. Retrieved from http://library.cqpress.com/cqresearcher/ "The greenhouse effect." (The Greenhouse Effect, in EPA Global Warming Site: Climate, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, January 7, 2000, http://yosemite.epa.gov/oar/globalwarming.nsf/content/Climate.html (accessed January 17, 2008) ).Opposing Viewpoints Resource Center. Gale. In 1997, industrialized nations from all over the world met in Kyoto, Japan to discuss how they could reduce the amount of green house gases in the air. It was agreed that each nation would reduce their green house gas emissions by 5% below 1990 levels. Minneapolis Mayor R.T. Rybak said "I was one of the many Americans outraged when my country would not sign the Kyoto Protocol. The federal government dropped the ball on a critical environmental issue." Bibliography Global warming is indeed a problem that should be taken very seriously. It is man- made, therefore average people should focus on fixing it. Interviews Con't (Again) Conclusion Q1: Can you please explain to me what global warming is? L: "The temperature of the Earth is being raised by green house gases. Chemicals are released into the air, the most abundant being carbon dioxide and methane, and get trapped in the atmosphere; this allows more heat to be trapped. However, certain levels do bounce back out. The levels of carbon dioxide has increased by 145 parts per million in the past few years. Global warming is definitely caused by people through the use of fossil fuels." C: "The average temperature of the earth is increasing." By: Azure Decker