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Is global warming unstoppable?
Results so far:
| Yes | 45% | 100 votes | Total: 220 votes | |
| No | 55% | 120 votes |
Yes
by Patricia Stewart
Created on: December 23, 2008
"Unstoppable," is a formidable word. That term also applies to our planet and its problems. It is very easy to gradually accelerate a car as we drive, but it is impossible to stop it on a dime, without some terrifying consequences. The same is true of "global warming," though I believe that this is a misnomer. We don't know exactly how the climate will shift. Not even Al Gore has been able to determine how the global ocean currents will be altered by the change in atmospheric temperature. These affect the global tradewinds, so some areas may shift from warm to cold. Does that mean global warming has changed, or been stopped? I don't think so.
However, since we can't "stop" the momentum which has our planet reeling in its climatic confusion, we can stop accelerating the "global car," and we can try to "guide the skid," as our planet finds its balancing point again. This is the only way we can affect change for this catatrophe which we, as a species, have brought to our home. I don't think we're going see "life go back to normal," in the lifetime of anyone on this planet right now. Not even the newborn elephant of 2009 will likely see a "natural planet," in its lifetime. So, in that way, as an individual, I see the problem as unstoppable.
That doesn't mean I've given up hope. Like the rest of nature, humans can adjust. We need to keep our eyes to the goal of a "natural planet prior to the Industrial Revolution," but the work to get us there is not going to be easy. Humans are creatures of adaptation, and we've adapted to comfort and ease of transportation and heat. There isn't likely to be a giant shift in the developed world to go back to wood-fired cooking and foot transportation, though that is a sustainable way of life. We need to find ways that we can minimize our impact on the Earth and still function in the world which we've created. It will mean shifting our priorities some, and recognizing work as a tool not as a detriment. It will mean shifting our focus from immediate gratification to celebrating efforts. It will mean "enjoying the moment," as much as enjoying the completion of that effort.
And in the same way we must learn to adapt to our changing climate, we must learn to enjoy the process. We can't give up, or the world will become uninhabitable much sooner. But we must not abdicate responsibility either. It is up to each of us to make the changes that we can, and steer business and government to do the same. This way, the "unstoppable change," can be guided safely to its new home, whenever, and where ever that may be.
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No
by Joseph Malek
Created on: January 21, 2008 Last Updated: February 23, 2011
Sooner or later the environment of our Earth will return to what scientists believe to be a normal state. Yes, that will most certainly happen, even if all life on Earth no longer exists. You see, Mankind is the main cause for global warming and Mankind can be the main cause of putting things right within the environment again. However, at this time, it seems that Mankind isn't smart enough to live in harmony with Nature, and you now see the result of that fact.
Then again, it's those "green friendly" people and those scientists who are the ones that brought the problem of global warming to the attention of the leaders of the World. Now, those World leaders know what is required in order for the people of the World to save themselves a whole lot grief, suffering and also prevent the deaths and the loss of property of millions of people. Well, your guess is as good as mine, in regard to the leaders of our World who will try to fix that problem as soon as possible.
You see, the use of fossil fuels rises each day because more and more people are driving fossil fuel powered vehicles. How many more people in China will buy and drive those, what can turn out to be, weapons of mass destruction? The burning of fossil fuels is the main cause for global warming. Pollution spewing factories, utility power companies and the millions of fossil fuel powered modes of transportation are the greatest destroyers of the environment and each of those polluters are man-made.
As a result of countless hours of analysis and investigation, the only way to reverse global warming is to burn less fossil fuels, which will reduce the amount carbon within our atmosphere. If I was one of the World leaders, I would build as many factories as I could in order to remove as much carbon from the atmosphere as possible.
Yes, the energy required to power those factories would be gathered by solar cells, produced by wind powered generators and/or the force of running water. In other words, instead of burning fossil fuels as a means to create energy, I would use each and every "green friendly" source of energy that I could use.
Those same "green friendly" sources of energy could also produce electricity for our homes and vehicles. Yes, the start up costs for such an environment saving solution will be huge, but in the long run tens of millions of people will be saved, together with their property and several million of square miles of land that won't be covered by water if the ice caps and ice fields in Greenland stop melting.
We do have a problem and we do have some ways to stop and even reverse the effects of global warming. Will Mankind now act in a timely and constructive manner? Your guess is as good as mine.
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