SCI 2234 Troy University Carbon Emissions and Climate Change Discussion

Debate is an important component of science. Let’s throw in a controversial topic for this week’s discussion: global warming (or more frequently mentioned as climate change in recent years). Scientists have observed an increase in the average temperature of the Earth’s climate system during the past several decades, which has notably affected the oceans. I think everybody agrees that we need to protect our environment and save natural resources. What we’ll discuss here is whether human influence is the dominant cause of the observed warming and how we should respond to it.

Some people believe that human activity is the dominant cause and we need to significantly reduce carbon dioxide emission now. Here’s a classic video supporting this idea:

https://youtu.be/gIUN5ziSfNc

The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) is a major organization advocating it. Their website is a good source for supporting information (http://www.ipcc.ch/) (Links to an external site.).

However, some other people think that human influence is not the major cause of the observed warming. People should spend money on something more meaningful than simply reducing carbon dioxide emission. I found a presentation from Dr. Roy Spencer is quite representative:

https://youtu.be/9SOjyMir6Z0

And here is Dr. Roy Spencer’s personal website: http://www.drroyspencer.com/ (Links to an external site.)

Please share your opinions with your classmates and the evidences supporting your points. You may use the information I mentioned above, or, evidences you find by yourself. Please keep in mind that you are discussing with, not fight against, your classmates 🙂 This is a controversial topic. It’s totally fine to have different opinions.