Global Warming Argumentative Paper Essay Example

Global Warming: Myth or Fact? PHI 103: Informal Logic October 25, 2009 Global Warming: Myth or Fact? Thesis: The Global Warming theory has become increasingly popular over the past few years. Citizens of the world are being encouraged to be more environmentally conscious by others including politicians, celebrities, and world organizations. The problem with the theory lies in the fact that it has become more and more controversial as it gains publicity and attention. The basic concept behind this theory is thatthe earth was made with a balance of “green house gasses” (AGU, 2003). These gasses are naturally occurring within the atmosphere and they essentially make the planet habitable by keeping it warm. When the world became more industrialized, the amount of Carbon Dioxide that was being emitted into the atmosphere increased. In the past hundred years or so, that number has more or less skyrocketed when compared to the previous amount due to the invention and mass distribution of automobiles, aircraft, trains, and boats. The surplus of green house gasses are beyond what the earth can store and are creating a pseudo blanket around the world. The earth has thence become more and more hot, “…the globe has heated up by about one degree Fahrenheit over the past century—and it has heated up more intensely over the past two decades.” (IPCC, 2001) To be able to correctly put that into perspective one must have the knowledge that the temperature difference between the ice age and current times is nine degrees. The potential repercussions of the increase in global temperature includemore intense storms, more severe droughts, and rising sea levels. There are several ways to have a more positive impact on the environment. Everything from buying more energy efficient cars to helping control the population has the potential to help reduce the effects of global warming. One of the largest contributors to the increase in global temperature in the past century