Global Warming Essay: The Kyoto Protocol :: Global Warming

Introduction From man’s basic understanding of existence, he acknowledges that his presence is but a fraction in time in relation to the longevity of the Earth’s existence. This attests to the time period in which the Earth functions. Man’s calculations of year to year changes in the Earth’s atmosphere are meager at best in determining the cycle for such an entity. Man’s oldest data dating back from ice core samples from Antarctica can not trace back further than a minute percent of the history of the billions of years that the Earth has existed. (Relatively) recently, Earth has endured "naturally occurring" Ice Ages, meteorological disasters, and the evolution of man and his technology. So the question is raised, is mankind bold in thinking that anything it does collectively will scar the Earth beyond repair? Man might change the Earth’s surface, man might obliterate his own existence, but man will not change the propensity for nature to allow the continuation of life. Debate on Global Warming So, what is man doing for mankind? There is a general concensus that one of the greatest dangers man is imposing upon himself is that of a global change in the atmosphere, causing the average temperature on Earth to increase. Before any discussion can begin on how to go about fixing the problem of global warming, it is improtant to point out that the problem is more basic than otherwise understood. The problem is not global waring, it is how to deal with the possible existance of global warming. First, let us consider the assumed temperature change. What real facts are we using to conclude that a global temperature increase is happening? Second, consider the possible reasons for a temperature change. Is man the only possibility? Third, assuming the chance for man to be the cause in a real global temperature average increase, is this a situation that we should try and label a problem? Is change always bad? The amount of data that is accessible and relavant to this this debate can be interpreted in a variety of different ways†¦ Go on and surf the World Wide Web. You may find convincing arguments on both sides, but that is just it, they are arguments. Models have been constructed, theories have made predictions, and more. What do we know? We know that the evidence is inconclusive and more research should be done. Explorations on the corrolation between fluctuations in solar activity and Earth’s temperature changes should be furthur endeavored, expirimentation with simulated Earthly atmospheres should be enhanced, and U.