Download Points made by Supporters Points made by Opponents

The Global Warming Debate:
Points made by Supporters
Points made by Opponents
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Rise in CO2 and other
Greenhouse gases are
anthropogenic – due to
human activity.
Historical Temperature
records show an increase of
0.4-0.8°C in the last 100
years.
This is an unusually warm
period for the last 1000
years.
CO2 is a first order forcing of
Climate Change.
Polar ice caps melting
Glaciers melting
Diseases spreading due to
biome distribution changesmalaria in North America .
Climate models can only
reproduce the current trends
if they use Greenhouse gas
forcing, these models show
that there will be warming
and a rise of sea level.
There will be long term
ramifications, the effects of
global warming will be felt
centuries in the future
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Global temperatures are
directly correlated with solar
(sunspot - cycle) activity.
Earth's climate has been
both colder and warmer than
today, and these periods are
not explained by
mechanisms that involve
human influences.
Malaria exixted in cooler
climates
Hockey Stick Controversy –
Mann’s Flawed Data. Kyoto
Protocol based on this data.
Insects used to live in cold
areas
Climate Science can not
make a definitive prediction
yet, the computer climate
models are weak and
simplified. Thermometers
only used since 1850s.
IPCC draws conclusions
from Climate models with
acknowledged weakness in
cloud physics schemes.
There is a difference
between correlation and
causation. Just because
people say that CO2 causes
temperature increase doesn’t
mean that temperature can
not cause CO2 increase.
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The Project
The class will be divided into two large groups. The groups will be chosen at
random to give presentations on one of the following beliefs:
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Some people believe that global warming is a real serious threat to
our society, economically, socially, politically, and action must be taken
immediately to try to alleviate it's effects.
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Others believe global warming to be a myth and any actions taken in
response to global warming will be harmful to the economy and therefore
society as a whole.
The presentation can be made using any program and format and must have the
following:
1. Opening statement about your belief.
2. Short video clip or other type of interesting visual that captures the
audience interest.
3. Explanation of the Data - Everybody Participates : This is where each
person chooses a particular part to research and explain. Use graphical
and visual charts that clearly show what you are explaining. Cite and
check validity of sources. For example National Geographic is much more
reliable than Wikipedia. The other group can challenge you on validity of
your source.
4. The data must be thoroughly explained to the audience which leads to
a convincing argument supporting your belief.
5. Ending statement, summarizing your findings, data and your belief as
well as what should be done in the next 20 years.
6. Everybody in the group must participate in the presentation.
7. Debate Questions and Answers : At the end of the presentation the group
that is listening must challenge the group presenting with specific debate
questions backed up by data. Must ask 4-6 questions.
The total time limit on the presentation will be approximately 20-30 minutes(
subject to change depending on student feedback) and will be split into two
separate classes. You will need to organize the presentation so that it has a
logical ending point for part a that is later concluded with part b in the next class.
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9. Questioning – answering rules:
Invariably questioning and answering will lead to heated debate and emotional
arguing. So , for the sake of argument the following rules will be applied:
Group 1 forms the question. Repeats the question to make it clear. Group 2
makes the answer then repeats answer to make it clear. Group 1 can “rebuttal”
ONLY ONCE by stating flaws in answer. Group 2 can “rebuttal “ only once to
defend their answer .
If you keep rebutting back and forth on the same question then time is wasted to
explore other questions and nothing is really accomplished.
10. Data : all sources of data are assumed valid. Neither group can claim that
the other groups data is not valid. Otherwise people can just say that the data is
not true and that is not the objective of the debate. The objective of the debate is
to discuss the logical explanation of the data and find flaws in the reasoning.
The sequence of the presentations will be as follows:
Day 1 :
Group 1 presentation Part a
Group 2 presentation Part a
Day 2 :
Group 1 presentation part b
Debate Questions from Group 2 to Group 1
Group 2 presentation part b
Debate Questions from Group 1 to Group 2
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SOME Background Resources that may help you on the
Global Warming Debate
Article below http://www.aos.wisc.edu/~aalopez/aos101/wk7.html
Background on the Global Warming Debate
As you may or may not know one of the more controversial topics in the world today is global
warming.
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Some people believe that global warming is a serious threat to our
society, economically, socially, politically, and action must be taken
immediately to try to alleviate it's effects.
Others believe global warming to be a myth and any actions taken in
response to global warming will be harmful to the economy and therefore
society as a whole.
These are the extreme viewpoints. There are many who believe
somewhere in the middle when it comes to global warming issues
(such as, it's happening, but it is not a threat, or it can lead to minor
problems, so let's find a way to adjust), and equally many who simply do
not have an opinion.
This week, part one of the Global Warming Debate, we will present the facts about global
warming, the basic arguments presented by both sides, and the political climate with regards to
global warming. You will be responsible for interpreting various viewpoints on an issue, and
formulating your own opinion based on the facts, and the quality of the reasoning. It is perfectly
possible for two people to look at the same facts, and hear the same arguments, and come to
different conclusions about what needs to be done.
So what is the problem?
The problem is that the global average temperature has been rising in recent decades. NASAGoddard Institute for Space Studies has a page showing these changes of the global average
temperature, as well as changes locations and in different seasons. The 2000 year temperature
trend also shows the warmer temperatures this century. Many people believe this temperature
change is associate with increases in carbon dioxide. This is because of the greenhouse effect.
Some have criticized the validity of the data showing an increase in global mean temperature
because satellite data has shown the opposite trend. However, this opposite trend is focused
mainly on the temperatures in the upper atmosphere, whereas the surface temperature trends
shown above are only for the surface.
The next questions involve the actual relationship between greenhouse gases and temperature
increases, as well as whether or not us humans are actually causing the greenhouse gases to
increase.
Some believe that climates will change significantly as a result of global warming. Look at a few
examples in the Midwest, according to this link, Wisconsin summers in 2095 will be the
equivalent of Arkansas summer now. This could lead to adverse conditions for certain species of
plants and animals, disrupting the food supply, or in other cases, increase the length of the
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growing season, adding to the food supply. Many also believe that global warming will lead to
more disease being spread from the tropics, sea level rise as a result of melting polar ice caps,
more hurricanes, and fires. See early warning signs.
Feedback Loops
There are many theories on Global Warming, some of which involve the ideas of feedback loops.
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A positive feedback loop is one that amplifies changes.
An example of this the world's population. With a fixed birth rate,
the population of the globe will continue to grow (until checked).
Large populations cause large numbers of births and large numbers
of births result in larger population. The change gets amplified each
step. These feedback loops are dangerous.
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A negative feedback loop is one that tend to mitigate a change.
An example of this is homeostasis, the maintenance of body
temperature. As a person's body gets too hot, (s)he begins to sweat
in an attempt to lower the temperature. If their body is too
cool,(s)he will begin to shiver in an attempt to increase the
temperature.
Global warming is likely to be amplified by a few key positive feedback loops...
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Ice and Snow As the earth warms, the levels of ice and snow decrease,
this decreases the surface albedo, allowing for an increase in absorbed
solar radiation at Earth's surface. This leads to more warming and less ice
and snow cover.
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Water Vapor As the earth warms, so does the atmosphere, this increases
the amount of water vapor the atmosphere can hold. Warmer
temperatures mean more evaporation, leading to a higher amount of water
vapor, the most powerful greenhouse gas in existence, and consequentially
even higher temperatures.
Three effects are poorly understood...
1. Changes in cloud cover could dampen the effects, especially if they are low
clouds. Most climate models forecast that this will be the phenomenon that
eventually brings the earth back to equilibrium.
2. Aerosols- CFCs may or may not counteract global warming. Some studies have
shown aerosols to block out a significant amount of incoming solar radiation,
others have not.
3. The ocean circulation may change leading to varying effects in different parts of
the world. Although "The Day After Tomorrow" is not a plausible scenario, many
scientists believe that although the earth will warm as a whole, some regions,
especially western Europe, may cool as a result of weaker ocean circulation.
These effects make global warming scenarios very different.
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Political Landscape
The political landscape is generally focused on whether or not action, such as the Kyoto Protocol,
is necessary. The Kyoto protocol was signed in 1997, by almost all industrialized countries. It sets
targets on reduction of greenhouse gas emissions. The key countries that did not sign are
Australia and the United States of America. The key developing nations not involved in the KP are
China and India. The main argument against the KP is that it will cost too much economically.
Facts on the Kyoto Protocol
What about the United States?
The climate change activities currently underway at Federal agencies are a result of U.S.
commitments under the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change, signed in 1992 by the
Bush Administration and ratified that year by the Senate. The Framework Convention entered
into force in 1994.
Facts on the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change
The debate mainly pits environmentalists against economists.
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A majority of environmentalists and scientists believe global warming is
occurring and is an issue that needs to be dealt with. Environmentalists
say that other species, even the dinosaurs, could have died off in the past
as a result of climate change, and we could suffer the same fate.
Read an article from this perspective
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A majority of economists and businesspeople, more concerned with the
economy, do not see global warming as an issue. Economists often point to
previous claims by scientists that turned out to be untrue or contradictory
to the current consensus.
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