Starting the Conversation
Today I will first give you a summary of what climate change is and how it’s caused, and then I will discuss why people disagree about it:
How does climate change work? You’ve heard about Carbon, I’m sure. Carbon is an element that is a part of all life here on earth. Carbon is a part of CO2, and the amount in our atmosphere is increasing. There is an excess of Co2 in our atmosphere. The excess CO2 comes primarily from the burning of fossil fuels, though there are other sources too. These fossil fuels have been under ground for millions of years, and we’re digging them up and burning them all over a couple of hundred years. CO2 in the atmosphere: it surrounds the earth, and acts as a heat-trapping blanket. Some greenhouse gases are necessary for maintaining a comfortable temperature on earth, but we’re tipping the balance.
Trees and oceans act as a sink and remove CO2 from the atmosphere. However, they can only remove so much. Think about a bathtub: It’s filled to a certain level. However, if you add more water, and keep adding more water and if the drain removes water but slower than water is added, it’s eventually going to overflow. That’s what’s happening in our atmosphere: the carbon is building up, and it can’t be removed as fast as it’s being added.
The amount of CO2 in the atmosphere has varied, over the last 400,000 years, between 180 and 280 parts per million. Right now, it’s at approximately 400 parts per million.
The global mean temperature has increased .8 degrees C (1.5 degrees F) in the last 100 years and it will increase between 2-5 degrees C by 2100.
That’s a very quick explanation on why climate change is happening.
There is a lot of disagreement in this country about climate change. Some people believe it doesn’t exist, some believe it exists but it’s caused by nature, and others don’t believe in it at all! Why is there so much disagreement? I will give you four reasons for the disagreement: division along party lines, the media, false balance, and faith.
1. Division along party lines. Our country is spread right down the middle, Democrats and Republicans. There’s a significant correlation between Democrats believing in man-made climate change, and Republicans not believing in it. People like to believe what the people around them believe – they don’t like the rock the boat. If the majority of your peers are Republicans, you are less likely to believe in man-made climate change, and vice versa: if your peers are Democrats, you’re more likely to believe in it.
2. The media: Back in most of our younger days, we all watched the morning and evening news on the same three channels. Many of us remember the Today Show with Bryant Gumbel and Jane Pauley, later replaced by Katie Couric. With the Internet, that changed. Now, we can select news that fits our beliefs and values. Consumers of different sources of media get very different images of reality than consumers of other sources. For instance, there are corporate media sources including Fox, MSNBC, CBS, etc. Also there is NPR, Rush Limbaugh, and even comedians like Jon Stewart!
Each source of media provides you pieces of the truth, the pieces that they want you to hear, but it’s slanted. You’re just not getting all of the facts.
3. My third reason for disagreement: False Balance. What should be a policy question is for some reason a scientific debate. 97-99% of scientists believe in man-made climate change. However, a small number of contrarian scientists are very good at speaking to the media. They are also paid for by big business and big oil. These contrarians have louder voices than the 97% does.
Why is that? Well, many scientists don’t like to speak in front of audiences. And laypeople won’t often sit down and read scientific journals and studies. We get our information from the media, and we absorb both the truth and the lies and/or exaggerations.
4. My fourth reason is faith and religion: Many people don’t believe in Climate Change because of their faith. I would tell them that in Christian theology, humans are taught to be stewards of the earth. We are supposed to take care of god’s creation, or our earth.
To conclude, there are many reasons why we disagree about climate change: division along party lines, the media, false balance, and faith/religion.
I heard a great quote the other day: “There is no planet ‘B’”. Regardless of what you believe, please be a steward of the earth. This earth was a gift from god, or from the universe. I challenge each of you to take care of the earth in some fashion, whatever you believe.