This spring, I took an amazing biology class. My instructor, Pamela Thinesen, has been kind enough to share with me the common myths and the facts that debunk them. Without further adieu;
Myth: There are many scientists who disagree with the scientists on the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change and other scientists who believe global warming is real and is largely being caused by humans.
Reality:
NUMBER OF PEER REVIEWED ARTICLES DEALING WITH CLIMATE CHANGE PUBLISHED IN SCIENTIFIC JOURNALS DURING THE PREVIOUS TEN YEARS(approx 1990-2000): 928
PERCENTAGE OF ARTICLES IN DOUBT AS TO THE CAUSE OF GLOBAL WARMING: 0%
Myth: Scientists disagree about whether humans are causing the Earth‘s climate to change.
Reality: There is strong scientific consensus that human activities are changing the Earth‘s climate. Scientists overwhelmingly agree that the Earth is getting warmer, that this trend is caused by people, and that if we continue to pump greenhouse gases into the atmosphere, the warming will be increasingly harmful.
Myth: Lots of things can impact climate – so there‘s no reason we should single out CO2 to worry about.
Reality: Indeed, climate is sensitive to many things besides CO2, including sunspots and water vapor. But this just proves how much we should worry about CO2 and other human-influenced greenhouse gases. The fact that the climate system has been shown to be sensitive to many sorts of natural changes throughout history should serve as a red flag.
Myth: Climate naturally varies over time, so any change we‘re seeing now is just part of a natural cycle.
Reality: Climate does naturally change. By studying tree rings, lake sediments, ice cores, and other natural features that provide a record of past climates, scientists know that changes in climate, including abrupt changes, have occurred throughout history. But these changes all took place with natural variations in CO2 levels that were smaller than the ones we are now seeing. Cores taken from deep in the ice of Antarctica show that CO2 levels are higher now than they have been at any time in the last 650,000 years. And the increase has occurred over just the last 100-150 years!
Myth: There is nothing we can do about climate change. It‘s already too late.
Reality: This may be the worst misconception of all. There are lots of things we can do, but we need to start now. We need to reduce our use of fossil fuels through a combination of government initiatives, industry innovation, and individual action.
Myth: Antarctica‘s ice sheets are growing, so it must not be true that global warming is causing glaciers and sea ice to melt.
Reality: Some ice on Antarctica may be growing – though other areas of the continent are clearly melting, and studies show that overall the Antarctic ice is shrinking. Even if some of the ice were growing, this doesn‘t change the fact that global warming is causing glaciers and sea ice to melt around the world. Globally, more than 85% of glaciers are shrinking. The loss of ice in Greenland doubled from 1996 to 2005.
Myth: Global warming is a good thing, because it will rid us of frigid winters and make plants grow more quickly.
Reality: Because some local impacts will vary, it‘s true that some specific places may experience more pleasant winter weather. But the negative impact of climate change vastly outweighs any local benefits. Take the oceans, for example. Changes to the oceans caused by global warming are already causing massive die-offs of coral reefs, which are crucial sources of food and shelter for creatures at every stage of the ocean food chain, all the way up to us.
Myth: The warming that scientists are recording is just the effect of cities trapping heat, rather than anything to do with greenhouse gases.
Reality: Temperature measurements are generally taken in parks, which are actually cooler areas within the urban heat islands. And long-term temperature records showing just rural areas are nearly identical to long-term records that include both rural areas and cities. Most scientific research shows that ―urban heat islands‖ have a negligible effect on the overall warming of the planet.
Myth: Global warming is the result of a meteor that
crashed in Siberia in the early 20th century.
Reality: This may sound absurd to some, but it‘s a real hypothesis suggested by a Russian scientist. The impact of a meteor, much like a volcanic eruption, might have immediate effects on climate if it were large enough. But there is no record of warming or cooling during the period after this meteor hit. The effects that would have been produced by the meteor would have involved water vapor, which only stays in the upper atmosphere for a few years at most. Any effects would have been short-term and could not be felt this far in the future.
Myth: Temperatures in some areas aren‘t increasing, so global warming is a myth.
Reality: It is true that temperature is not rising at every point on the planet and is actually decreasing slightly in some areas. However, global warming refers to the rise in the average temperature of the entire Earth’s surface due to increased levels of greenhouse gases.
The time to act is now. You CAN make a difference.
