Faculty of Arts Case Study: Climate Change and the 97% Agreement

This case study delves into the critical issue of climate change, examining the scientific consensus and the ongoing debates surrounding it. It analyzes the impact of global warming, the role of human activities, and the evidence presented by scientific reports, including those from NASA. The study highlights the 97% consensus among climate scientists regarding human contribution to climate change, discussing the effects of greenhouse gases, deforestation, and industrialization. It also presents statistical data on rising temperatures, melting ice sheets, sea-level rise, and ocean acidification. The case study emphasizes the detrimental effects of climate change on the environment and human civilization, referencing the recent wildfires in Australia as an example. The analysis is supported by references to various scientific publications, providing a comprehensive overview of the climate change debate and its implications.

Running head: CLIMATE CHANGE
CLIMATE CHANGE
Name of the Student:
Name of the University:
Author Note:

1CLIMATE CHANGE
Climate Change:
Climate change is the defining issue of the current time. The time and the phase that the
millennials are in are defining as we happen to be a witnessing certain great changes in the
world. From the changes in the political and economic forum, changes in the field of science and
technology, to the changes at the societal level, and the change in the weather, this generation
had been a part of all these. Therefore, among all these changes, the changes in the climate is the
most important change that the millennials had been a part of. The constant rise in the
temperature, and the changes in the direction of the wind and in the timings of rain. Also, the
place where it used to be colder, there is huge increase in the temperature1. More importantly, the
frozen glaciers of Antarctica, are now melting which is a huge change with great consequences.
From the processes of food production to the numbers of natural disasters all have increased in
numbers.
Therefore, climate change is essentially a great concern of the scientists and the weather
analysts and the environmental analysts. Therefore, in this article a detailed discussion regarding
the climate change will be discussed and a statistical analysis will be presented, along with the
great debate which is now discussed by the scientists.
Climate Change Debate:
There is a huge debate among the climatic analysts and the weather scientist, regarding
the impact of global warming and the consequences of the climate change and in the role of
human conducts in both these aspects. The debate regarding the climate change is more political
rather than scientific. According to the scientists, it is solely the human conducts which is
1 Resnik, D.B., 2016. Climate change: causes, consequences, policy, and ethics. In Bioethical Insights into Values
and Policy (pp. 47-58). Springer, Cham.

2CLIMATE CHANGE
contributing to the increase in the rate of change of climate and in the changes in the weather.
However, according to the political leaders, the graveness of the situation is not as triggered as
the claimed by the scientists, and it can be easily redressed2. More importantly, according to the
political leaders it is not solely the human conducts which are contributing to the changes in the
weather and in the increase of the global warming. Rather, it is the natural disasters which are
immensely impacting upon the weather conditions of the earth. However, it is important to
mention in this notion that the recent natural disasters that are taking place are also the result of
the climatic changes.
Statistical Analysis:
According to a recent report from NASA it is shown that the average temperature of the
surface has risen about 1.62 degrees Fahrenheit, since 19th century, with a huge increase in the
rate of carbon emissions. Most of the global warming has taken place in the last 35 years, and
since 2010, the mots warmest of the years have been observed, especially 2016vwas the warmest
year till date since the start of the civilizations. The temperature of the oceans have also changed
with an increase of 0.4 degrees Fahrenheit since 1969, because of all the heat absorption that has
been made. The ice sheets of Greenland and Antarctica has been decreased in a mass, and,
between 1993 and 2016, Antarctica has lost 127 billion tons of ice per year, which is detrimental
for the human civilization. Most importantly, there is a rise of 8 inches in the sea level in the last
century, and in the rate of increase in the levels of water has been doubled since 20163. Lastly,
and most importantly, the record high temperature is increasing each year while the record low
temperature is decreasing. Along with this another report has also mentioned that the water
2 Dessler, A.E. and Parson, E.A., 2019. The science and politics of global climate change: A guide to the debate.
Cambridge University Press.
3 Nerem, R.S., Beckley, B.D., Fasullo, J.T., Hamlington, B.D., Masters, D. and Mitchum, G.T., 2018. Climate-
change–driven accelerated sea-level rise detected in the altimeter era. Proceedings of the National Academy of
Sciences, 115(9), pp.2022-2025.

3CLIMATE CHANGE
acidification of the ocean water has increased by 30% since the beginning and it is essentially
because of the emission of carbon dioxide, as the rate of increase has been accelerated in the last
few years4.
The 97%:
According to the scientists and the environmentalists it is essentially the human conducts
that are causing the changes in the weather. In a recent report by NASA, it is shown that the
changes in the climate and the weather changes are the essential and primary outcomes of the
global warming which is created by human beings. Since 20th century, with the development of
science and technology, the human activities have been increasing in an unprecedented way.
97% of the weather and climate experts have agreed upon the fact that it is the human conducts
that have contributed in the changes in the weathered and climate5. The data gathered from the
earth orbiting satellites have helped the scientists to see and understand the bigger picture. The
data is been collected over a period of time, collecting various information from various sources,
and it is shown that the climate of our planet is changing at a huge rate and it is essentially the
greenhouse gases that is contributing to this change in the climate.
The scientists have claimed that it is majorly the increase in the levels of the greenhouse
gases which is contributing to the increases in the rate of global warming. The greenhouse gases
are natural gases which help in reflecting back the harmful rays of sun, but due to the human
conducts and with the increase in the use of the technological appliance sand the automobiles,
and the use of electricity, there is a huge increase in the levels of greenhouse gases within our
4 Blackwell, W.J., Braun, S., Bennartz, R., Velden, C., DeMaria, M., Atlas, R., Dunion, J., Marks, F., Rogers, R.,
Annane, B. and Leslie, R.V., 2018. An overview of the TROPICS NASA earth venture mission. Quarterly Journal
of the Royal Meteorological Society, 144, pp.16-26.
5 Smith, P.K., 2016. Bullying: Definition, types, causes, consequences and intervention. Social and Personality
Psychology Compass, 10(9), pp.519-532.

4CLIMATE CHANGE
atmosphere which is trapping the sunlight within the atmosphere of the earth, and this has a
direct and extremely negative impact upon the climatic conditions of the earth6. According to the
scientists, after the half industrialization, deforestation and the quantities of greenhouse gases in
the atmosphere of our earth has reached the level which had not been reached in the last three
million years7. With the ruse in the population, and with the changes in the economy and with the
growth in the standards of living, it is likely that the levels of the greenhouse gases will increase
all the same, thus impacting more upon the climatic conditions of the earth.
Conclusion:
Therefore, from the above discussion it can be understood that the climatic condition of
the earth is detrimental to the survival of the human race and the recent data that has been
published by NASA states that clearly depicts the picture of our gradual destruction. In this
notion it is important to mention that the recent wildfire of Australia is also a contribution of the
human conducts.
6 Duniway, M.C., Pfennigwerth, A.A., Fick, S.E., Nauman, T.W., Belnap, J. and Barger, N.N., 2019. Wind erosion
and dust from US drylands: a review of causes, consequences, and solutions in a changing world. Ecosphere, 10(3),
p.e02650.
7 Kellogg, W.W., 2019. Climate change and society: consequences of increasing atmospheric carbon dioxide.
Routledge.

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References:
Blackwell, W.J., Braun, S., Bennartz, R., Velden, C., DeMaria, M., Atlas, R., Dunion, J., Marks,
F., Rogers, R., Annane, B. and Leslie, R.V., 2018. An overview of the TROPICS NASA earth
venture mission. Quarterly Journal of the Royal Meteorological Society, 144, pp.16-26.
Dessler, A.E. and Parson, E.A., 2019. The science and politics of global climate change: A guide
to the debate. Cambridge University Press.
Duniway, M.C., Pfennigwerth, A.A., Fick, S.E., Nauman, T.W., Belnap, J. and Barger, N.N.,
2019. Wind erosion and dust from US drylands: a review of causes, consequences, and solutions
in a changing world. Ecosphere, 10(3), p.e02650.
Kellogg, W.W., 2019. Climate change and society: consequences of increasing atmospheric
carbon dioxide. Routledge.
Nerem, R.S., Beckley, B.D., Fasullo, J.T., Hamlington, B.D., Masters, D. and Mitchum, G.T.,
2018. Climate-change–driven accelerated sea-level rise detected in the altimeter
era. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 115(9), pp.2022-2025.
Resnik, D.B., 2016. Climate change: causes, consequences, policy, and ethics. In Bioethical
Insights into Values and Policy (pp. 47-58). Springer, Cham.
Smith, P.K., 2016. Bullying: Definition, types, causes, consequences and intervention. Social
and Personality Psychology Compass, 10(9), pp.519-532.