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Malcolm A. Jeter

Professor Creaney

English Comp 11000

20 November 2019

Is scientific evidence strong enough to prove that Global Warming is caused mainly by humans?

Global warming is evident worldwide and has been a topic of controversy.  Scientists, for many years, have developed explanations for why there is a rise in temperatures globally. Changes in weather patterns are a result of human action as well as nature itself. Pollution is the biggest factor when discussing global warming. As everyone already knows, humans are the ones responsible for pollution too. According to the article, “Climate Change Evidence: How Do We Know” changes in water vapor, carbon dioxide, methane, nitrous oxide, and chlorofluorocarbons are some of the causes of the increase of the average temperature. Pollution is the most significant contributor when discussing the imbalances of said natural properties.  

When talking about pollution, it’s crucial that you understand what precisely what it is. There are many examples of human activities having a significant impact on the environment, and pollution is the best example of it. Nature nor animals cause pollution; humans are entirely responsible for the concept of polluting the environment. Polluting on any scale has a huge impact on the environment. Factories are often the primary targets to blame when discussing who pollutes the most, and that’s fair. Huge corporations do play the most prominent role in terms of polluting the environment. Although this is the case, everyday people still place a massive part in pollution. The article titled “Pollution” written by the experts over at National Geographic, list many ways in which people pollute. Some of the ways in which people pollute include but are not limited to oil spills, crop dusting, using gas products, and using aerosol sprays. Being that pollution isn’t natural, it has many effects on the environment. The main effect of pollution is global warming, which is the topic at hand. Being that polluting the environment is an example of human activity, it can be said that humans have contributed the most to global warming in that aspect.

Technology is something that we’re all familiar with, and humans have used it for many reasons. Since technology is constantly changing and advancing surely, people have focused on developing environmentally safer tools in the process. In some aspects, technology has helped combat global warming, while in other aspects, it’s done the opposite. The article, “Combatting Global Warming Means Adopting Technology Now” talks about how we need to incorporate more technology to fight against global warming. The author discusses how helpful technology is already available, but has to be adopted at a faster rate than it currently is.

In most cases, technology doesn’t quite favor the environment much. Now, are you going to blame an animal for developing technology, or are you going to point fingers right back at people? If you would blame animals for that, then you should probably consider spending time with some to better understand what they’re capable of. Humans, once again, are the ones to blame in developing technology that harms the environment. There are not many other things that contribute to climate change besides humans activity. Sure there are natural events that contribute to climate change, but their impact is tiny compared to that of human activities.  

It’s no secret that humans love to eat food. Now, imagine enjoying a nice hot slice of pizza while walking in Union Square. It’s full of flavor and taste, but you’re just a tiny bit clumsy like all people are, and you drop your slice on the floor. Now the quick answer is to pick it up and toss it out because eating pizza that fell on the sidewalk isn’t the cleanest thing to do. The idea of eating a slice of pizza that fell on the ground sounds disgusting, but you can justify it in many different ways. That slice of pizza took a lot to make. The pollution from the factories that made the cheese that’s all splattered on the ground would go to waste if you tossed out the pizza. The guy that worked in another factory to produce the tomato sauce probably drove a car to work that also polluted the environment. Cooking the pizza itself probably emitted gases that contributed to global warming. If you consider all of those concepts, maybe eating the slice of pizza off the floor wouldn’t be such a nasty thing to do. Instead of wasting all of the pollution that went into making that pizza, eat it instead. Another justification aside from that of an environmental point would be to say you were starving and wanted to eat. That doesn’t sound as nice, but it sure works too.

Scientists for awhile have built concrete evidence to show that pollution is the main contributor to global warming. The same way calling a “pre-owned” product a “used” good is the same way referring to pollution is the same thing as saying human activity. Scientific evidence is strong enough to point the finger to humans for being the leading contributor to global warming. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change provides scientific proof of human activities that relate to the rise of temperatures. Such information provided by the IPCC is also featured in the article, “How Do We Know That Humans Are the Major Cause of Global Warming?”, which is written by the Union of Concerned Scientists. The specific topic scientists have the most research on is information regarding human contribution to atmospheric CO2. Carbon dioxide also referred to as CO2, is a gas that traps in heat. It’s the main gas that affects temperatures worldwide. The article states, “We know human activities are driving the increase in CO2 concentrations because atmospheric CO2 contains information about its source. Scientists can tease apart how much CO2 comes from natural sources, and how much comes from combusted fossil fuel sources”. With all of the scientific research that supports the claims of humans having the biggest impact on global warming, it’s clear that scientific evidence is strong enough to prove that global warming is mainly caused by humans.

WORKS CITED PAGE

“Climate Change Evidence: How Do We Know?” NASA, NASA, 9 July 2019, https://climate.nasa.gov/evidence/.

Dans, Enrique. “Combatting Global Warming Means Adopting Technology, Now.” Forbes, Forbes Magazine, 12 Oct. 2018, https://www.forbes.com/sites/enriquedans/2018/10/09/combatting-global-warming-means-adopting-technology-now/#3314048ad461.

“How Do We Know That Humans Are the Major Cause of Global Warming?” Union of Concerned Scientists, https://www.ucsusa.org/resources/are-humans-major-cause-global-warming.

National Geographic Society. “Pollution.” National Geographic Society, 9 Oct. 2012, https://www.nationalgeographic.org/encyclopedia/pollution/.