Introduction:
The issue of global warming has taken center stage in political discourse over the last few years. Along with economic issues such as the growing disparity between the rich and the poor of the world and international military conflicts, the issue of global warming is one of the most important issues at present. This makes it imperative that anthropologists and other social scientists, at both the theoretical and the applied levels, “give serious consideration to the impact of global warming because it has and will continue to impact upon peoples who we historically have studied, be it the Inuit of the Arctic, cattle pastoralists in East Africa, horticultural villagers in the South Pacific and Southeast Asia, Andean peasants, Aboriginal Australians and Torres Strait Islanders, and peoples who we have been more recently studying, such as urbanites in both the developed and developing worlds” (Hans Baer, 2008). While the concern regarding global warming is a legitimate one, there is no consensus as to the extent of its threat to our planet and the life forms that inhabit it. While a majority of the community of scientists is of the view that global warming, if not checked immediately, will tip the delicate balance of global ecology and lead to natural disasters of unprecedented scale. This view is opposed by a few scientists, who argue that the phenomenon of global warming is as old as recorded history and that it is an integral part of the cyclical climatic patterns witnessed in the planet. This essay will present these two opposing viewpoints and finally arrive at a synthesis that captures the reality of the situation.
Thesis: Global warming poses a serious threat to the survival of ecosystems and life-forms that inhabits them.
Over the course of the last century, global average surface temperatures rose 0.6-0.7°C. This trend culminated in the year 2005, which was one of the hottest years recorded in the last hundred years. Scientific data also point out that “40 per cent of the Arctic icecap has retreated during the past several decades; and glaciers around the world have been rapidly retreating” (Hans Baer, 2008). This view is seconded by the United Nations’ Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change as well, which comprises of about 2,500 climate scientists drawn from across the world. The panel estimated that in the coming hundred years, the average global temperature will rise by about 3°C, extrapolating at the present rate of greenhouse gas emissions. This is a huge increase in the global temperature which will have devastating consequences on the survival of all species of life, including our own. Already, in the last few decades, global warming
“appears to be the primary impetus behind the spread of infectious-borne diseases in environments north and south of the equator and heat waves that threaten the lives and health of vulnerable populations, such as the elderly and the sick. Global Warming has also been implicated in the resurgence of a number of epidemics, including malaria in various parts of the world, cholera in Latin America in 1991, pneumonic plague in India in 1994, and hantavirus epidemic in the Southwest of the United States, also in 1994. Air pollution linked to longer, warmer summers particularly affects those suffering from respiratory problems, such as asthma. … ‘tropical’ diseases (e.g. malaria and dengue fever) that spreads to new places and peoples because of global warming, as well as the detrimental health effects of failing food security due to desertification of pastoral areas and flooding of agricultural lands.” (Hans Baer, 2008)
Anti-thesis: Global Warming is a naturally occurring ecological phenomenon and there is nothing alarming about it.
A select but vocal section of the scientific community is of the view that global warming is part of a natural pattern of warming and cooling that has taken place ever since the formation of the planet. They point out that planet has seen a steady warming since the mid-1800s, but before that it cooled for more than five centuries. Such cyclical periods of cooling following by periods of warming have been part of our planet’s natural climatic history going back millions of years. While these scientists agree that fossil fuel usage by human beings have majorly contributed to global warming, they do not believe that this should lead to catastrophe for our species (Uzawa, 2003). They claim that there is no hard scientific evidence to support the view that global warming has led to an impending catastrophe. They also believe that the media has indulged itself in sensationalism over scientific reality and have played up the threat posed by global warming. According to Jack M. Hollander,
“The media coverage of global warming has been so alarmist that it fails to convey how flimsy the evidence really is. Most people don’t realize that many strong statements about a human contribution to global warming are based more on politics than on science. Indeed, the climate change issue has become so highly politicized that its scientific and political aspects are now almost indistinguishable. The United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), upon which governments everywhere have depended for the best scientific information, has been transformed from a bona fide effort in international scientific cooperation into what one of its leading participants terms ‘a hybrid scientific/political organization’.” (Hollander, 2003)
Further, the exclusive focus on carbon dioxide emissions can be misleading. While environmentalists classify carbon dioxide as a pollutant, the gas is “neither scientifically nor legally considered a pollutant (Uzawa, 2003). Though present in Earth’s atmosphere in small amounts, carbon dioxide plays an essential role in maintaining life and as part of Earth’s temperature control system”. The heating of the atmosphere caused by these greenhouse gases is a natural occurrence, without which the earth is in danger of turning too cold and even being frozen. Moreover, carbon dioxide is essential for plant physiology, without which plants cannot survive. Hence some of the alarmist claims about greenhouse gas emissions, including that of carbon dioxide is exaggerated and overstated. (Hollander, 2003)
Synthesis:
Having considered both sides of the issue of global warming, we can now arrive at an evaluation and synthesis of the varying viewpoints. While studying the merits and demerits of the issue, it is important to remember that some of the views put forth might be motivated by personal and vested interprets of the scientists and analysts involved. For instance, there is sufficient evidence to prove that many of the detractors who deny the global warming crisis are in the payrolls of the fossils-fuels industry. This fact is part of a larger system cause for global warming, namely that of Global capitalism, “which relies heavily upon fossil fuels, has played a significant role in the emission of greenhouse gases into the atmosphere. Global capitalism contributes not only to the depletion of natural resources and environmental degradation but also to global warming” (Johansen, 2002). In this respect, it is important to pay heed to the point made by independent analysts S.Jordan, who states the responsibility of people in power (both in economic and political institutions) to respect scientific facts and ground realities, thus:
“The conclusions held by leaders in a variety of fields can’t help but have a profound impact on social, political, and economic policy. Thus each side has expended considerable effort to convince the public, and through it the political establishment, of the validity of its stance. But because neither has been entirely successful, particularly in the United States, policies have been inconsistent and changeable, subject to partisan wrangling, corporate lobbying, and a general inadequacy of resolve.” (Jordan, 2005)
References:
Baer, H. (2008). Global Warming as a By-product of the Capitalist Treadmill of Production and Consumption-the Need for an Alternative Global System. The Australian Journal of Anthropology, 19(1), 58+.
Hollander, M. Jack, Global Warming: Both Sides. (2003, Spring). The Wilson Quarterly, 27, 63+.
Global-Warming Myth; Politics Trumps Science. (2008, May 16). The Washington Times, p. A21.
Johansen, B. E. (2002). The Global Warming Desk Reference. Westport, CT: Greenwood Press.
Jordan, S. (2005, November/December). The Global Warming Crisis. The Humanist, 65, 23+.
Uzawa, H. (2003). Economic Theory and Global Warming. Cambridge, England: Cambridge University Press.