Global Warming: Are We Confusing Cause and Effect?

• Main Authors: Copyright Taylor, Leonid F. Khilyuk, George V. Chilingar
• Other Authors: The Pennsylvania State University CiteSeerX Archives
• Format: Text
• Language: English
• Subjects: Arctic; Arctic Ocean; Global warming
• Online Access: http://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/viewdoc/summary?doi=10.1.1.614.3281; http://ruby.fgcu.edu/courses/twimberley/EnviroPhilo/Confusing.pdf

The writers show that the present-day global warming is not due to the increase in the volume of greenhouse gases, but rather to the increased solar activity. It appears that we are at the rising phase of the latest 80–90 year cycle of the solar activity. At the present time, there is no sound justification for the cut in the man-induced carbon dioxide emission as required by the Kyoto Protocol of 1997. The rising global temperature drives large volumes of CO2 from the ocean water into the atmosphere. Thus “cause ” and “effect ” of global warming phenomenon are misunderstood by many scientists. Established Facts About Climatic Changes The main characteristic of the Earth’s climate is temperature. During the 20th Century, the global mean surface temperature has increased by approximately 1◦F (Figure 1). “The 20th Century’s warmest years all occurred in the last 15 years of the century. Of these, 1998 was the warmest year on record. The snow cover in the Northern Hemisphere and floating ice in the Arctic Ocean have decreased. Globally, sea level has risen 4–8 inches over the past century. Worldwide precipitation over land has increased by about 1%. The