Understanding Global Warming: Fact, Fiction, & Opinion

Just What is the Controversy?

If you bring up the topic of global warming in a random group, chances are you’re going to land yourself in the middle of a heated debate. Even a small comment like “Man, it seems hotter this year than I remember it being in years past” can spark a fiery argument between otherwise calm individuals. To get up to speed on the background to the controversy about global warming and just what the points of contention are, it’s important to understand the reasoning behind both sides of the debate.

• Get the Rundown on the Global Warming Debate
• Kyoto Protocol and its Relationship to Global Warming
• The Academic Response to the Problem of Global Warming
• What Al Gore Had to Say about Global Warming at Harvard
• What Are the Economic Factors Involved with Global Warming?
• Is the EPA Really Doing its Job?

Just the Facts, Ma’am

Once you understand the different viewpoints involved in the global warming discussion, it’s time to start sorting out the facts. What is currently happening? What are the current warming trends? How long have we been warming up? What do we know about the factors that are contributing to the phenomenon? By getting filled in on the facts, you’ll be better able to sort through myths and opinions when it comes to global warming.

• Explaining the Facts of Global Warming to Children
• What Have Been the Effects of Global Warming in Africa?
• In What Ways Does Global Warming Affect Plants?
• Do You Know What’s Going on in the Arctic When it Comes to Global Warming?
• What’s Global Warming Doing to the Great Barrier Reef?
• Facts about the Greenhouse Effect
• Is Global Warming a Natural Part of the Earth’s Cycle?
• What’s Global Warming Doing to theGreenland’s Glaciers?
• What is the Relationship Between Global Warming and Seismic Activity?

More Facts Leading Scientists to Believe Global Warming is a Threat

It might be easy to dismiss the presented facts as a natural part of the Earth’s cycle. However, there are many reasons why scientists believe that we should be concerned about global warming and climate change.

• What You Need to Understand about the Hydrosphere
• Learn about the Relationship between Deforestation and Global Warming
• What is the Relationship between Global Warming and Winter Weather Patterns?
• The Relationship between Contrails from Airplanes and the Global Environment
• What is the Relationship between Methane Gas from Cows and Global Warming?
• What Global Warming is Doing to the Caribbean
• What Will Happen to the Polar Bears When the Ice Caps Melt?
• Facts About the Thermosphere That You Should be Familiar With
• What is Albedo and What is its Relationship to Global Warming?
• What do Ice Cores Tell Us about Global Warming?

Um, That’s a Myth!

Now that you’ve read a lot of facts and numbers, it’s time to dispel some of the myths associated with global warming. If you want to know whether something you’ve heard is fact or fiction - and learn what the truth behind the statement is - then it’s important to look into it further. In fact, even if what you hear seems like a fact, it’s prudent to double-check it by doing your own research. For starters you could check the sources cited by the author or speaker. You may find that they are passing on a myth, rather than disseminating factual information.

• Facts and Myths When Discussing Clean Coal Technologies
• Are the Earth’s Magnetic Poles Really Shifting?
• What’s the Real Story behind the Formation of Crater Lake?
• Does Idling Your Car Really Lead to Environmental Problems?
• Will Using Compact Florescent Light Bulbs Really Save the Earth?
• Does Putting Your Computer on Standby Really Save Power?
• Do We Really Mess up the Ecosystems?
• Does Climate Change Really Lead to Extinction of Species?

Solutions to Some of the Problems

So, now that you have a good idea about some of the facts involved in global warming, you may be wondering about steps you can take to help curb the effects and to reduce your carbon imprint on the world. Even taking on board just a few of steps towards living a sustainable lifestyle can help significantly reduce your carbon imprint on the world.

• Inventions That Will Help You to Live a More Sustainable Life
• Sustainable Efforts in Forestry You Should Support
• Things You Can do to Reduce Carbon Dioxide Emissions from Power Plants
• Green Building Techniques You Can Use in Your Next Construction Project
• What You Can do to Reduce Soil Pollution
• Why You Want to Save the Trees in the Rainforest
• What You Can do to Substitute Traditional Fuels with Alternative Fuels
• Why and How to Recycle Your eWaste

References

• Image courtesy of http://www.sxc.hu/photo/982643