Fossil Fuels are the Culprits to the Cause of Global Warming

Luka Suon September 2, 2008

International analysis has recently pointed out the main culprit (culprits) of global warming is the world's reliance on fossil fuels (coal, oil, and natural gas), although some believe deforestation and development are responsible. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC, established in 1988 by the World Meteorological Organization and the United Nations Environment Program) reports human activity in recent years being the root cause, since the said activity relies heavily on fossil fuel. The sureness of the consequence has become "99%" according to one researcher, quite a drastic change from the 66% estimate made back in 2001. To add fuel to the fire (the matter surrounding global warming) researchers go on to add that even if people lessened their dependency and usage of fossil fuels the effects felt today would not disappear for the longest time, much less mitigating the increase in temperature. As one scientist pointed out the carbon dioxide that has accumulated would still remain even into the next century.

The recent climate assessment made by the IPCC will be the organization's fourth since 1990. The one made in 2001 indicated a surge in global temperature from 2.5 to 10.4 degrees by the end of the century. For the record, the one from 1901 to 2005 was by 1.2 degrees. There have been reports that this temperature surge has led to an increase in floods, droughts, rising ocean levels, and shrinking glaciers, becoming ever more covered by the media in recent years. Atmospheric studies have verified the claim that increased carbon emissions are the cause of the planetary heat increase.

The report set to be released this week outlines the projection and measurements of temperature, sea level, precipitation, storms, winds, and melting of the polar caps and their effects. In the United States Congress is set to review the IPCC report, and several cities have taken the initiative to limit the greenhouse gas emissions. The problem is germane to American society in particular, since a majority of the population live in areas that could easily be bereft by the consequences of global warming.
While IPCC reports have the propensity of being somewhat erroneous (and controversial) at times, the negotiations in Paris this week will continue in their revision of the report's summary "line by line" as one scientist put it. This is due to the concerns of every nation involved in the negotiations on the same matter.
The nations of the world are ever increasingly finding the relevance of the whole matter, but is it too late for us? Is it too late for us to change our ways? Scientific reports suggest it is. We've buried ourselves so deep in the hole we can barely see the sunlight (depending on when you decide to bury yourself be that noon or night). However, what does that mean? Should we return to apathy knowing what we do will have no results? Absolutely not! As the saying goes, "Rome wasn't built in a day." The results may not be apparent in our lifetime, but that doesn't mean we shouldn't proceed with the cautious measures of cutting our dependency on fossil fuels. It may not mean anything today but it will for our children. We certainly can't be the ones blamed for the problem, although all evidence refutes that otherwise. In any case, I believe that lessening our dependency and development would do the good later than sooner, even though we are a society that stresses the significance of sooner than later. C'est la vie, n'est-ce pas?
To put it simply, reader, I cannot say what will happen ten years down the road. Hopefully for me I'll have two Golden Globes but that's from a perspective of an idealist. I can't say what will happen to us in the twenty-second century...hopefully we'll have developed warp drive to explore other worlds and make Mars our new home. But, as Doctor Who once said, "man has the potential to do great good as well as great evil...he spreads out like a pioneer or a disease." The perception of our fair race is a double-edged sword and we can do great good as well as great evil. We have brought this world into the modern era as well as f---ing up the biosphere. What can I say? We are a disease; just let me ask, what is the cure?

links:
http://www.usatoday.com/weather/climate/globalwarming/2007-01-30-ipcc-report_x.htm
http://www.ncdc.noaa.gov/paleo/paleo