Global warming is one of the most discussed environmental issues of today. To understand the issue, it is necessary to know the elements of global warming and how these factors contribute to the controversy of this global phenomenon. It was in 1988 that experts and climate authorities acknowledged that the world climate was warmer compared to any period since 1880. The controversy of global warming or climate change reached the public opinion and gained mass coverage with the drought of 1988, which led to a US Senate inquiry concerning the hot weather that plunged the nation (Haldar, 2011). Not only did the controversy reached the Unites States public, but it also created a massive global awareness as organizations such as the European Union launched different approaches to the problem, like the Kyoto Protocol. In essence, global warming is not just a regional issue that should be taken into account by nations, but it is a global issue that should be talked and discussed by global leaders. According to Dinçer (2010), “nations, companies, and everyone have environmental responsibility” as primary stakeholders of the global climate controversy. It is impossible to separate the people from the problem of global warming because humanity is the direct at stake with this situation.
Regarding the issue of climate change and global warming, researchers and scholars differ in their opinion and overview of the issue. For those who are fighting for the protection of the environment and the proper response to global warming, it is very important for the government and for the people to act now as the temperature of earth has greatly change and in a wild swing (Sim, 2009). For them, if humanity will not act now, when? And if not humanity to do the action, who will? This argument speaks of the urgency of doing something for the benefit of the world; otherwise, this finite world that we live in will eventually die and fade away from the vastness of the universe. Yet, for those who are considered as skeptics, global warming is just a hoax woven by politics and conspiracies. This is just part of the grand scheme of deceiving the people and conditioning their mind on the inevitable loss of the world if we will not act now, but the same scheme targets to build the opinion of the people is purely a politics of money. For them, the reason why smart and green products have grown is due to the controversy of global warming.
The fundamental principles held by those who believe in the reality of global warming and support the advocacy to reverse or reduce the impact of global warning are founded on the merits of scientific, political and theological points. The scientific points of the issue are focused on the methodological studies and researches that are conducted and published by authorities and experts. There are several private and public research and investigations that have been initiated to figure out the problem of global warming or the unprecedented rise of global temperature. While those who are in the political arena drives the hammer to the nail of pushing awareness of the issue. Global leaders have reshaped the opinion of the people concerning global warming; thereby creating a global impact that greatly changed the atmosphere of awareness and intent for change. And lastly, the principle of accountability to God as the creator of the universe completes the triangular reasoning for the advocacy of global warming. This is a religious standpoint of the issue because several people still believe that it is a Higher Being who created the universe and humanityhas the responsibility of takingcare of the world. In this sense, it is important for humanity to understand the reality of global warming and the desire to take the responsibility seriously.
Scientists who study the earth affirmed the change of the world's climate and physical structure over the past hundred years. There are empiricalstudies that can prove the assertion of the government that global warming is real and the imminent destruction of the universe is also real that it must not be taken lightly. In 1896, Arrhenius said that the doubling of the atmospheric carbon dioxide would also increase Earth's temperature by 5 to 6 degrees Celsius - and this is happening now (Lang, 2003). This means the increase of Earth’s temperature is directly proportionalto the increase of carbon dioxide concentration in the atmosphere. Today, what Arrhenius said comes into reality as the earth experience warmer and hotter temperature and the unpredictable flow of weather. Around the world, reports of increased temperature are alarming – and not section of the world is immune to this situation, even the icy waters of the poles. For former President G.W. Bush, human activities were contributory factors to global warming (Farrar, 2010). Human activities can be considered the primary factor of global warming because humans are the ones creating actions that can increase the carbon dioxide concentration of the atmosphere. As human activities and industries produce or emit carbon dioxide into the atmosphere, the same results to the damage of the ozone layer, which is the covering of the earth from the direct rays of the sun. According to Pittock (2009), "there is a strong possible that large-scale and possibly irreversible changes in Earth systems will result in large impacts at regional and global scales." Scientifically, global warming is real and the damage is already very big that reversing it is beyond possibility. This means that what humanity can do is to prevent the imminent impact of the damage and to ensure that the damage is contained.
The political background and direction of the global warming controversy is an essential part of the advocacy of those who support the finding of solution to global warming. The awareness of global warming is not a bottom-up process, but it is a top-bottom process; it starts from the top level of the society to fuel or drive the awareness of the people. The reaction of national governments and world organizations toward the scientific evidence drives the issue to become a political concern. When global leaders talk about global warming, the people are easily convinced that the issue is really rea. According to Smith (2002), the public scientific discussion becomes the driver for the government to see global warming as a national issue. As people discuss the scientific views of the issue, they are also divided into groups citing different evidence from the scientific study – this scenario catches the attention of the national government to formulate investigations and means to eliminate problem, which is considered already national security issue. As a result, global governance has already considered the impact and the scale of global warming with their policies and agenda (Nowotny (2011). The fact that global leaders may have their own views concerning the issue places the controversy before the political arena of the international community, which motivates discussions and conferences. According to Patomaki (2008), the solution of global warming is deeply rooted on the principle of social justice, which spans sectors and sections of the society and not just the environment. The worldwide view on social justice provides that humanity should have a free course to live a peaceable and sustainable life, which can be hindered with the impact of global warming. As world leaders promote social justice, it is impossible for them to ignore the impact of climate change to what they are fighting for.
From this standpoint of global leaders changing the awareness of the public about global warming should also be translated among society’s leaders. For instance, when business leaders implement new initiatives about global warming in their operations through sustainability program, the people within the organization also become more engaged and involved in the process of global warming. It is very essential for both public and private leaders to communicate the reality of global warming and to influence the minds of the people. The reality is that not only political leaders can help to transform the opinion of the people, but also business, religious, and social leaders can help pump awareness of global warming.
Lastly, the issue comes into the theological aspect of the controversy, which is a fundamental part of the reasons why people believe that global warming is real and the situation should be resolved. This is the religious view of global warming, which is the same regardless of the religion. The idea of God creating the world and the world answerable to God transcends religion, denomination, and world view. If we look closely at most religionsaround the world, the idea of creation is central to the beginning of Earth, rather than on the scientific explanation of the matter. According to Ball (2010), God has a definite purpose of the world - and He will do it according to His plan. God plans that the world has its own end, but it does not provide a permit for us to ruin the world and destroy it as we want it. The intent of God is that we will be able to enjoy the world at its best potential, rather than on destroying the world because of the foolishness of man. According to Bubeck & Bubeck (2010), God has "authority to judge and require accountability from all people" which speaks on how increased pollution has led to global warming as an act of accountability to God. The need of preventing the imminentdestruction of the world is based on the reality of sowing and reaping. This means that if we sow tremendous destruction to Earth’s beauty, one day we will also reap the problem of its ruins, such as high temperature throughout the globe, erratic or abnormal weather conditions, and destruction. In this regard, the political principle that man is responsible to what he does yields to the religious dimension of accountability and punishment. According to Auxt & Curtis (2009), the purpose of God is for man to take care of the earth as a good steward. Because God expects us to be good steward of His creation, it is essential to do everything to protect the earth and stop the impact of global change. This is the very statement of the argument on taking care of the world based on the idea of religiousbeliefs and practices.
The basic reasons of those who believe and support the cause of global warming rests on the political, scientific and religious aspects; however, for those who think and believe that global warming is a hoax, there are also scientific, logical, and political issues and concerns being raised. Mainly, it talks of the counter argument based on scientific facts that will shake the scientific evidence shared by those who support global climate advocacy. Second, it reviews the logical reasoning of those who think that human intervention results to global warming as false claims. And lastly, those who don't believe in the reality of global warning present a conspiracy by the government to support their own interests.
Scientific evidence on the unreality of climate change covers the evidence on its reality. For those who don’t believe in the reality of global warming, scientificevidence presented by the other side of the issue is just a matter of deception of the government and those who have power in the society. It is necessary to understand that there are other explanations to the climactic change the earth is experiencing today, than just the hasty generalization that global warming is happening. These explanations are based on the studies and reviews of other authorities and experts, as mentioned here. According to Booker (2008), the temperature of the world has continually dropped over the past century. In fact, since the first satellite record on global temperatures, the University of Alabama has seen the drop of temperature below the 30-year average. This just means that the claim of increased of Earth’s temperature is not real and is just a hoax. According to Shipley (2011), the earth was hotter 500 to 1000 years ago than today. In fact, the reason behind the Big Bang Theory is the increased of temperature of the universe. This is a historical understanding that to claim that the world will collapse due to extreme warm is not real. According to Crysophere Today, the ice of the Antarctic is greater this time of year than when they started the satellite record in 1979. This is a claim to oppose the assertion of those who believe that global warming is real that the ice of both poles are sliding and melting away in a drastic scale. With the “winter kill” and other evidence that the earth's temperature is dropping, the claim of global warming's increased of temperature is unreal and unfounded. It would be impossible to prove that the world is suffering from tremendous warm temperature if there are regions of the world that are experiencing tremendous “winter kill”seasons.
Based on the logical reasoning of this issue, it is easy to see the unreality of global warming. The claim that scientists believe in the reality of global warming is not a true claim due to the logical presentation provided by other scientists and authorities. According to the petition of 17, 000 scientists of the Oregon Institute of Science and Medicine, "there is no convincing scientific evidence that human release of carbon dioxide, methane, or other greenhouse gases is causing or will, in the foreseeable future, cause catastrophic heating of the Earth’s atmosphere and disruption of the Earth’s climate." This claim just invalidates the idea that human activities are primary reasons behind global warming. According to the United Nations's Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change's (IPCC) Climate Change 2001, the earth's climate is already chaotic and unstable, which means the changes being experienced are just normal conditions. There is nothing to be alarmed of with the weather changes that we are experiencing because this is just a normal situation from the beginning of time. According to Kerr (1997), climate models are not reliable and are just creating confusion. This means that the claim of global warming's reality is logically unfounded and can be categorized as a lie being drafted by those who are in power.
As much as politics dictate the policy of nations, it necessary to understand the political milieu of this issue. By bringing the issue to the political arena, global warming becomes an issue of security, which transcends impact on the economy. According to Marien (1993), government's spending to "stabilize the atmospheric levels of greenhouse gasses" would not do work its goals, but will just cause tremendous cuts of most industries. According to Cline (1992), with the government trying to spend to stop climate change, other important political concerns of the nation are left unattended. According to Cline (1992), as the government tries to stop carbon emission, industries are cuts and several employees had to join the unemployment pool. As much as global warming is already considered a political issue, it is necessary to consider other areas and aspects of the nation, which is affected by global warming policies.
Those who support and oppose the belief on global warming focus on fundamental components of the controversy, including politics, environmental or ecological, and theological. Global warming is a very broad issue being discussed by global leaders but this remains to be controversial and debatable). Even in their own understanding of the fundamental aspects of global warming, researchers, scientists, and authorities differ due to the wide information being provided by both sides.
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