Are We Experiencing a Climate Crisis free essay sample

Professor Berntsen English 360 10 October 2007 Are We Experiencing A Climate Crisis? The issue of global warming has been widely debated in our country the past few years. It is an important topic because it threatens the existence of the human race. Global warming, also known as the greenhouse effect, refers to the increase in the average temperature of the Earths near-surface air and oceans in recent decades and its projected continuation. This climate crisis is a huge environmental and ecological challenge that our planet in facing today. The consequences of ignoring this problem may result in a major catastrophe that could send our entire planet into a tailspin of epic destruction involving extreme weather, flooding, droughts, epidemics and killer heat waves beyond anything we have ever experienced or could imagine (Climate Crisis). However, through my research I have realized that there are some skeptics who do not think global warming is a threat people should be concerned about, and that this whole issue is over exaggerated, almost mythical. We will write a custom essay sample on Are We Experiencing a Climate Crisis? or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page Although the following essay will consider the arguments of these skeptics, I will defend the claim that global warming is a real issue with serious consequences and that we as a society must intervene and take action. The fact that the earths atmosphere is gradually getting hotter every year is agreed upon by the majority of scientists in the field. The question is how and why are the temperatures rising? For starters, global warming is caused by carbon dioxide and other air pollution that is collecting in the atmosphere like a thickening blanket, trapping the suns heat and causing the planet to warm up. In the United States, coal-burning power plants are the largest source of carbon dioxide pollution. These plants produce 2. 5 billion tons of carbon dioxide pollution every year. Second to coal-burning power plants are our automobiles. Our vehicles create more than 1. 5 billions tons of carbon dioxide annually (Gore). As carbon dioxide pollution increases rapidly, the earths average temperature is gradually rising. Although local temperatures fluctuate naturally, over the past fifty years the average global temperature has increased at the fastest rate in recorded history (Gore). To give an example of how hot it has been in recent years, ten of the hottest years on record have all occurred since 1990. In 2006, city after city witnessed all time heat temperatures. In that year alone the daily high temperature records were broken across American cities 2,300 times. During the time period from July 2005 to the end of June 2006, it was reported to be the hottest twelve month period in the history of temperature measurements in the United States (NRDC). Europe is also feeling the heat. In 2003, an unusual heat wave killed 35, 000 people. In India that same year, a heat wave claimed the lives of over 100,000 people (Gore). Is this sudden increase in heat just a natural climate change or is caused by us humans and the way we live? Some believe that the climate change is a completely natural occurrence and that human industrial activity has nothing to do with it. Dr. Rancourt, a senior environmentalist, claims that humans have thrived in every possible ecological niche on the planet, from deserts to tropical forests to the North Polar Regions, since well before present technological advances. These environments show mean temperature differences of as much as 50 C or more. Many of these environments also show day to night and seasonal differences of as much as 20-50 C. A sudden 0. -1 C increase in mean annual temperature (not spread over 100 years) would be imperceptible to any human and indeed could barely be detected using all of the methods of the modern scientific enterprise (Rancourt). In addition, whereas there is evidence of negative consequences to populations from sustained regional cooling (e. g. , Europe’s Little Ice Age, 1300-1850 AD) and whereas global ice ages (occurring every 40-100 thousan d years or so) clearly have significantly affected human populations, there is no known case of a sustained warming alone having negatively impacted an entire population. If it where not for the global greenhouse effect, the planet would on average be 33 C colder and inhabitable (Rancourt). People against the fight of global warming believe that humans have already adapted to dramatically different regional climates occurring in every corner of the planet and the alleged future global changes are very small compared to these existing variations. Dr. Rancourt says that There are more displaced refugees from wars and from economic aggression than there will ever be displaced inhabitants from rapid climate-induced habitat transformations. In both cases, the solution is to accommodate those loosing their homes and communities, not to attempt to control planetary processes and unpredictable events. Dr. Rancourts opinion will not sit well with the residence of Alaska, Siberia, Greenland or other countries who are currently experiencing the negative effects of global warming. Theses countries are currently witnessing the melting of permafrost. This frozen soil or permafrost has always been frozen since the beginning of time. Unfortunately the soil is gradually melting and thawing due to the increased temperatures. This is causing buildings to collapse, trees to grow improperly, and is affecting anything underground such as cemeteries and tunnels. Most importantly, the end result of this melting and thawing is that if the permafrost is thawed out completely, it will release and incredible amount of methane into the atmosphere that would result in a dramatic increase in global warming pollution. This is a scientific fact that has not been disputed. Also, Greenland is in danger from not only the melting of the permafrost but from glacial earthquakes as well. In 2006, Fifty cubic miles of ice melted off the mainland of this country due to these glacial earthquakes that are caused by the warming of the earth. Scientists had never discovered glacial earthquakes in Greenland until 1993, which shows you that the earth has never been this warm until recent years. These earthquakes are breaking the glaciers and melting the ice at a fast pace. From 1993 to 1999, the amount of glacial earthquakes doubled. In between the years of 1999 and 2005 the number doubled again. Experts say that if this rapid melting of Greenland continues, it will have a domino effect on the rest of the world. It will result in the sea level soaring to 20 feet or more world wide (Gore). If this is true, how can people like Dr. Rancourt say that global warming is not a serious threat? After researching this subject matter, I came to the conclusion that Dr. Rancourt’s statements showed be read with much doubt. Even though his position as environmentalist and status as a doctor is impressive, his findings and theory lacks quality evidence. He also fails to look at the situation as being a threat in the far future. In his calculations of rising temperatures, Dr. Rancourt does not take into consideration that this is a long term problem. He fails to look at the big picture of this climate crisis. For example, he states that a sudden 0. 5-1 C increase in mean annual temperature would be imperceptible to any human and indeed could barely be detected using all of the methods of the modern scientific enterprise†. The problem with this evidence is that these calculations are not spread over a lengthy time period. His findings suggest that the average temperature will increase . 5 C annually. This means in the year 3000, temperatures would reach anywhere from 50 to 100 C over the current average global temperature. In my opinion the doctor’s findings are not clear and are highly debatable. On the other hand, Al Gore’s views on this subject matter are backed up with evidence that was uncovered by a majority of the experts who study this issue. Unlike Dr. Rancourt who’s theory is supported by a minority of the scientist in the field. Also, Gore’s vision takes into account that this climate crisis is a problem now and will be even a greater problem in 50 fifty years. He presents an extensive amount of factual evidence to support his view. Countries like Greenland are not the only places experiencing the effects of this climate crisis. In some parts of the world, bad weather in the form of strong hurricanes, extreme flooding, and longer droughts have reached record numbers.

Cyrus McCormick, Inventor of the Mechanical Reaper

Cyrus McCormick, Inventor of the Mechanical Reaper Cyrus McCormick (February 15, 1809–May 13,  1884), a Virginia blacksmith, invented the mechanical reaper  in 1831. Essentially a horse-drawn machine that harvested wheat, it was one of the most important inventions in the history of farm innovation. The reaper, which one observer  likened to a cross between a wheelbarrow and a chariot, was capable of  cutting six acres of oats in one afternoon, the equivalent of 12 men working with scythes. Fast Facts: Cyrus McCormick Known For: Invented the mechanical reaperKnown As: The Father of Modern AgricultureBorn: February 15, 1809 in Rockbridge County,  VirginiaParents: Robert McCormick, Mary Ann HallDied: May 13, 1884 in Chicago, IllinoisSpouse: Nancy Nettie FowlerChildren: Cyrus McCormick Jr., Harold Fowler McCormickNotable Quote: Indomitable perseverance in a business, properly understood, always ensures ultimate success. Early Life McCormick was born in 1809 in Rockbridge County, Virginia, to Robert McCormick and Mary Ann Hall McCormick, who had migrated from Great Britain. He was the eldest of eight children in a family that was influential in the area. His father was a farmer but also a blacksmith and an inventor. Young McCormick had little formal education, spending his time instead in his fathers workshop. His father held patents for inventing such farm machinery as a clover huller, a blacksmith’s bellows, a hydraulic power machine, and other labor-saving devices for the farm, but after more than 20 years he had failed to come up with a workable, horse-drawn mechanical reaping machine. Cyrus decided to take up the challenge. Seeds of the Reaper McCormicks invention would make him prosperous and famous, but he was a religious young man who believed his mission was to help feed the world. For farmers in the early 19th century, harvesting required a large number of laborers. He set out to reduce the number of hands needed for the harvest. He  drew on the work of many other people in developing the reaper, including that of his father and Jo Anderson, one of his fathers slaves, but he ended up basing his work on principles entirely different from those employed by Robert McCormick. After 18 months, he came up with a working model. His machine had a vibrating cutting blade, a reel to pull the grain within reach of the blade, and a platform to catch the falling grain. He had succeeded, and he was only 22. The first version was rough- it made such a clatter that slaves were assigned to walk with the frightened horses to keep them calm- but it clearly worked. He received a patent for his invention in 1834. Ironically, after he had received the patent, McCormick set aside his invention to focus on his familys iron foundry, which failed in the wake of the bank panic of 1837 and left the family deeply in debt. So he returned to his reaper, setting up production in a shop next to his fathers house and focusing on improvements. He finally sold his first machine in 1840 or 1841, and business slowly took off. Moves to Chicago A visit to the Midwest convinced McCormick that the future of his reaper was in that sprawling, fertile land instead of the rocky soil in the East.  Following more improvements, he and his brother Leander opened a factory in Chicago in 1847 and sold 800 machines that first year. The new venture, the McCormick Harvesting Machine Co., eventually became the largest farm equipment manufacturing firm in the country. In 1851, McCormick gained international fame when his reaper won the Gold Medal at the landmark Great Exposition in Londons Crystal Palace. He became a leading public figure and remained active in Presbyterian causes as well as Democratic politics. In 1871, the  Great Chicago Fire  destroyed McCormicks company, but the family rebuilt it and McCormick continued to innovate. In 1872, he produced a reaper that  automatically bound the bundles with wire. Eight years later, he came out with a binder that, using a knotting device invented by Wisconsin pastor John F. Appleby, bound the handles with twine.  Despite fierce competition and legal battles over patents, the company continued to prosper. Death and Tragedy McCormick died in 1884, and his eldest son, Cyrus Jr., took over as president at only 25 years old. Two years later, though, the business was marked by tragedy. A workers strike in 1886 that involved the McCormick Harvesting Machine Co. eventually turned into one of the worst labor-related riots in American history. By the time the Haymarket Riot ended, seven policemen and four civilians were dead. Charges were brought against eight reputed anarchists: Seven were sentenced to death; one committed suicide in prison, four were hanged, and the sentences of two were commuted to life in prison. Cyrus McCormick Jr. continued as president of the company until 1902, when J.P. Morgan bought it, along with five others, to form the International Harvester Co. Legacy Cyrus McCormick is remembered as â€Å"The Father of Modern Agriculture because he  made it possible for farmers to expand their small, personal farms into much larger operations. His reaping machine brought an end to hours of tedious fieldwork and encouraged the invention and manufacture of other labor-saving  farm implements and machinery. McCormick and his competitors continued to improve their products, leading to such innovations as self-raking reapers, with a continually moving canvas belt that delivered the cut grain to two men riding on the end of the platform, who bundled it.   The reaper was eventually replaced by the self-propelled combine, operated by one man, which cuts, gathers, threshes, and sacks the grain mechanically. But the original reaper was the first step in a transition from hand labor to the mechanized farming of today. It brought about an industrial revolution, as well as a vast change in agriculture. Sources Cyrus McCormick. InventionWare.com.McCormick, Cyrus Hall. American National Biography.Cyrus McCormick: American Industrialist and Inventor. Encylopedia Brittanica.Nancy Fowler McCormick. Revolvy.Cyrus McCormick Biography. TheFamousPeople.com.