The Global Warming debated has heated up again, following the recent release of a report by the U.N. Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC).
On one side, the climate change deniers emphasize the fact that global warming has remained relatively stable for the past 17 years. They maintain that this supports the “Hockey Stick” conclusion that global warming has actually leveled off and therefore not expected to increase in the foreseeable future.
On the other side, the IPCC continues to insist that climate change is real, is caused by human activity, and continues despite regional differences, over a time line of 1400 years. Furthermore, it maintains that we will see far more dangerous and potentially irreversible impacts in the decades ahead, if we do not choose to reduce global carbon emissions. There has never been a greater urgency to act than there is now.
Which side is right? Well, maybe they both are, in their own way. As with most heated / controversial topics, everyone has their own strong opinion and many will strive mightily to affirm their agenda. As their almost religious fervor develops, there will undoubtedly be misdirection, cherry-picking, half-truths, outright falsehoods, and even personal verbal attacks. At the heart of this controversy is the credibility of the IPCC position and agenda, as well as their format for accepted, qualified peer reviews.
Nevertheless, no one can dispute the facts that polar ice caps are melting and that the world’s oceans are getting warmer, thus setting up even more change for climate patterns around the world.
We urge you all to do your own independent research and make your own informed conclusions. We have listed some recent links below, to get you started.
http://www.ipcc.ch/news_and_events/press_information.shtml#.Ukh8F3_NmNg
www.climatechange2013.org/images/uploads/WGIAR5-SPM_Approved27Sep2013.pdf
http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2013/sep/28/ipcc-climate-change-deniers
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2420783/computers-got-effects-greenhouse-gases-wrong.html
http://www.colby.edu/sts/controversy/pages/ipcc_controversy.htm
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Global_warming_controversy
