Great Decisions tackles global warming

By: Danny Weber
Contributing Writer

The extinction of birds, a terrible hurricane season, massive droughts in Australia and an epidemic of malaria – these may sound like elements of a science fiction movie, but they are some effects of global climate changes, and they are already beginning to take place.
This week’s topic in the Great Decisions forum was the future of Earth’s climate and how we can improve it.

Although some people may be in denial, “it’s proven scientific fact,” and, “it’s not up for discussion,” states Tim Tibbets, associate professor of biology and lecturer of this week’s gathering. The question is no longer “Will global warming happen?” but rather “How can we prevent these climate changes from occurring?”

Some evidence of this carbon dioxide build up is the premature arrival of birds migrating to their summer habitats, an increase in the category four and five storms in recent years and a rise in sea level. If we do not take preventative measures, the wet and moist areas will provide new breeding grounds for malaria and dengue fever, destruction of the coral reef will occur and heat-related deaths will soar. Also, the average drought for Australia will increase from three out of every 10 years to nine out of every 10 years by the year 2070.

The effects are not limited to our friends down under though, since the average temperature and sea level will rise by 35 degrees per decade and 16 feet per each two degree increase, respectively. This means that animals which migrate at only 4 miles per decade will not be able to keep up and millions of homes on the shoreline will be lost.
What is worse is that politicians would rather quibble over the problem than work together to solve it.

William Urban, Lee L. Morgan Professor of History and International Studies, who was in attendance of the debate, brought up a valid argument that the Kyoto Protocol, a plan for countries to reduce harmful emissions, although rejected by the U.S. and Australia, has not been met by any of the countries involved, and was only a ploy for third world countries to get money from the U.S.

So what can we do to help?

Well, even though we may only be college students, we have the power to do what politicians will not. Simply by recycling, turning off the lights and TV when we leave and maybe suggesting to our professors that we print our papers on both sides, we can keep the world a beautiful place for future generations.

With our forefathers doing so much to give us the earth we have today, we owe it to those who are to come to enjoy the same clean, healthy planet.

For more information on global climate changes, you may want to rent Al Gore’s aptly named film, “An Inconvenient Truth.”