Sign Up Now
Get instant access to over 1 million+ study documents
OR
Already registered? click here to login
By creating your account, you agree to our terms of service, privacy policy and student honor code.
Higher temperatures would be positive for agriculture and forests. He believes that higher temperatures will actually cause sea levels to drop, and wraps up his interview with the cheery optimism that everyone appreciates warmer weather.
Wigley isn't quite as upbeat. He points out that because uncertainty is a built in component of the climate models, it is just as likely that the scientists have erred on the side of caution as it is that they have erred on the side of excess. This means that the effects of global warming could be much worse than what the models predict. His overall concern:
I]t's not so much just the temperature changes, but it's the changes in all other aspects of the environment: amounts of precipitation, the ability for vegetation to maintain its status quo, the amount of waters that's available for agriculture and for water resources, and so on. (Wigley)
In the final analysis, the division between these...
but, as should be apparent from this discussion, the position that Wigley takes is much more rational and informed by the available data than is Singer's. Singer is content to simply repeatedly point out that the models being used are not accurate enough, even as evidence mounts that the models are correct. Besides, he argues, even if climate change is occurring it will certainly be a good thing for civilization. Skepticism is an important part of the scientific process, but Wigley's position is not one of absolutes; it is his part to report the available evidence and explain how the existing models can account for that evidence. Based on the interviews analyzed, this is a much more rational and reasonable position that affords Wigley the edge in this analysis.
Works Cited
Bailey, Ronald. "Why Meaning?" Reason (Apr. 2004): 10-12.
First Test of Predictions of Climate Change Impacts on Biodiversity." Space Daily (15 July 2005): NA. General OneFile. Gale. 27 Nov. 2007 http://find.galegroup.com.
New Observations Confirm Recent Warming of the Tropical Atmosphere." Space Daily (15 Aug. 2005): NA. General OneFile. Gale. 27 Nov. 2007. http://find.galegroup.com.
Singer, S. Fred. Interview. What's Up with the Weather?. PBS. Apr. 2000.
Wigley, Tom M. Interview. What's Up with the Weather?. PBS. Apr. 2000.
Works Cited
Bailey, Ronald. "Why Meaning?" Reason (Apr. 2004): 10-12.
First Test of Predictions of Climate Change Impacts on Biodiversity." Space Daily (15 July 2005): NA. General OneFile. Gale. 27 Nov. 2007 http://find.galegroup.com.
New Observations Confirm Recent Warming of the Tropical Atmosphere." Space Daily (15 Aug. 2005): NA. General OneFile. Gale. 27 Nov. 2007. http://find.galegroup.com.
Singer, S. Fred. Interview. What's Up with the Weather?. PBS. Apr. 2000.
Where the paper once debated policy options -- which reasonably could include doing nothing -- it now uses intellectually deficient arguments riddled with logical fallacies to debate the subject. The tone has gone from one of applying academically-accepted economics to undermine the policy prescriptions for dealing with climate change, an approach that is intellectually honest but hard to follow for those without an economics background, to simplistic arguments that
Climate Change�s Effect on AgricultureThe potential obstacles posed by climate change for sustainable agriculture, along with the influence of farmers' beliefs on climate change and the adaptations they are making, have implications for the future of sustainable agriculture. The strategies currently in place to address climate change mitigation and food supply demands are substantial, as researchers have shown (Smith and Gregory). But are they sufficient on their own? Improvements are
Challenging the Origins of Climate Change Denial: A Comparative Analysis of Oreskes and Conway�s �Merchants of Doubt� and Norgaard�s �Living in Denial�IntroductionThe persistence of climate change denial in the face of substantial scientific evidence underscores the complexity of this societal issue. Oreskes and Conway�s thesis in �Merchants of Doubt� is rooted in the idea that a select group of scientists, closely entwined with political and industrial interests, has intentionally propagated
Global Warming Trends and Impact Global warming refers to the warming of the earth's temperature, in particular oceans and the layer of the atmosphere closest to the planet (Thompson, Lonnie & Gioietta 114). Thus far, the total temperature increase is documented at only about one degree (Weart 43). However, even this seemingly minor change can create ripple effects that present challenges for earth and mankind. Global warming and other climate change
renewable energy development from the 1970s to present. Historical changes in energy misuses (i.e. pollution) and consumption (oil reserves) have resulted in increased concern regarding the search and use for alternate and/or renewable energy worldwide. The world faces a critical shortage of non-renewable energy sources in the next decades, and something must be done now to combat the rising disappearance of these energy sources that will eventually cripple transportation
Social Science Theory and Methodology Questions Generated for a Social Science Analysis Substantive Question. Significance of substantive question. This section describes the significance of a suitable substantive research question, formulated for social analysis. Categorically, the social science research topic for this paper is human psychological development. College students who have matriculated directly from high school typically exhibit behaviors indicative of their age and maturity levels that, if they endure in to adulthood, can