The Greenhouse Effect, A Torrent of Information, and the Politics of Ma

The Greenhouse Effect, A Torrent of Information, and the Politics of Mass doubtIntroduction Global warming, the ozone layer, and deforestation are becoming increasingly discussed topics both in the international community and society. Former Vice-President Albert Gore stated in his 1992 accommodate ball in the Balance, The process of filling the atmosphere with CO2 and other pollutantsis a willful expansion of our dysfunctional civilization into vulnerable parts of the demesne (Wittwer 21). With statements like this, one might wonder what stops the human race from ending this kind of behavior. Scientists and politicians are paralyzed when addressing the issue of global warming generally from uncertainty of cause/effect relationships, closeness of potential policy making to the everyday individual, and distance of potential effects. What follows is a discussion of this problem, which you will see, is not as clear cut as Al Gores statement.Background a general agreement The World Book Encyclopedia Millennium fluctuation defines the Greenhouse Effect as a warming of the lower atmosphere and surface of the planet by a complex process involving sunlight, gases, and particles in the atmosphere. It kick upstairs notes that the Greenhouse Effect existed long before humans did, for it added about 59 degrees Fahrenheit (33 C) to the average global temperature (World Book 382-383). An additional increase to the Earths natural Greenhouse Effect has been called in general terms global warming. The World Book Encyclopedia states, Since the late 1800s, the average temperature has change magnitude about 0.5 to 1.5 Fahrenheit degrees. Attributing the increase in average temperature to the burning of fossil fuels ... ...per, Lee, Scott Murtishaw, Fridtjof Unander. International Comparisons of Sectoral Carbon Dioxide Emissions Using a Cross-Country Decomposition Technique. Energy Journal. 22.2 (2001) WilsonSelectPlus spell BBPI1045462, Schewe Library, Illinois College, accessed 4/15/2003. Effects Will Continue for a Century, Even if Emissions are Curbed Now. USA Today. (June 2002) WilsonSelectPlus Number BRDG02101336, Schewe Library, Illinois College, accessed 4/15/2003.Van Dam, Laura. Of Seashells, Ancient Climate, and dodo Fuels. Technology Review. (May/June 1995) WilsonSelectPlus Number BRDG95041776, Schewe Library, Illinois College, accessed 4/15/2003 .Wittwer, Slyvan Harold. The Great Promise of the Greenhouse Effect. Consumers Research Magazine. (June 1997) WilsonSelectPlus Number BRDG97047480, Schewe Library, Illinois College, accessed 4/15/2003.