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Adrian Martinez

Professor Ludwig

Honors English 101

9 October 2017

Climate Change: The Man-made Pastime

The economy is running smoothly; national gasoline prices are dropping, and agriculture

has never been better. Everything seems to be going well, yet there is bound to be something that

will go wrong. Slowly approaching through the pipes of industry, climate change is entering the

stage of global catastrophe. Climate change has been in the political arena since the 1960s,

however, Al Gores Speech at the Kyoto Climate Change Conference in 1997 truly made this

issue into a global issue. In his speech, Gore states that climate change is an issue that humans

must solve if we are to ensure a future, but many scientists now believe that the situation has

gotten worse, and so change should occur.

Al Gores speech took place in Japan on December 8, 1997. During this time Bill Clinton

was president which means that the Democratic Party held power in the executive branch;

however, the Democrats were not in control of Congress. The executive branch tends to be closer

to the people, so when Gore gave his speech, this caused the people to pressure the House of

Representatives. Gore was very effective in taking action by acknowledging this approach since

this allowed bills to pass through Congress so Clinton could sign them into legislation. However,

his speech did not only apply to the United States but also to the other developed countries in the

world. Eventually, the Kyoto Protocol would be entered into force as a treaty stating that the

developed nations must commit to reducing greenhouse gas emissions. Gore argues that
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greenhouse gases are harming the Earth, causing climate change. In this speech, he is trying to

persuade political leaders and their people that humanity needs to work together in order to save

the planet. He feels that humanity has caused this problem and must, therefore, fix it. In order to

support his claim, Gore uses both moral and logical persuasion techniques. He uses scientific

research and statistics that show that climate change is occurring through human consumption,

which is important when persuading the leaders of other nations. Also, repeating the words poor

children to arouse the audience's emotion and using prosperous to encourage change can

appeal to those that are sympathetic. Combined, they are strong ways to persuade the audience

because it convinces people to come together and work towards a solution.

One of Gores main concerns is how pollution traps solar radiation in the Earth's

atmosphere, causing global warming. He states Indeed, nine of the 10 hottest years since the

measurements [of hottest year records] began have come in the last 10 years, (Gore 856). His

point is that a trend has arisen in that the current years keep getting hotter. Gore surely is right

about the trend because, as he may be aware, recent studies have shown that the regions of the

US will at one point increase by 2 Celsius (35.6 Fahrenheit) before the year 2050, (Maloney).

Also, the Coupled Model Intercomparison Phase 5 (CMIP5) research shows how the regions

with most gas emissions will be affected sooner and possibly worse than other areas (Maloney).

This is important because extremely high increases in temperature can cause serious problems

for agriculture and can harm ecosystems in America. The shifts in temperature cause weather

patterns to change and natural disasters such as droughts, hurricanes, and floods to occur more

often. According to Gore, The human consequences... of failing to act are unthinkable. More

record floods and droughts. Crop failures and famines. Melting glaciers, stronger storms, and
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rising seas, (Gore 856-857). In making this prediction, he urges the political leaders to take

action now against pollution before tragic disasters happen. Gore is absolutely right since the

past year of 2016 had at least 7 states of emergency related disasters that can be linked to climate

change; already this year, 15 states of emergency related disasters have occurred. The rising

temperatures and the rising sea levels contribute to changes in extreme weather, and these are the

consequences of global warming; the situation has gotten worse. However, some climate

scientists say that CO2 emissions follow temperature rather than leading temperature. These

scientists prove their theory by comparing the rates of CO2 emissions to the rates of global

temperatures in the same decade. Then they use future decades for comparison in which CO2

emission rates match the temperature rates of previous decades, and temperature rates of that

future decade decreased. This theory is wrong in that these climate scientists nitpick the decades

in which the rates seem to be contradictory, but the average rate of CO2 emissions compared to

the average rate of global temperatures almost seems identical (Karmalkar & Bradley).

Therefore, it is the responsibility of the government to take action in reducing CO2 emissions in

order to calm climate change. Although government spending to reduce the problem may seem

trivial, it is, in fact, crucial in terms of todays concern over climate change.

Another claim Gore makes is how greenhouse gases cause ozone depletion. He uses an

example of ozone depletion in Montreal and how it was solved with decreasing CO2 emissions

(Gore 857). In other words, Gore believes that ozone depletion due to gas emissions is a major

issue causing climate change. Gore surely is right about ozone depletion because, as he may be

aware, recent studies have shown that chlorofluorocarbons (gases used in aerosol propellants and

refrigerants) destroy the ozone layer. In the recent research, the combination of inorganic
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chlorine and bromine from man made compounds, extreme cold temperatures, and sunlit

photochemistry accounts for the development of the Antarctic ozone hole and its seasonal

dependence, (Douglass 45). Also, their research shows that the Montreal Protocol was

successful in setting back the ozone depletion by banning chlorofluorocarbons in most developed

countries. This is important in identifying the key factors to what has caused ozone depletion in

Antarctica and the rest of the world, although, Gore was wrong that CO2 emissions were the

cause of ozone depletion. In the research, the scientists can not declare that the ozone hole is

closing due to ozone shifts. Of course, many will disagree with this assertion that the Montreal

Protocol helped decrease ozone depletion due to the fact that ozone density fluctuates in different

areas of the world and is not caused by CO2 emissions. Since the meteorological variability

(weather data) is too large, one can not claim that ozone depletion is decreasing. In discussion of

gas emissions, the controversial issue has been whether or not the gas emissions affect the ozone

layer. The studies are meant to model the ozone layer and the usage of chlorofluorocarbons on a

smaller scale. The model demonstrates how the ozone molecules are destroyed by

chlorofluorocarbons so that scientists can make a rough estimate on the ozone depletion; so no,

the research does not include CO2 emissions, but the Montreal Protocol not only decreased CO2

emissions but also banned chlorofluorocarbons. Also, others may say that ozone depletion is

natural because of volcano eruptions that release chlorine and bromine through the ashes. The

amount of natural chlorine and bromine released to into the ozone layer is only 15-20%, whereas

the man-made chlorofluorocarbons make up a total of 80% of these harmful elements that

destroy the ozone layer (Solomon). All of this is important because the ozone layer absorbs

ultraviolet radiation; without it, this radiation pierces skin and can cause skin cancer. The rate of
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skin cancer will increase as the rate of ozone depletion increases. What more can we do to

decrease ozone depletion? Fire extinguishers may contain halogenated hydrocarbon, a

chlorofluorocarbon, which can easily be replaced with new fire extinguishers. Also, methyl

bromide, a chlorofluorocarbon, can be banned from lumber products since it is used for quality

certification, whereas heat can produce the same quality and is not harmful towards ozone.

Lastly, Gore argues that the economic urges by developing countries should not be hasty.

He states, One key is mobilizing new investment in your countries to ensure that you have

higher standards of living, with modern, clean and efficient technologies, (Gore 857). What

Gore really means by this is that developing countries will try to use environmentally harmful

methods to industrialize and become a developed country, so the developed countries should

provide environmentally friendly methods to industrialize. However, Gore can not have it both

ways. On one hand, he argues that undeveloped countries should industrialize, but on the other

hand, he argues to have climate change reduced. For example, Brazil is a developing country and

uses the Amazon rainforest to acquire natural resources. The reduction of the Amazon rainforest

has greatly impacted the rate at which CO2 emissions can be photosynthesized into oxygen. The

Amazon rainforest produces about 20% of Earths oxygen, but that estimate is decreasing. The

situation is getting worse; however, many people argue that innovations are being made to

improve these methods of industry. They are right that innovations are being made, but they are

not being applied in these developing countries, as the United States is busy building a wall. The

political focus should be on climate change since it is a global issue and not a national issue only.

One factor of climate change that dips into pollution, ozone depletion, and modernization

is industrialized agriculture. The methods of industrialized farming contributes to an increase in

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emissions and chlorofluorocarbons. J. Schieffer and C. Dillon, professors in the University of

Kentucky, researched industrialized farming methods and found that precision agriculture (site

specific crop management) has lead to a larger carbon footprint (Schieffer & Dillon 15). This

means that emissions are being released into the air and causing pollution. Then, when the Milk

and meats are transported from the factory farms to the grocery stores, refrigerants are used to

keep the food from spoiling (Kishev & Ulimbashev 185). Refrigerants, also known as

chlorofluorocarbons, are used in the process of shipping food and in turn leads to an increase in

ozone depletion. These industrialized methods are being used by developing countries and are

contributing to climate change. As stated before, Brazil is clearing the Amazon rainforest,

however, some of the cleared land is being converted to industrialized agriculture (Land Use and

Agriculture in the Amazon). The innovations that could be used and applied in agriculture are

not new innovations. The use of traditional farming methods and buying locally raised food has

been around for centuries. Yet, some may still say that it is unconventional to buy locally grown

products. This is untrue because there are eat local and farm-to-table movements sprouting in

different regions of the world including some countries in Europe and some regions in the United

States. These movements may not be large impacts on reducing climate change, but it certainly

helps.

Buying locally raised food is a small solution to climate change; however, this means that

it is an easy solution to develop. The most impactful solution to climate change would be

government legislation; however, this means that it is a hard solution to develop. One way to

contribute to reducing climate change is to advocate for innovations that reduce emissions and

ozone depletion. Pressuring congress to pass legislation that supports environmentally friendly
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innovations will lead to reducing carbon footprints. However, by buying the innovations, the idea

is directly supported which will take less time but cost more than advocating. Yet some people

may say that eating local food will nearly do nothing to change the climate. Steven Hopp, an

environmental studies professor at Emory and Henry College, shows how, If every U.S. citizen

ate just one meal a week composed of locally and organically raised meats and produce, we

would reduce our country's oil consumption by over 1.1 million barrels of oil every week (

Kingsolver 5). This is a giant impact on climate change that truly is achievable.

The economy is suffering from governmental legislation that bans environmentally

harmful methods; national gasoline prices skyrocket as gas taxes are implemented, and famines

are a common scene in each city. These are the predictions of humanity's last hope to reduce

climate change, but it is too late as global catastrophe has become the new norm. Action must be

taken now; the research has concluded that the situation is getting worse.
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Works Cited

Douglass, Anne, Newman, and Solomon. The Antarctic Ozone Hole: An Update. Physics

Today 67, no. 7, American Institute of Physics (AIP), July 1, 2014, pp. 4248.

Gore, Al. Speech at the Kyoto Climate Change Conference. American Earth, edited by Bill

McKibben, The Library of America, 2008, pp. 855-859.

Hopp, Steven. Animal, Vegetable, Miracle: A Year of Food Life, HarperCollins Publishers, 2007.

Karmalkar, Ambarish; Bradley. Consequences of Global Warming of 1.5 C and 2 C for

Regional Temperature and Precipitation Changes in the Contiguous United States. PLoS

One; San Francisco, Vol. 12, January 2017. ProQuest,

https://ezproxy.canyons.edu:2457/docview/1857739661/808784D0D7124197PQ/4?accou

ntid=38295. October 10, 2017.

Kishev, M A; Ulimbashev, M B. Reduction of Energy Consumption During Milk Cooling.

Russian Agricultural Sciences, Volume 37, Issue 2, April 2011, pp.185-187.

Land Use and Agriculture in the Amazon. Global Forest Atlas, Yale School of Forestry and

Environmental Studies, https://globalforestatlas.yale.edu/amazon/land-use

Maloney ED, Camargo SJ, Chang E, Colle B, Fu R, Geil KL, et al. North American Climate in

CMIP5 Experiments: Part III: Assessment of Twenty-First-Century Projections, Journal

of Climate, March 13, 2014,

http://journals.ametsoc.org/doi/full/10.1175/JCLI-D-13-00273.1.
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Schieffer, J & Dillon, C. The Economic and Environmental Impacts of Precision Agriculture

and Interactions with Agro-Environmental Policy. Precision agriculture, Volume 16,

issue 1, Springer Science & Business Media, February 2015, 46-61.

Solomon, Sarah. Progress Towards a Quantitative Understanding of Antarctic Ozone

Depletion, Chlorine in the Atmosphere, edited by Robert Parison, 1990, p. 347.