The following excerpts were taken from a 2007 TIME Magazine article titled “Global Warming: What Now?” “And make a mess we have [done]. If droughts and wildfires, floods and crop failures, collapsing climate sensitive species and the images of drowning polar bears didn’t quiet most of the remaining [human-caused] global-warming doubters, the hurricane-driven destruction of New Orleans did. Now it is getting pretty hard to deny [that these events have resulted from human emissions of greenhouse gases]. Atmospheric levels of CO2 were 379 parts per million in 2005, higher than at any other time in the past 650,000 years.” Do events like wildfires, droughts, floods, and Hurricane Katrina provide good evidence that the Earth’s climate is becoming more hostile in recent years considering that no mention is made about the frequency and severity of historical weather disasters? Explain. Does a recounting of recent weather-related disasters together with the assertion that CO2 levels are the highest in 650,000 years make it “hard to deny” that the recent disasters have resulted from human activities? You may also consider more recent extreme weather events over the last couple of years in your answer (see below). Explain your answer. This article appeared in 2007 (over 13 years ago!) and the questions are still relevant today. Just about every recent severe weather event, such as the California wildfires in 2017 - 2020 and the 2020 Atlantic Hurricane season have been linked to greenhouse gas emissions in "news" stories and documentaries. The concentration of CO2 today is over 400 ppm.

Applications and Investigations in Earth Science (9th Edition)

9th Edition

ISBN:9780134746241

Author:Edward J. Tarbuck, Frederick K. Lutgens, Dennis G. Tasa

Publisher:Edward J. Tarbuck, Frederick K. Lutgens, Dennis G. Tasa

Chapter1: The Study Of Minerals

Section: Chapter Questions

Problem 1LR

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The following excerpts were taken from a 2007 TIME Magazine article titled “Global Warming: What Now?”

“And make a mess we have [done]. If droughts and wildfires, floods and crop failures, collapsing climate sensitive species and the images of drowning polar bears didn’t quiet most of the remaining [human-caused] global-warming doubters, the hurricane-driven destruction of New Orleans did. Now it is getting pretty hard to deny [that these events have resulted from human emissions of greenhouse gases]. Atmospheric levels of CO₂ were 379 parts per million in 2005, higher than at any other time in the past 650,000 years.”

Do events like wildfires, droughts, floods, and Hurricane Katrina provide good evidence that the Earth’s climate is becoming more hostile in recent years considering that no mention is made about the frequency and severity of historical weather disasters? Explain.
Does a recounting of recent weather-related disasters together with the assertion that CO₂ levels are the highest in 650,000 years make it “hard to deny” that the recent disasters have resulted from human activities? You may also consider more recent extreme weather events over the last couple of years in your answer (see below). Explain your answer.

This article appeared in 2007 (over 13 years ago!) and the questions are still relevant today. Just about every recent severe weather event, such as the California wildfires in 2017 - 2020 and the 2020 Atlantic Hurricane season have been linked to greenhouse gas emissions in "news" stories and documentaries. The concentration of CO₂ today is over 400 ppm.

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