3. Some people claim that climate change is just a part of a natural cycle and not
man-made. What do you think?
Answers
It is true that climate change is a natural process. But the natural process is very slow. Think about the time, billion years ago, when the earth used to be very hot. But then it cooled down, and even the ice age occurred.
But the rate at which the climate is changing now, is for sure, due to man made causes. Excessive use of fossil fuels, and pollution has contributed in climate change.
We’ll start by giving you one. Yes, there are natural cycles. For instance deniers love pointing to 17th century Dutch oil paintings as proof of a mini ice age, of all things, because they often depicted frozen lakes. Of course it only takes a few days for a lake to freeze, and even fewer to thaw. The role of “palaeo” scientists, like Mike, is to check whether recent changes look like past natural cycles. They don’t! The changes in the last 40 years are too big, and too fast. In fact, the most powerful cycles we know about are slowly pushing us towards a colder climate.
“Another problem with natural cycles is that people look at too small a sample size,” says Mike. “A cold winter in the USA doesn’t disprove climate change. Did you check to see how hot it was in Asia at the same time? We need to look globally and for longer than the last couple years we remember.”
Above all, simply look at the annual average of worldwide land surface temperature. From 1910 to 2010 it has steadily increased, Dutch oil paintings or not.
Fake Claim 2: Climate change isn’t that bad, life will find a way.
Ok, for a start, stop using Jurassic Park quotes as the basis of your science. The fact is that the rate of climate change is putting huge ecological stress on our environments.
Think of the noble oak tree, if you will. In the past, if its environment became too hot, a tree would of simply drop its acorns a few metres north each winter, and over hundreds of years move 50 miles north where it was cooler. The problem is that now, with humans having urbanised so much of the environment, that acorn will likely hit concrete before reaching its promised land. The same goes for bugs, small mammals and fish… there’s simply no where to go and no route to get there.
“Even humans have got themselves stuck in areas that are becoming uninhabitable,” says Mike. “You try selling your house if it’s on a predicted future flood plain. If you can’t quit your mortgage, you’re stuck there with