Try It
By now, you have developed an explanation based on the claims, evidence and reasoning presented in the Newsela article “Climate change confirmed? Last year called the warmest on record”opens in new window.
Now take a moment to read the following excerpt from the “Climate Change Debate” on ProCon.orgopens in new window. As you read, think about the claims that are introduced in this text, and examine the evidence and reasoning used to support the claims. Next, complete the activity below.
Patrick Moore, PhD, Chair and Chief Scientist of Greenspirit Strategies Ltd. and former Director of Greenpeace International, stated the following in his Feb. 25, 2014 Senate Environment and Public Works Committee testimony "Natural Resource Adaptation: Protecting Ecosystems and Economies," available at epw.senate.gov:
"There is no scientific proof that human emissions of carbon dioxide (CO2) are the dominant cause of the minor warming of the Earth’s atmosphere over the past 100 years. If there were such a proof it would be written down for all to see. No actual proof, as it is understood in science, exists...
When modern life evolved over 500 million years ago, CO2 was more than 10 times higher than today, yet life flourished at this time. Then, an Ice Age occurred 450 million years ago when CO2 was 10 times higher than today. There is some correlation, but little evidence, to support a direct causal relationship between CO2 and global temperature through the millennia. The fact that we had both higher temperatures and an ice age at a time when CO2 emissions were 10 times higher than they are today fundamentally contradicts the certainty that human-caused CO2 emissions are the main cause of global warming."
