Climate Change Debate

Introduction

The debate over global warming and its consequences has been ongoing and highly politicized. This politicization is due to the inherent costs and other economic impacts of mitigating suspected causes of global warming. Even when the scientific evidence indicates that the planet is indeed warming, the debate turns to whether or not this warming is part of the natural cycle of the planet or is being induced by the impact of industrial civilization.

As a result of this activity you should gain a better understanding of how human activity impacts the Earth’s geochemical cycles, as well as deepen your knowledge of the individual and collective actions necessary for sustaining our natural resources.

Some things you will need to consider are the ways that human activities impact the geochemical cycles relevant to the Earth’s land, oceans, and atmosphere., and whether that impact is beneficial or detrimental to humanity and the planet’s ecosystems.

Science Focus

Early in 2007 the Intergovermental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) released a report titled “Climate Change 2007: The Physical Science Basis.” The report synthesized scientific understandings of global warming and made predictions based on the use of state-of-the-art climate models. A significant conclusion of the report was that it is “very likely” that emission of green house gases from human activities accounts for most of the observed increase in average global temperatures.

The IPCC report stated that it is “unequivocal” that the Earth is warming, a statement scientifically based on verified increases in average air and ocean temperature, melting of polar ice caps, and rising sea levels globally. The report also states that that atmospheric concentrations of carbon dioxide and methane far exceed the normal range established over the past 650,000 years, and that the current pattern of increase in such gases is unprecedented in the past 10,000 years.

The IPCC makes projections of climate change for the second half of the current century that note the need to reduce heat trapping scenarios. The IPCC:

“..concludes there will be twice the warming over the next two decades than if we had stabilized heat-trapping gases and other climate relevant pollutants in the atmosphere at their 2000year levels.”

Responses to the IPCC report have been primarily in agreement that the science behind the report is accurate – the earth is warming. However, there is still debate as to whether this is in fact a man-made phenomena or the natural cycle of the planet.

Problem Scenario

You are members of a news team charged with producing a program that presents the public with a reasoned and fair view of the debate over climate change following the IPCC report. Your producer has asked you to come up with a 15 minute segment that will:

Present multiple views on climate change findings

Provide the science behind those views in a manner the general public can understand

Be visually appealing and informative

This segment can take different forms – it could be a staged debate of the issue; a news roundtable show; a news magazine-style; or it could be done in the fashion of a documentary.

Investigation

Producing the news show segment will take a team effort – each member of your team will need to fulfill a role:

Segment Producer: This is the person who keeps everything together and lines up all the resources. This person is responsible for organizing all the aspects of the segment’s production – helping decide what information needs to be included, maintaining the balance of the viewpoints, making sure everything gets done on time.

Videographer(s): Responsible for shooting and editing the video, making sure that it looks good and conveys the information visually.

Researcher(s): The scientific expert of the team, responsible for gathering and verifying the accuracy of the information on all sides of the debate.

Reporter(s): The “face” of the segment, the person who interprets the science for the audience and presents the various viewpoints. This person interviews the experts, describes the visuals, and is the on-camera “talent”.

The following links provide good starting points for researching the information on global warming:

Climate Change 2007 report from the IPCC

Independent Summary for Policymakers IPCC Fourth Assessment Report

Understanding Climate Change Report

National Public Radio audio of Three Views of Global Warming – 2004

“Global Warming is Not a Crisis” – a debate held in 2007 (Transcript here)

Debating “Global Warming” site from PBS

Government research on climate change site

A website with links to both sides of the debate

Criteria	5	10	15	20	Score earned
The science behind the segment is sound and based on respected valid sources
The presentation of information fully includes discussion of geochemical cycles and climate change
The information in the segment accurately portrays the relevant viewpoints on the topic
The segment visually presents the data in an engaging and appealing manner
The segment video looks good and is edited properly.
Total Points Earned					100