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Climate Change

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Climate Change
Arthil Valena
HUM/115
06/10/2015
Shelton

Climate Change

There are two solid theories when it comes to the subject of climate change. One theory states that climate change is a cycle that the earth undergoes periodically. Another theory states that the exponential growth in human population and the advancement in technology are to blame. With industrialization and advancement in technology humans are able to sustain and exceed the needs of larger population. Better healthcare, more food, and efficient ways to extract fossil fuels for transportation has all lead to a population boom. With the growth of population there comes a thirst for natural resources especially fossil fuels. According to the second theory the combustion of fossil fuels is the leading agent to climate change. The excessive use of fossil fuels causes a release of carbon dioxide and other green house gasses into the atmosphere. The demand for land and the byproducts of trees leads to deforestation; without trees there is no way to filter out the excess carbon dioxide from the atmosphere and will lead to climate change. I believe that climate change is a natural process that our planet undergoes periodically, but our thirst for fossil fuels and demand for natural resources is speeding up the process.
In the article titled “The Causes of Climate Change” my assertions on the contribution of the growth of human population and the excess use of fossil fuels and the production of green house gasses were restated. This article is reliable because it can be found on the United States Environmental Protection Agency’s website epa.gov. As a student I would rely on information related to climate change from epa.gov because it is a government owned website that has articles written by very educated scientists. Reading this article did not change my opinion on the subject of climate change but what it did is provide more concrete information to further support my claim. The article also provided me with many facts based on data generated by a government owned agency funded by US tax dollar, so I feel confident that these facts are credible enough for me to use in any professional discussion.
Another article I read was the article titled “NASA releases detailed global climate change projections.” This article is reliable because it was published on climate.nasa.gov. Like my first article it is a article found on a government owned agency. Government owned agencies will not jeopardized their funding and credibility by publishing articles based on false information. This article is also credible because; it was written by Steve Cole, a well-known science journalist whose work can be found on The Washington Post, Scientific American, and New Scientist. Steve Cole also holds a Master in Science Journalism from John Hopkins University. This article has changed my opinion on the dire consequences that climate change will have on the planet in the near future. Before reading the article I never took climate change very seriously because I always thought I would never have to deal with the consequences in my lifetime. But reading the article has made me more aware and informed on natural disaster such as frequent hurricanes that climate change will bring. Now I know that climate change is affecting us right now.

References
Cole, S. (June 9,2015). NASA releases detailed global climate change projections. Retrieved from http://www.climate.nasa.gov
United States Enviromental Protection Agency. (2010). Causes of Climate Change. Retrieved from http://www.epa.gov
ScienceWriters2010.org

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