Global Warming

“Science is not a democracy. It is a dictatorship. It is evidence that does the dictating.” JOHN REISMAN

The Scientists / Support There is a scientific consensus amongst the community All “peer-reviewed studies” prove that global warming is real and catastrophic for the environment (Prothero 2012, Cook 2013) Ice caps prove that there is a strong causal relationship between the increase in CO 2 (Prothero 2012) Even if it is slow now, there is a possibility of “run-away warming” if any carbon sink fails (Sawin 2013, Prothero 2012) Feedback loops occur when these carbon sinks fail – this “speeds up” the rate that temperatures are increasing (Cook 2013) There are several drastic consequences to global warming and they are all likely to increase the likelihood of conflict Destabilize the global economy due to disruption of trade (Sawin 2013) Cause resource shortages that would create resource conflicts (Sawin 2013) Causes the spread of disease, which would cause xenophobia (Sawin 2013)

The Economists / Skeptic Argue that the impact of global warming is exaggerated by “alarmists” and that the media hypes the impact (Ridley 2012) The “97% scientific consensus” is overblown (Stirling 2014) many agree that there is a correlation but disagree about the severity of the impact Despite the fact that CO 2 emissions are at an all time high: average temperatures have not increased since 1990 because the ocean is trapping all the excess gases (Bastasch 2014) Satellites show sea level is not rising and ice caps are regrowing (Harris & Carter 2014)

The In-Class Debate The debate in class should not revolve around your “expertise” on climate science, instead this debate should focus on your ability to use the articles to analyze and construct arguments based on: Qualifications of the author Quality of the support that the author uses Recency of the publication\ Specificity of the evidence that they provide

The In-Class Debate The debate will start with the question: “Is global warming caused by human activity?” From there, you may take the topic wherever you would like as long as it is related to the topic. Examples include: Do you think the authors biased on either side? Do you think that the media is biased in any way? What do you think is the primary cause of global warming? What can we do about global warming? If you feel like the debate has gotten off topic, it is your job to refocus the debate or point out the flaws in the logic of your classmates