Global warming is a serious issue that is the subject of numerous political, social and environmental debates. Because of the extremely different sets of opinions that exist on the very basic premise that global warming even exists, it’s no surprise that there are a number of myths floating around regarding everything from the validity of the topic to how big of a threat to humanity it truly is.
As with anything else, the key to completely understanding the basic facts of global warming, what causes it and the general concerns surrounding it -- is separating the fact from fiction out of the information pool available on the topic. Below are some of the more common myths regarding global warming, and the facts related to them.
Myth: There are no solid facts surrounding global warming. It’s just a bunch of hearsay.
There is absolutely zero disagreement that the characteristics of global warming are in fact happening Countless researchers and top experts in the field have come out on countless occasions and confirmed that a very particular form of climate change is occurring, that steps need to be taken to counteract the situation and that things are only getting worse. The confusion, of course, comes in when people to try to rationalize some of the characteristics of global warming as simply the effects of totally unrelated causes.
Myth: Global warming and the extra CO2 that comes as a result of global warming isn’t a bad thing. In fact, they’re good for agriculture and will ultimately serve to better humanity.
Unfortunately, the increasing heat trends and climate changes that come as a result of global warming aren’t a good thing. Not in the short term, and most certainly not in the long term. Rising seas could have dramatic effects which include, but aren’t limited to: water contamination, risk of general flooding for non-coastal communities and the inundation of specifically coastal communities. Further, there is no way that the extreme weather events that occur as a result of global warming will be good for agriculture, no matter how you look at it.
Myth: Global warming is nothing new. It’s happened in the past, no need to overreact.
While increases in temperature and various climate changes have occurred in the past, they have never occurred for the reasons they are occurring now. Because more and more people are burning up fossil fuels and cutting down forests now than ever before, more CO2 is being pumped into the atmosphere. These things, of course, are the main causes of global warming, and none of them were the case in the past when the Arctic has heated up.