“The Great Climate Experiment” by Ken Caldeira

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Table of Contents

Introduction
The problem
The science
Organization
Presentation
Conclusions
Works Cited

Introduction

In the article “The Great Climate Experiment: How far can we push the planet?”, the author attempts to describe the problem of environmental pollution resulting from the excessive release of greenhouse gases into the atmosphere by industrial activities in the past and the future. Caldeira develops a critical review of scientific findings on the possible impacts of excessive carbon building in the atmosphere. The article cites a number of notable effects of past industrial activities, including frequent floods, torrents, warming of the Arctic and Antarctic, and the increase in the number and extent of deserts (Caldeira 78).

The purpose of this paper is to review Caldeira’s article from a scientific view, with a special focus on the scientific problem, the process applied, and scholarly authorship of the work.

The problem

As mentioned above, the article concerns the current problem of global warming. Apart from being a scientific problem, global warming is a social, cultural, and political issue in the modern world. Thus, the author is justified to develop an in-depth analysis of the problem from a scientific perspective.

Implications

According to the author, the effects of global warming are already observable in the modern world. The author cites studies done in the last one hundred years, which indicate that the average world temperatures have risen significantly since the industrial revolution era. For instance, the article explains that the globe’s average temperature was approximately 14⁰C in the preindustrial era (100 years ago), but now stands at 15⁰C (Wyman 893).

Why we should care

According to the author, the major aspects of the problem complicate the future. According to the studies cited in the article, the global temperatures will be approximately 20⁰C in the next century and 25⁰C in the subsequent centuries. Despite the small margin, Caldeira asserts that a single degree rise in temperature has a vast number of environmental problems. For instance, the 1⁰C rise in temperatures in the last 100 years has caused detrimental problems (Callendar 224). For example, abnormal rain patterns, expansion of deserts, warming of the poles, and decrease in glaciers, as well as a rise in sea levels, have resulted in frequent typhoons and tsunamis, killing thousands of people (Caldeira 79).

The science

The arguments in the article are based on the scientific evidence collected from environmental studies, including geology, meteorology, environmental biology, environmental physics, and geophysics. The article is a secondary report that gathers evidence from primary studies in these fields. For instance, from geology, oceanography, geophysics, and environmental physics, data about the volume of carbon lodged in the earth’s crust and its potential in the industrial sector is obtained.

Secondly, the degree of environmental change due to excessive carbon release into the atmosphere from industrial activities is obtained from environmental biology and meteorology. This data presents the changing trends of global temperatures. The article also derives data from oceanographic studies that report about the submergence of coastlines due to an increase in the volume of ocean waters.

The oceanography technology described in this article is mainly based on chemical tests that describe how carbon dioxide enters the oceans and reacts with water to form carbonic acid. The article reports that the concentration of this acid in oceans is leading to the dissolution of skeletons and shells of marine organisms, destroying the environment (Callendar 224). These studies support the author’s assertion that excessive release of carbon dioxide from modern and past industries has already started affecting the globe.

Organization

The author has organized the test in the article in a manner that appeals to the reader’s eye. For instance, it starts with a short overview, which attempts to explain the problem in brief. In this section, the author introduces an issue that becomes of interest to the reader. To achieve this, the author creates awareness of the massive impact of global warming. In scholarly work, this phenomenon is known as ‘the attention-getter’ and creates the urge to read ahead.

Secondly, the author has used the second page to provide an artistic illustration of the possible impacts of global warming in the near future. A large pictorial illustration is used to show “the near future”. This picture depicts a city scenario surrounded by heavy mists and submergence of villages and arable land. Thirdly, the main points are presented in specific titles. The titles are short but attractive.

For instance, the phrase “a desert in Italy” is used to attract the audience’s attention to the argument on the possibility of expansion of deserts, but not necessarily in Italy. Although the study is based on evidence from science, the author has attempted to explain and reduce scientific jargon, making the study easy to read and understand. In addition, the argument is stated in every topic but in a way that attempts to reduce repetition.

Presentation

It is evident that the author has made use of extensive graphics to depict his thought of the future. This method is effective because the argument can be understood by looking at the graphics. Large pictorial representation of global warming and its impacts are used in the article. The picture on the second page, which depicts submerged villages and infrastructure and a city submerged in mist, is the most compelling figure in the article because it provides the reader with an idea of the possible events in the future.

Conclusions

The author concludes that environmental conservation is not an option but a necessity. Environmental degradation has taken place since the industrial revolution. In addition, my scientific background has built a strong belief in developing a better world by reducing environmental degradation.

Works Cited

Caldeira, Ken. The Great Climate Experiment: How far can we push the planet? Scientific American (2012): 78-83. Web.

Callendar, Stewart. “The artificial production of carbon dioxide and its influence on temperature.” Quarterly Journal of the Royal Meteorological Society 64.275 (1938): 223-240. Print.

Wyman, Charles. “Alternative fuels from biomass and their impact on carbon dioxide accumulation.” Applied biochemistry and biotechnology 45.1 (1994): 897-915. Print.

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