Climate Change Opinion

Landon Bangerter

Natural Disasters 1010

Climate Change Opinion

            I’m not sure what to say regarding this subject.  I really don’t have too much of an opinion on the topic of climate change.  It’s a discussion that’s been going on for a very long time and people have mixed feelings as to whether it is presently going on or not.  There have been some studies that show that the weather has been annually increasing with every summer and decreasing with every winter.  I read that they increase about 0.4% every year.  And you know; this may be true.  When I was living in Arizona, it seemed like every summer the temperature would get hotter and hotter.  It was small and gradual, but it was nonetheless slightly increasing.  In 2010, the peak was about 120 degrees, whereas the next year it was 121 degrees.  And then just this last year, the temperature got to about 124 degrees as the peak.  Again, it’s a gradual increase, but it is increasing nonetheless.

            However, I’ve also read from other sources that the temperature is just being sporadic, especially considering which part of the world you may be living in.  I’ve read that the hottest it ever got in New York City was in 1998.  That was almost 20 years ago, and it hasn’t been topped since.  In Florida, the coldest it ever got was 25 degrees in 2004.  Yes, it was unusual for a hot, humid place like Florida, but it has yet to be exceeded.  There are plenty of other places to give examples of, but I think this will suffice.

            Although, another subject is brought up regarding the greenhouse effect.  The question is whether we truly have an affect on the weather and atmosphere or not.  I think we might.  Some would argue that industrial buildings and sources have had an affect on the atmosphere.  I haven’t noticed it lately, but I do remember a few years back when Utah seemed a little bit more polluted than usual.  The air was dense and breathing proved to be a little bit of an exercise.  But it wasn’t too bad and I don’t recall it being that bad since then.  Therefore my opinion on this matter is currently practically absent.

            At this point, I really don’t care to have an opinion on the matter.  I hear arguments from both sides as if this were a religious debate.  It doesn’t really quite matter to me.  I’ll take the temperature as it comes.  And whenever the inevitable “truth” is truly revealed regarding global warming, I’ll take it.  But for the present time, I don’t care.