It is getting easier for people to look around and see evidence of climate change and rising seas. This is something we can see for ourselves. It is not as easy for people to agree about why weather and climate seem to be changing. Essentially, there are two major camps in the climate change debate. One side maintains that global warming is presently caused by human factors such as greenhouse gases (i.e.,CO2 and methane). The other camp insists global warming is occurring due to natural forces such as solar changes, changes in the earth’s orbit, and historically natural climate change for which humans have had no responsibility, and it follows that humans have not created or worsened our current concerns with global warming. There has also been extensive politicization of global warming which has infused a contentious element into this debate and created a real division among people.
The good news, however, is that IT REALLY DOESN’T MATTER WHICH SIDE YOU CHOOSE. In full and fair discloser, I believe today’s global warming is either caused, or greatly enhanced by human factors. But neither this website nor blog are designed or intended to pressure you to change your beliefs about the causes of global warming. We are unconcerned about your political views or party affiliations. This is a complex debate which will probably continue unresolved for many years. But there is now an increasing number of scientists and the public strongly agreeing that researchers and policymakers need to STOP DEBATING whether global warming is or is not a reality or caused by humans. Our focus must now be on responding to the adverse effects of global warming upon earth. THERE IS NOW A GREAT URGENCY TO ACT AND WE NEED ACTION ON A MASSIVE AND GLOBAL SCALE! With 8.0 BILLION people on earth, a projected increase to 9.8 BILLION people by 2050, and between 10.8 and 11.2 BILLION people by 2100, THERE IS NO TIME TO WASTE! So, let’s get moving, and in the process, you may develop your own ideas about the cause(s) of global warming. Robin Wall Kimmerer writes:
We are not in control. What we are in control of is our relationship to the earth. Nature herself is a moving target, especially in an era of rapid climate change. Species composition may change, but relationship endures. It is the most authentic facet of the restoration. Here is where our most challenging and rewarding work lies, in restoring a relationship of respect, responsibility and reciprocity. And love. (p. 336).
