Issues+Team+6





One major issue with global warming is the issue alternative energies. The debate is if alternative energies should be used. If they were implemented then there would be thousands of people who would now become unemployed. This is because there would be no demand for oil when people can simply use alternative energies such as solar power. Arguably there would be many new jobs available such as making solar panels, making windmills, installing solar panels and many more jobs. The problem with this is that people may not be able to get work at these new jobs or know how to even do their jobs. The unemployment numbers would soar due to the vast number of people out of work. For example think of this. John is a 58 year old man who, along with his wife, is helping put their son through college. John's wife, Joan, has breast cancer and is in chemo. Their health insurance from John's job is allowing Joan's chemo to happen. John has worked for BP for almost 30 years. Suddenly John is laid off from his job for BP since nobody needs oil and BP has to go out of business. Joan dies, John's unemployed and their son has to drop out of college to help his dad. This sounds really dramatic but it is possible. In fact it has already happened in the country of Spain. In Spain there are a lot of alternative energies like solar power but the unemployment numbers are huge. According to [] the unemployment is "19 percent unemployment, nearly twice the U.S." Recently the number went pass 20% ([]). Also according to [] in Spain " that for each green job created, 2.2 other jobs are killed" Spain is the prime example of what alternative energies can do to a country. Also according to Mr. Driscoll, Spain is part of PIGGS, Portugal, Ireland, Germany, Greece, and Spain. These are the countries in Europe with the worst economies. If alternative energies caused unemployment and unemployment helped cause a bad economy, then alternative energies helped cause a bad economy.

Although many say that with employing alternative energies we will be causing people their jobs, some think that it's a risk worth taking. With a switch to more alternative energies we would be able to be idependent of fossil fuels which would help us in the long run since fossil fuels are not renewable. Also, although many say they can't afford the alternative energies the government has been subsidizing them which will help with driving down the prices and developing the product in the future. Also, along with the debate about whether or not we would lose many jobs from pushing alternative energies, some believe that if we make a switch to alternative energies gradually and correctly we could create jobs ([=001792]). If we could realize how much we could help our planet by using more alternative energies it would amazing. As Bob Dylan said **"The answer, my friend, is blowing in the wind..."**

The interests involved with alternative energy are the interests of the people and members of a political branch of government. These interests are influenced by how people may want alternative energy because they want a greener Earth. Sadly other people may want to keep their jobs if they work at a gas station or something oil related. The interests of the people would come before the interests of the environment because if a bill came into Congress about more solar panels and less coal mines, then some people would vote against it to keep peoples jobs safe.



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 * [[image:http://www.windpowerturbines.info/wp-content/uploads/2009/11/wind-turbine1.jpg align="center"]] ||
 * Wind Turbines. ||

Offshore drilling is a major issue when it comes to global warming. Offshore drilling has several negative consequences. One such consequence is the environmental risk. A major incident that recently happened was the BP oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico. The incident started when a gas bubble caused an offshore drilling rig to have an explosion on April 20. In total eleven people died from this and created a huge oil spill in Gulf of Mexico ([]). Due to the oil spill sea life in the area are in danger, such as the oyster ([]). The spill also has affected "fishermen, shrimpers, restaurant owners, real estate brokers, property owners, and other Gulf coast residents" according to multiple lawsuits that have been filed ([]). This has been an environmental disaster and if there is less or even no offshore drilling then these disasters would not happen.

Although there seems to be no advantages of offshore drilling for the environment, there are advantages for material gain. The coast of North Carolina would be considered as a perfect spot for drilling, which is why petroleum supporters in N.C. such as William Weatherspoon, Head of the N.C. Petroleum Council, are pushing for drilling. Not only would this oil create 6,700 new jobs for thte state, but, if the process goes well for N.C., the state may qualify for $ 577 million a year for a life of a 30 year drilling project. Also, fossil fuels will still be our main source of energy for the next 3 or 4 decades due to the fact that alternative energies are not yet advanced enough to offset fossil fuels.[]

The interests involved are the interests of people working on oil rigs and people who work near them. The viewpoints are affected by things such as safety and job stability. If somebody is working on a rig then they want to keep their job yet at the same time they might be worried about the safety of their lives, also considering that if they quit their jobs then in this economy they might not get another one. Also people working near oil rigs may not like the idea of offshore rigs because their business is in jeopardy if something like an oil spill happens.

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 * The thing BP tried to use to plug up the hole. The first attempt did not work. ||

[] Sea Level Rising/Melting Ice Areas: __** A major question in the climate debate is whether or not the sea level could rise enough to disrupt human living environments. The theory stated by Al Gore in "An Incontinent Truth" is that either Greenland or Antarctica could melt enough so the sea level rises 20 feet. This is not true though as Antarctica has been cooling over the last few decades and in reality Greenland is freezing more than before. According to [] "to melt even half the Greenland ice sheet would require temperature to rise by 5.5 degrees C and remain that high for several thousand years." Also for Antarctica it has melted overtime but always refroze ([]). Clearly this shows that there is no danger with any huge areas of ice melting. If there is no major area of ice to melt then this also means that the sea level cannot rise enough to disrupt human settlements.
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Lately, there have been many reports on rising sea level, one by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change says that within the next 100 years the sea level will most likely rise 50 to 90 cm due to global warming ([]) Back in the ‘70s a study was done about how the rising sea level along with the help of man was causing the erosion of the shoreline. This not only states that even back then the sea level was rising but that they believe it was because of what some today believe has been confirmed, the melting of glaciers due to the trapping of greenhouse gasses ([]). So with that said, many it has been a known fact for quite some time that sea level rise has been happening. Small countries which are located on islands are extremely afraid of what could happen to them due to the fact that they are only 8 feet above sea level and with constantly rising sea levels there is a fear that they may start to disappear. With the connection of rising sea level to not only shoreline erosion but higher stronger tides they are at stake, not to mention the boom of storms in recent years. As a result the Maldives economy is also at risk due to the fact they mainly rely on tourism and with the storms resorts have been damaged ([]).

Interests involved are the interests of every living thing on earth. The view points of people may be altered by several things. For example the economy is not that good so if there was a measure to spend $1,000,000,000 to stop sea levels rising then people may be against it because of how much money it will cost. Also not believing in the rising of sea levels can affect a d ecision to fix it. Finally if the world is faced with a huge problem like the flooding of the world then you might be scared enough to support anything to stop that from happening.

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 * [[image:https://www.e-education.psu.edu/files/earth540/image/rising_sea_level.jpg width="436" height="566" align="center"]] ||
 * The dark blue is if the sea level rose 5 meters. The light blue is how far the water would go if it was 10 meters. ||

Global Warming: Global Warming is not happening. Their is to much evidence against it. This is what allegedly happens: Rays of sunlight from the sun come to Earth, which warm the Earth. Greenhouse gases help trap the energy from the sun, which we need or the Earth would be destroyed. To much greenhouse gases cause the Earth to warm, causing things like the ice caps melting. Supposedly CO2 is the main greenhouse gas and have caused the Earth's tempature to increase. In reality the tempature of Earth increased "between 800 and 2800 years" before CO2 levels changed ([]). Also many of the things that are claimed to be happening to the Earth, such as ice caps melting, are not true. For example an ice shelf called "Larsen B" had been melting for roughly 10,000, clearly meaning that humans could not have had a huge impact on it's melt ([]).

Though some may say that global warming is not real, it is. And it is relentless to say the least, the 20th century's last two decades were the hottest in 400 years, possibly the warmest for several millennia. Also, 11 of the past 12 years are among the dozen warmest since 1850 according to the United Nations' Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC). Though it may not seem bad, I mean warm temperatures do seem nice, it is. Global Warming has major effects all over the environment. Places like the coral reefs are extremely sensitive to the flucuations in the temperature causing them to bleach. 1998 was one of the worst years for this with bleach rates of 70 % in some areas, and as the years go on scientists expect more bleachings like this to occur ([]).

The interests involved are the interests of everybody because everyone is affected by Global Warming. Viewpoints are altered by things such as money and risk. Some people may want something done to make sure the Earth is safe while other people might not want to spend the money to get things fixed.



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