The debate on global warming

It seems like every night in the news for the past several years a similar story is being reported. All these stories, of course, have something to do with the issue of global warming. Global warming is a potentially dangerous problem for all people of the Earth, but is it real? Al Gore in his popular, two-time Academy Award winning documentary, ?An Inconvenient Truth,? clearly believes global warming exists, is a very large problem for the Earth's environment, mainly caused by carbon dioxide emissions in the atmosphere. I believe Al Gore's beliefs in global warming are true; however, I believe that many other factors can be attributed to the problem.

What is global warming? The Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) defines global warming as ?the hypothesis that Earth's atmosphere is warming because of the release of ?greenhouse gases,' such as carbon dioxide. These gases are released into the air from burning gas, oil, coal, wood and other resources which then holds heat in an action similar to the walls of a greenhouse? (American Policy Roundtable, 2007).

[...] Not all scientists agree with global warming based on the evidence found, because the way of collecting the evidence does not agree. The most accurate form of detecting temperatures of the Earth, using satellite readings of the lower troposphere, which is the area scientists predicted to be the area most directly affected by global warming, does not show an overall warming trend. The only method of detecting global changes in temperature increases comes from land-based stations, which can easily be affected by heat give off by urban areas and calculation and human error. [...]

[...] The idea of whole nations being literally consumed by the sea is a devastating issue that needs to be examined on a global level. If global warming is real, and it takes time for changes to be implemented, then many other nations may be swallowed up by the sea before the problem is resolved. Another serious impact of global warming would be a change dealing with animals. There are many different animal species affected by global warming. Some of the animals most affected by the overall increase in global temperature include the Adelie penguins, coral reefs, and caribou. [...]

[...] Even though there are several factors contributing to global warming, it is quite evident that the temperature of the planet is rising. With rising temperatures, many problems are also arising, such as water levels and extinction rates. Greenhouse gases are a major factor, but alternative fuels, especially nuclear, can release zero emissions, would decrease the amount of carbon dioxide released in the atmosphere. Scientists must find an accurate method of determining what is causing the greenhouse gases, and governments must convince the public to participate and advocate programs to reduce greenhouse gases. [...]