Environmental Risk Perception

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Climate change is certainly an environment concept and topic that carries with it strong feelings on both sides of the issue. There are many in the scientific community that feel that climate change is the single most important environmental threat to the earth today, and that if it is not dealt with in a positive manner, serious repercussions will certainly exist for future generations. There are others, however, that feel the current evidence related to climate change does not support such a serious reaction and that there are more important and potentially devastating environmental issues that should be dealt with by the global community. The purpose of this brief review is to illustrate that basis for both of these opinions, while highlighting the seriousness of climate change, no matter whether the risk to the world is high or low. The overarching issue is whether or not humans are causing climate change, as if they are not, then little we are doing today can really impact the future of climate control issues. If, however, humans are causing such harmful climate related issues, then now would be the time to reverse course.

The simple fact is that, over the last century, temperatures throughout the globe have risen an average of 1 to 1.4 degrees Fahrenheit. This data in itself in itself is inconclusive, however, as there is also evidence that the temperatures observed over 1,000 years ago are nearly identical to what they were in the 1900s, indicating the climate change, or global warming, is a cyclical change that we humans have little control over. Many who argue that humans are causing climate change point to these rise ...