Growth as a Thinker

When I first started on this blog I thought what a majority of Americans thought on the the topic, which was that greenhouse gases cause global warming. However, as I went through researching the topic, I found out that they are many different views on the topic. Since this is a science based topic, many researchers have their own thoughts on how greenhouse gases play into global warming through performing various experiments.

My first thought on why global warming was happening was that a rise in greenhouse gases causes the temperature to rise because of the greenhouse effect. This is what I had learned in high school in biology class and it seemed like an all-covering, but simple, explanation. However, as I learned to question things, I started looking at views that were different from the majority. I also researched viewpoints that were complex because one cannot answer a phenomena such as greenhouse gases in relationship to global warming in a simple statement. In addition, I thought the news never covered or gave substantially less time to the other side on this issue. As I learned the many different views held by scientists on this issue, I wanted to learn why there were only two political viewpoints on this issue. The answer lied in the two party system and the issue being divisive in society. There are many politicians that choose a simple viewpoint and strategy to show their view on greenhouse gases in relation to global warming. As some politicians think that greenhouse gases need to be reduced and others do not, there is no in-depth analysis of why that should be done. I then looked for solutions to this problem because there are many options to choose from and lowering greenhouse gases can be beneficial not only to the environment but to one's health.

Through doing this project, I have learned to question things and not just take an idea to be true. I have also learned that deep research into a topic is required to make a solid argument and have learned to look for logical fallacies to see whether an argument's points are reasonable. In dealing with my topic, I have learned to filter out political rhetoric on the issue and focus on the facts. In addition, I have learned to look for sources that are professional and unbiased to show credibility in my publishings. I have grown from one simple statement about greenhouse gases and their relationship to temperature to telling people to look for themselves all the ideas and facts about greenhouse gases and judge for themselves what they should do about it. Also, I encourage people to go out and be the change that makes the world a better place to live. I have learned to keep bias out of my judgment when I hear an idea that is different from my viewpoint. Overall, people should make judgments on topics and viewpoints objectively so to hear all the different ideas in an issue. On the topic I believe that the effect of greenhouse gases on climate is that it induces warming, but the warming is reduced as the amount of greenhouse gases increases as there is less energy absorbed by each molecule. The climate is also affected by the Earth's processes and the Sun. In addition, I think that a new source of energy needs to be found because fossil fuels pollute the air, harm our health and are inefficient.