Humans are responsible for climate change according to the evidence presented in the document. The document discusses two studies that provide evidence that climate change is occurring and is caused by human activity. The first study uses climate models to show that climate change is influencing severe weather patterns in Australia. The second study finds a decline in natural vegetation in rainforests associated with thousands of years of human activity like farming. Most Americans now believe climate change is happening and caused by human behavior such as driving large vehicles and reliance on automobiles instead of other forms of transportation.

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Megan McGehee
Dr. Blanco
First Year Seminar
20 June 2014
People Are Responsible for Climate Change
Everyone in the media today is talking about climate change. Congressmen, scientists,
news anchors on television, and even President Obama are concerned about climate change.
Jennifer Weeks’ article appearing in CQ Researcher stated, “Humans are changing Earth’s
climate, with potentially severe effects. ‘Climate change is not a hoax,’ said Samuel Thernstorm,
a scholar at the Conservative American Enterprise Institute who served in the White House under
President George Bush. Scientists say human activities have increased the amount of CO2 by
more than forty percent (525).” A recent polling showed that most Americans believe climate
change is occurring. About seventy percent of Americans say there is solid evidence the Earth is
warming, and about forty percent say the planet is warming mainly because of human activity
(Weeks 524-25).
First, one must accept evidence that global warming is occurring. Allen, Karoly and
Walsh studied the influence of a warming climate on the occurrence of severe thunderstorms
environments in Australia using two global climate models: Commonwealth Scientific and
Industrial Research organization Mark, version 3.6 (CSIROMk3.6) and the Cubic-Conformal
Atmospheric Model (CCAM). Their weather research proved that climate change is occurring
based on analysis of historical severe thunderstorm environments and convection patterns (Allen,
et. al. 3827).

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Secondly, one must attribute climate change to human activities. Maranz’ study
regarding human influence on natural vegetation in the rain forests concludes there is a definite
decline in natural vegetation associated with thousands of years of human settlement and farming
(1181):
“If centuries or millennia of human land use have enhanced the range and
abundance of tree species, then they will dwindle in some drought affected areas.
The occurrence of economically important tree species, especially fruit trees,
outside their typical vegetation zones is common in Africa and is linked to human
interaction and settlement patterns…
The overall pattern that emerges is the occurrence of non-combustible
woody species both in dry Sahel zone to the north with forests in the south
(Maranz 1182-83).”
I feel that as human beings we are responsible for climate change. Most of us do not
think of our everyday impact we have on the environment. We all have to get the big nice car to
drive around town. The question is “Do we really need to drive such big cars? No, we do not.”
I think the reason that people drive large luxury vehicles is because of their desire to impress
others. You could get a smaller car that has better gas millage than a larger Cadillac Escalade.
However, most of us will get the larger vehicle with worse gas mileage because it is more stylish
to drive.
As an American society, most of us expect to ride in a car everywhere. We could prevent
so much pollution a year if we walked to more places close to us. This could save a lot of money
for you in the long run by not paying for gas. You could have more money to spend on yourself.
We all need exercise, so grab a friend and go walk or run. An unintentional result may be that

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you are now in better shape and generally happier; positively affecting your overall health and
the adverse effects on our shared environment.

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Works Cited
Allen, John T., Karoly, David J., and Walsh, Kevin J. “Future Australian Severe Thunderstorm
Environments. Part I: A Novel Evaluation and Climatology of Convective Parameters
from Two Climate Models for the Late Twentieth Century.” Journal of Climate. V. 27.
3827-3847. 15 May 2014. American Meteorological Society, 2014. Academic Journal
Database. 18 June 2014.
Maranz, Steven. “Tree mortality in the African Sahel indicates an anthropogenic ecosystem
displaced by climate change.” Journal of Biogeography. V. 36-6. 1181-1193. June
2009. Center for Complimentary and Integrative Medicine, Weill Medical College,
Cornell University, New York, 2009. Academic Journal Database. 18 June 2014.
Weeks, Jennifer. “Climate Change.” CQ Researcher. 14 June 2013. 521-44. Web. 17 June
2014.