Perspectives on Climate Change
This seems to be the century of polarizing issues. No matter the discussion, there are two sides vehemently opposed to each others position, and climate change is no exception. The matter is complex, with scientists on both sides insisting they have a majority consensus, and politicians and religious figures alike making proclamations and programs based on the matter.
Those who support the theory that humans are causing major climate change (generally referred to as global warming) point to a number of computer models and trends to support their assertions. By extracting ice cores and comparing the composition of older (deeper) ice to newer ice, for example, scientists can compare the relative levels of greenhouse gasses (a major component of atmospheric warming) between eras. According to these tests, these gasses are at their highest level in over 600 thousand years, and the general temperatures have continued increasing overall as time progresses.
On the other hand, there are significant doubts about the warming models proposed by these organizations. For example a major international body studying climate change, the IPCC, was recently found to have been presenting unscientific results that steered the fact of the matter their way. They claim to have lost or deleted the raw data on which their models were based, conveniently preventing their data from being tested by independent sources. Their emails also showed efforts to suborn or pressure researchers into changing their data to suit the 'canon' arguments of climate change, rather than allowing challenges to go forward. Climate change skeptics contend that this trend is very widespread, and thus the arguments for climate change are not to be taken seriously.
Some raw data that does exist is the relative carbon output levels of major nations such as the United States and China. The two have clashed over this issue, with the US arguing that China's gross emissions of 6.1 million tons per year are the highest in the world, while China states that the US is not so far behind (5.7 million) and that China has a lower per-capita rating than the US (4.7 to 19, respectively).
World religions have a nuanced and complex view on climate change as well. Certain conservative religions argue that the world is under divine or spiritual control, and that man cannot possibly change the systems laid out therein. Other faiths, particularly animistic or nature religions, do agree that man can and has impacted the environment, and such behaviors must be controlled.
