Global Warming and Historical Temperature Trends
People hold different views about whether global climate change is occurring and, if it is, what the causes are
and what we can do about it. The following websites reflect some of these differing points of view.
http://www.petitionproject.org/seitz_letter.php
http://theconsensusproject.com/#sharePage
https://www.skepticalscience.com/climate-change-little-ice-age-medieval-warm-period.htm
Based on your exploration of these and other reliable sources, please write a short essay (of about four to six
paragraphs) that provides your answer to the following question:
If you were a scientist wishing to help settle the debate, what data would you collect and analyze to study
whether global climate change is occurring?
Start your essay with definitions of the terms “Global Warming” and “Global Climate Change”, citing your
sources, and describe the problem as you understand it. Make sure to list claims made by opposing sides in
the debate. For example, describe what each side has to say about whether Global Climate Change occurring,
and if it is, whether it is a cooling or a warming, and what the primary causes may be.
Describe how you would conduct a study of the issue. List which data you would collect, assuming that it were
not impossible, too expensive, or overly impractical to obtain such data. Describe the information you would
extract from the data and what results would be necessary to convince you and your peers that the global
climate change is occurring. In your conclusion, state your opinion about why the topic is still a subject of
controversy