Event name:
"The History and Physical Science of Global Warming"
Event time and place:
Online and a part of the "Making Sense of Climate Change" series. Accessed March 17 2024
Summary of Presentation
In this presentation, titled "History and Physical Science of Global Warming," Bert Drake dives into climate change, the history of it, and how greenhouse gasses are playing a huge role. He first describes climate change as long-term shifts in temperatures and the weather. Drake mainly highlights how the rise of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere leads to global warming. Multiple scientists are mentioned who have contributed to understanding climate change. These scientists started to see the associations of carbon dioxide that humans were putting into the atmosphere and the global temperature.
For example, he mentions Charles Keeling and how his measurements found that carbon dioxide in the atmosphere increases in the spring seasons due to plant activity, but over the years, the overall CO2 amount has increased significantly. The abnormal amount of CO2 that was discovered by his measurements is one of the largest indicators that humans play a huge role in climate change. Partially, these human activities include the burning of fossil fuels and deforestation.
Drake also mentions other greenhouse gasses that are in the atmosphere. The atmosphere is 60% water vapor; however, water vapor is always changing and therefore has less of an effect. On the other hand, Drake relates carbon dioxide to a blanket, which is why it has such an effect on global warming. Overall, Drake's presentation mainly centers on the amount of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere, how it leads to climate change, and the history behind this discovery.
Evaluation of Presentation
Yes, I most definitely found that the main points presented by Bert Drake were convincing arguments. Throughout his presentation, Bert Drake was able to establish credibility in numerous ways, making his argument extremely persuasive and I was unable to observe any logical fallacies or failures.
One of the ways that Bert Drake was able to establish credibility was that in all his arguments, he used scientific evidence and consensus. For example, when describing climate change and how human activity affects it, he used all reliable sources to deliver his point. One of the sources he used to gather this information is the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. This is evidence collected about climate change from many peer-reviewed scientific papers. In addition, he displays the sources he has used for this presentation to further establish his credibility to the audience.
Another example of how Bert Drake was able to create a compelling argument is that he discussed people who made historical contributions to our understanding of climate change. Throughout the presentation, he references many different scientists such as Charles Keeling, Roger Revelle, and Guy Calendar. Drake dives into each of these scientists, explaining what their findings were, when they discovered them, and what it means in the context of climate change. In my opinion, this was the most compelling part of Drake's presentation. This is because some of the discoveries of these scientists were made many years ago, and what they predicted would happen due to climate change has become reality.
One last aspect of the presentation that contributed to its effectiveness was the visual representations and the way the speech was conducted. He presents this information systematically and ties scientific research to his main ideas effectively. In addition, his presentation includes graphs, charts, and other images to help the audience grasp the knowledge he is conveying. For example, Drake uses a "pumphandle" to visually display the dispersion of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere from 1979-2012. This graphic allows the audience to clearly notice how the amount of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere is steadily increasing, further supporting his argument.
In conclusion, in his presentation titled "History and Physical Science of Global Warming," Bert Drake creates a convincing argument about climate change and specifically how greenhouse gasses are affecting it. With a combination of scientific evidence, historical contributions, visual representations, and overall coherence, Drake is able to effectively discuss anthropogenic influences on climate change. He avoids fallacies and unsupported claims by using strictly evidence-based reasoning for his arguments. This presentation highlights how essential it is to understand what is occurring and that actions must be taken to help restore the climate as much as we can.