**2. The salient facts of climate change**

The intergovernmental panel on climate change stated that the scientific evidence for warming of the climate system is unequivocal [3]. The Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research stated that "business as usual" climate change trends portend a warming of 4 °C or 7.9 °F this century's end [4]. Notwithstanding the political debate, an overwhelming number of scientists concur that the current rise in global temperature is from human activity [5]. Those who have an opposing viewpoint correctly state that the earth has experienced numerous warming and cooling cycles. One previous warming event that occurred 252 million years ago, likely from volcanic activity, resulted in an average global temperature rise of 10 °C, which induced an extinction of 75% of terrestrial life and 95% of all marine life [6]. Dinosaurs arose to fill this void for the next 165 million years wherein being large bodied and cold-blooded was advantageous. This provides an example of Darwinian selection in which those organisms best suited to their natural environment survived to reproduce and dominate that niche, which Darwin termed "survival of the fittest" [7]. The age of the dinosaurs ended with an asteroid impact 65 million years ago that extinguished 75% of all lifeforms on earth including all land-based lifeforms weighing more than 25 kilograms or 55 pounds [8]. Mammals arose to fill this gap, some which were capable of altering their environments such as beavers, elephants, and humans. However, none of these mammals made a significant impact on the atmosphere until the Industrial Revolution, which consumed fossil fuels for energy. The current Anthropocene era has ushered in significant changes including global warming, habitat loss, changes in atmospheric composition and incipient mass extinctions. Prior history indicates that novel lifeforms will adapt to these changes. However, this is the first time in geological history that climate change did not occur from natural phenomena. Humanity has altered the biosphere, yet humanity also can avoid the most profound effects of self-induced climate change with a commitment to action.

**205**

*Climate Change: A Forced Choice Ethical Paradigm DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.95486*

Climate change induced by global warming may seem complex initially as it involves an understanding of chemistry and physics, specifically the laws of thermodynamics. The first law of thermodynamics states that energy may neither be created nor destroyed such that one can only change its form. For example, consider using a coal stove that combusts hydrocarbons with oxygen to create heat and light. Implicit in this law is that the conversion is imperfect such that some of the energy is lost as heat. Thus, burning hydrocarbons results in the net addition of heat to the atmosphere some of which cannot be radiated into space. Hydrocarbon combustion on a massive global scale will increase the amount of heat retained in earth's atmosphere thus raising the average global temperature. However, heat production itself is not the only issue as the covalent bonds holding the greenhouse gases (GG) together are capable of absorbing infrared radiation without breaking chemical bonds. The net result is that the excess GG radiate heat (infrared) energy back to earth at a later time much in the way that a glass container may be put in an oven, removed intact, and then cooled down to food serving temperature by releasing the excess heat into the environment [9]. The downstream effects of this additional heat

production and heat trapping are explored in subsequent sections.

and the ethics that arose from these political developments.

**3. The science of climate change**

Another issue facing humanity is that of our current, unsustainable rate of resource consumption. Presently, humanity requires the annual equivalent of 1.6 Earths or 20 months to provide the resources we require and absorb our waste, which is the environmental equivalent of "deficit spending" [10]. This rate of resource consumption and waste generation is simply unsustainable. The United States Army Field Manual 21–76 states, "Remember that nature and the elements are neither your friend nor your enemy-they are actually disinterested. Instead, it is your determination to live and your ability to make nature work for you that are the deciding factors" [11]. The current willful disregard for nature portends the sixth mass extinction, the Anthropocene extinction, which will result from humans' alteration of the environment [12]. One prediction is that, unless drastic action is taken, the earth will experience catastrophic climatic and negative socioeconomic changes within the next 30 years [13]. This author further stated that a solution requires "political change producing policy change" [14]. If such changes are to be realized, then an understanding of the science underlying climate change must be understood within the framework of human evolution, the rise of political systems

The tendency of CO2 and other gases to trap heat is often summarized as the "greenhouse effect" in which solar radiation penetrates the earth's atmosphere but only 30 percent is reflected into space [15]. This acts as a warming blanket such that the earth's average temperature supports terrestrial life. Without naturally occurring GG, Earth's average temperature would be near 0 °F (or − 18 °C) instead of the much warmer 59 °F (15 °C) that currently exists [16]. The five main gases that have significant global warming potential [GWP] are CO2, methane (CH4), nitrous oxide (NO2), fluorinated gases and water vapor [17]. These are potent trappers of infrared wavelength energy as the covalent chemical bonds between them are relatively weak such that the molecule remains intact despite adding energy. Nonetheless, these gases are not equivalent in their GWP as this is dependent on their concentration, their ability to trap infrared wavelengths, (i.e. heat), and their atmospheric functional lifespan. GWP uses CO2 as a benchmark when calculating 100-year relative effects. For example, methane is 84-fold more effective in

#### *Climate Change: A Forced Choice Ethical Paradigm DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.95486*

*Bioethics in Medicine and Society*

address the current facts in evidence.

**2. The salient facts of climate change**

climate change with a commitment to action.

Problem solving requires several steps including identification that a problem exists, discerning the facts, framing the problem, and then proposing solutions. Errors may occur in any step of this process. With respect to climate change, there is no universal agreement that a problem exists. Irrespective of the preponderance of scientific evidence, there continues to be debate on climate change's existence as well as its root causes. Anurag Shurie once remarked that "A half-truth is even more dangerous than a lie. A lie, you can detect at some stage, but a half truth is sure to mislead you for long" [2]. Scientifically speaking, there are no half-truths in that a statement is factually correct or it is not. Most "half-truths" are opinions that reflect a different interpretation of the available data. To paraphrase the late United States Senator Daniel Patrick Moynihan, everyone is entitled to their own opinions but not their own facts. Solutions may only be achieved when all stakeholders agree on the facts that frame the issue as well as the certainty to which these facts have been established. In the absence of such agreements, solutions are unlikely to be achieved. If climate change is to be addressed, then there must be a commitment to accepting reality while understanding that there will always be some level of uncertainty. The next step is to frame the problem such that potential solutions will become apparent. Ideally, the best decision is made based on a risk to benefit analysis with the understanding that the failure to act is also a decision. Given that most of humanity appears to be mired in the fact gathering stage, the author will

The intergovernmental panel on climate change stated that the scientific evidence for warming of the climate system is unequivocal [3]. The Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research stated that "business as usual" climate change trends portend a warming of 4 °C or 7.9 °F this century's end [4]. Notwithstanding the political debate, an overwhelming number of scientists concur that the current rise in global temperature is from human activity [5]. Those who have an opposing viewpoint correctly state that the earth has experienced numerous warming and cooling cycles. One previous warming event that occurred 252 million years ago, likely from volcanic activity, resulted in an average global temperature rise of 10 °C, which induced an extinction of 75% of terrestrial life and 95% of all marine life [6]. Dinosaurs arose to fill this void for the next 165 million years wherein being large bodied and cold-blooded was advantageous. This provides an example of Darwinian selection in which those organisms best suited to their natural environment survived to reproduce and dominate that niche, which Darwin termed "survival of the fittest" [7]. The age of the dinosaurs ended with an asteroid impact 65 million years ago that extinguished 75% of all lifeforms on earth including all land-based lifeforms weighing more than 25 kilograms or 55 pounds [8]. Mammals arose to fill this gap, some which were capable of altering their environments such as beavers, elephants, and humans. However, none of these mammals made a significant impact on the atmosphere until the Industrial Revolution, which consumed fossil fuels for energy. The current Anthropocene era has ushered in significant changes including global warming, habitat loss, changes in atmospheric composition and incipient mass extinctions. Prior history indicates that novel lifeforms will adapt to these changes. However, this is the first time in geological history that climate change did not occur from natural phenomena. Humanity has altered the biosphere, yet humanity also can avoid the most profound effects of self-induced

**204**

Climate change induced by global warming may seem complex initially as it involves an understanding of chemistry and physics, specifically the laws of thermodynamics. The first law of thermodynamics states that energy may neither be created nor destroyed such that one can only change its form. For example, consider using a coal stove that combusts hydrocarbons with oxygen to create heat and light. Implicit in this law is that the conversion is imperfect such that some of the energy is lost as heat. Thus, burning hydrocarbons results in the net addition of heat to the atmosphere some of which cannot be radiated into space. Hydrocarbon combustion on a massive global scale will increase the amount of heat retained in earth's atmosphere thus raising the average global temperature. However, heat production itself is not the only issue as the covalent bonds holding the greenhouse gases (GG) together are capable of absorbing infrared radiation without breaking chemical bonds. The net result is that the excess GG radiate heat (infrared) energy back to earth at a later time much in the way that a glass container may be put in an oven, removed intact, and then cooled down to food serving temperature by releasing the excess heat into the environment [9]. The downstream effects of this additional heat production and heat trapping are explored in subsequent sections.

Another issue facing humanity is that of our current, unsustainable rate of resource consumption. Presently, humanity requires the annual equivalent of 1.6 Earths or 20 months to provide the resources we require and absorb our waste, which is the environmental equivalent of "deficit spending" [10]. This rate of resource consumption and waste generation is simply unsustainable. The United States Army Field Manual 21–76 states, "Remember that nature and the elements are neither your friend nor your enemy-they are actually disinterested. Instead, it is your determination to live and your ability to make nature work for you that are the deciding factors" [11]. The current willful disregard for nature portends the sixth mass extinction, the Anthropocene extinction, which will result from humans' alteration of the environment [12]. One prediction is that, unless drastic action is taken, the earth will experience catastrophic climatic and negative socioeconomic changes within the next 30 years [13]. This author further stated that a solution requires "political change producing policy change" [14]. If such changes are to be realized, then an understanding of the science underlying climate change must be understood within the framework of human evolution, the rise of political systems and the ethics that arose from these political developments.
