My take on global warming

It's the topic of the decade. Everyone over the age of seven knows about it; everyone has an opinion about it. Most people have very strong feelings about it, one way or the other. I am one of the rare people who has a fairly wishy-washy stance on the issue. What is it? Global warming.

I am Everyman. I see what happens and react like everyone else does. I've seen self-righteous jerks proclaim the terrifying effects of human beings on our mother Earth. I believed it, without protest, for years. Then, as I got older, I began to become interested in hot-button issues and researched further.

As it turns out, this topic isn't nearly as clear-cut as I had originally thought. While it is true that a fair majority of scientists believes in global warming (or global climate change, if you prefer), there are quite a few scientists respected in their fields who do not agree that the topic is as open and shut as the media is presenting it.

My belief in the global warming epidemic began to waver. Still, for every well-researched argument against, there are several complete morons who make it difficult to identify as a skeptic.

So, after years of mild research and piqued interest, what conclusion have I come to? Well, first off, I think we should put away all of these extremes. Rather than accepting global warming blindly or throwing it out as pure bull-honkery, we should continue to do solid scientific research, not only on the possible changes in the climate, but also on the different methods of helping the environment that actually work.

When I went to Germany this past spring, I noticed that dotted across the country were these gigantic wind turbines. I also saw many solar farms, places where solar panels are lined up for acres. All of this is done in the idea that these forms of alternative energy will save the world. What has been coming to light recently, however, is that the turbines actually use more energy to run than they are producing. The solar fields are even less useful, as they are not only taking up land that could be used for farming or for ecologic solutions that truly work, but they have also been placed in a country that is well known for its constant cloudy, rainy weather pattern. Germany simply doesn't get enough sunlight to make solar farms worth the costs.

We need to research this. If global warming is true, then it is our responsibility to help the environment, not only for our planet, but for our future. If it isn't, then we should still seek out ways in which to better the environment and avoid future possibilities of climate change. However, we need to ensure that what we're calling a "solution" truly is thus. Many of our current "solutions" are, in fact, hurting the world more. Rather than arguing the falsity or truth of a topic that may not be resolved for decades more, we should be spending the time between now and then finding out what we can do to help.

I know that you want to help. I know that you want to be good people. I know this because I feel the same way. Still, don't just jump on the various bandwagons of environmental goodness without doing the research. Ask for proof, not that it works, but that it doesn't do more harm. Demand that people think before leaping. Save the world, but do it the right way. You don't want to help the old woman across the street and into a burning building.