Global Warming

IN THE UNITED States, the early 1970s signaled a new awareness of the effects of continued exploitation of the environment. Over the next 10 years, scientists developed an understanding that global warming was a reality rather than a theory. Despite[Page 360] the recognition that new environmental policies were crucial, environmentalists were forced to battle with conservative business persons who argued that economic interests should take precedence over environmental protection. However, environmentalists successfully lobbied for the creation of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), which was created in 1970 and given oversight over environmental issues. The EPA was also charged with ensuring compliance with new environmental laws and regulations.

In the study of white-collar and corporate crime, environmentalists point to the ultimate criminal industrial act: the aggregate of air and water pollutants and their effects alter the climatic patterns of the earth, endangering millions, if not billions of lives.

While most scientists have recognized the real dangers in the prospect of global warming, a small number of scientists insist that the threat has been overstated. They believe that changes in the earth's temperature are a result of natural cycles. Predictions that the earth's temperature will rise as much as 50 degrees Celsius or 90 degrees Fahrenheit by the middle of the 21t century, however, have created an environment of dire concern. This concern has been heightened by an upswing in worldwide natural disasters that have been attributed to global warming, encompassing everything from extensive flooding and draughts to mass starvation and disastrous hurricanes.

Much of the concern about global warming has been directed toward the so-called greenhouse effect. Actually, the greenhouse effect, which is essential to life on this planet, is created by a naturally occurring blanket of air, or ozone layer, that protects the earth from the sun's extreme heat. However, scientists have distinguished between this natural greenhouse effect and the anthrogenic or unnatural greenhouse effect that is created by the buildup of industrial pollutants that contribute to global warming.

Most scientists agree that global warming is caused by the emissions of fossil fuels that release carbon dioxide and other gases, such as methane, nitrogen oxide, ozone, and chlorofluorocarbons into the atmosphere. The greatest pollutants are coal and oil, but natural gas has also contributed to the effects of global warming. By the end of the 20th century, scientists had also documented an increase in the amount of chlorine in the atmosphere, amounting to more than a 600-percent rise over levels of the previous 40 years. This increase of chlorine in the atmosphere also interferes with the way that ultraviolet radiation is blocked. Deforestation has also contributed to global warming because trees serve as natural barriers to trap pollutants and prevent them from being released into the atmosphere. If the earth's temperature increases beyond a certain point, the flooding of coastal areas could result in the rapid spread of infectious diseases, and the world's food supply might be threatened by extensive draught.

Scientists believe that global warming began in the early days of industrialization when coal and oil were first introduced into the atmosphere, with an accompanying increase in the levels of carbon dioxide. Since World War II, an increase of 25 percent in the concentrations of carbon dioxide and other heat-absorbing molecules in the atmosphere has been documented, resulting in a decreased ability to regulate the earth's temperature. These changes in the earth's atmosphere have a detrimental affect on human beings, wildlife, plant life, and on the overall environment. As worldwide population increases, so does the likelihood of global warming as more pollutants rise into the atmosphere.

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