ENGL 1301 (Argument Essay)

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Jessica Ann Olson

Professor Wright

English 101, Section 2

29 September 2008

Annotated Bibliography on Global Warming

Gore, Al. An Inconvenient Truth: The Planetary Emergency of Global

Warming and What We Can Do about It. Rodale, 2006. This

publication, which is based on Gore’s slide show on global

warming, stresses the urgency of the global warming crisis. It

centers on how the atmosphere is very thin and how

greenhouse gases such as carbon dioxide are making it

thicker. The thicker atmosphere traps more infrared

radiation, causing warming of the Earth. Gore argues that

carbon dioxide, which is created by burning fossil fuels,

cutting down forests, and producing cement, accounts for

eighty percent of greenhouse gas emissions. He includes

several examples of problems caused by global warming.

Penguins and polar bears are at risk because the glaciers they

call home are quickly melting. Coral reefs are being bleached

and destroyed when their inhabitants overheat and leave.

Global warming is now affecting people’s lives as well. For

example, the highways in Alaska are only frozen enough to

be driven on fewer than eighty days of the year. In China and

elsewhere, record-setting floods and droughts are taking

place. Hurricanes are on the rise. This source’s goal is to

inform its audience about the ongoing global warming crisis

and to inspire change across the world. It is useful because it

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relies on scientific data that can be referred to easily and it

provides a solid foundation for me to build on. For example,

it explains how carbon dioxide is produced and how it is

currently affecting plants and animals. This evidence could

potentially help my research on how humans are biologically

affected by global warming. It will also help me structure my

essay, using its general information to lead into the specifics

of my topic. For example, I could introduce the issue by

explaining the thinness of the atmosphere and the effect of

greenhouse gases, then focus on carbon dioxide and its

effects on organisms.

Parmesan, Camille, and Hector Galbraith. “Executive Summary.”

Observed Impacts of Global Climate Change in the U.S., Pew

Center on Global Climate Change, Nov. 2004, www.c2es.org/

docUploads/final_ObsImpact.pdf. Accessed 17 Jan. 2007. This

report summarizes recent scientific findings that document

the impact changes in the climate have had on the

distribution of plants and animals in the United States and

on how they interact within their communities. For example,

it explains how a shift has taken place in the blooming

period for plants and the breeding period for animals caused

by global warming. Because of changes in their geographic

range, species may interact differently, possibly resulting in

population declines. For example, the red fox is now found in

areas dominated by the arctic fox and is threatening its

survival. The report stresses that such shifts can harm the

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“Annotated Bibliography on Global Warming.” Reprinted by permission of the author.

world’s biodiversity. Plants and animals that are rare now

face extinction. The annual cycle of carbon dioxide levels in

the atmosphere has also changed, largely due to the

lengthening of the growing season, affecting basic ecosystem

processes. I did not find this report as helpful as other

sources because its information is based only on

observations made in the United States. The information

appears reliable, though, because it is based on scientific

evidence. This essay will be helpful to my essay because it

focuses on how plants and animals are currently affected,

such as their shifting communities and how they are

clashing. I could use this to explain human changes by

providing evidence of what is happening to other species.

This source will not be as helpful in explaining the climate’s

effects on human biological function in particular, but it will

provide some framework. For example, I could explain how

the plants that help convert carbon dioxide into oxygen are

being harmed and relate that to how the humans will suffer

the consequences.