In the article “Global Warming’s Terrifying New Math”, McKibben argues that climate change is a deadly problem humans are facing and therefore it is important we must recognize who the real enemy it and that the only way to fight the warming of the planet is by building a movement against them. McKibben, by presenting three numbers in the article (two degrees celsius, 565 gigatons and 2,795 gigatons) is making people more aware of the serious dangers climate change is posing on them, as well as shedding a new light on the fossil fuel industry, making people realize these companies are the main opponent. Therefore, this article serves as a relevant one in helping people comprehend the challenges of climate change. McKibben uses the three …show more content…
The firs number he mentions is the two degrees celsius. This is the number that most of the governments around the world agreed, should be the maximum temperature increase they will let the planet get to. In other words, allow just enough carbon emissions to make sure the temperature increase is below this target, however McKibben counters that this is first of all too high of a target and second, if we continue what we are doing we will easily and quickly far exceed this target. He mentions that the world has already increased 0.8 degrees celsius and the destruction has been far more damaging than what scientists expected. Moreover, his second point regarding with this target deals with his second and third number, the amount of carbon that has been emitted into the atmosphere by midcentury, 565 gigatons. The article notes that it has been estimated by scientists that humans can emit roughly 565 gigatons of carbon by midcentury and still have hopes of being below the two degree mark. McKibben counters this and suggests that chances that the temperature increase will still be under two degrees with this much carbon being released into the atmosphere is very low. He …show more content…
He uses many scientific facts and statistics to prove his argument. The article mentions the fact that those 2,795 gigatons of carbon are worth over twenty seven trillion dollars, showing why those companies have been fighting against carbon management and why they have been working hard to find out how to drill into Canada’s oil tar and how to dig into the oceans. These carbon reserves are their ‘primary assets’, where they make the most money. He also talks about how these companies bid for the oil leases form the melting Arctic ice, and yet the CEO of the ExxonMobil company told the wall street analysts that they still plan on spending yet another twenty billion dollars to in finding more oil and gas, making this a “greed problem” (McKibben, 2012). This article, on top of that, includes examples of what perils we will continue to be facing if we do not take action soon enough. McKibben, talks about how in the month of July in 2012, the earliest fourth cyclone, Tropical Storm Debby, hit Florida, pouring 20 inches of rain in the city, on a single weekend. As well, the most disastrous fire in Colorado’s records burnt three hundred and forty six houses in Colorado spring. By providing readers with this information, McKibben is playing a role in helping readers truly see the dangers we