ATMS 211  Winter Quarter 2001
Assignment #5

Due in Class, Wednesday,  March 7



Write a 500-word review of an opinion piece about some aspect of human induced
climate change. Choose an article that addresses some aspect of the issue of
whether greenhouse warming is or is not a serious enough problem to warrant
measures designed to reduce the burning of fossil fuels.

Your essay should start with a description of the article including (in bold face
type) a one-sentence summary of the main point of the article, followed by a one
or two paragraph summary. In your summary, state whether the intention of the
author is merely to inform or to persuade. (If you choose to write about multiple
articles, use your summary sentence to describe the overall impression that the
articles together convey.

The second part of your essay should be your evaluation of the article. Among the
points you might address are: Do you think the information presented in the
article is accurate (in so far as you're able to judge)? Does the article show
evidence of bias on the part of the author? Are there statements in it that
particularly attracted your attention? Are the conclusions consistent with what
you've learned in class? Is the article persuasive?  Is it a useful contribution
to the debate on global warming?
 

In class next Wednesday, March 7, we will discuss the articles. You should come
prepared to summarize and evaluate the article for the class--- (3 min. maximum).

Choosing an article that's worth writing about is really important.  Avoid
articles that are too short or too simple minded or poorly written And don't be
afraid to choose an article that you don't agree with-- some controversy will
liven up the discussion next week.  It would be a good idea to select and read
your article this week and think about it for a few days before you write your
review-- chances are you'll write a better essay this way and you might actually
save time in the process!

You can choose your article based on a search (e.g., type 'global warming' into
http://www.google.com), or you can select one from one of the following sites
 

environmentalist perspective
  http://www.ucsusa.org/warming/
  http://www.sierraclub.org/globalwarming/
  http://www.climatehotmap.org/
  http://www.newscientist.com/global/
  http://www.sciam.com/2000/0800issue/0800epstein.html

skeptics perspective
  http://www.microtech.com.au/daly/
  http://www.cato.org/pubs/regulation/reg15n2g.html
  http://www.cato.org/dailys/9-15-97.html
  http://www.free-market.net/spotlight/climate/
  http://www.clearlight.com/~mhieb/WVFossils/ice_ages.html
  http://www.marshall.org/Warming.html
  http://www.greeningearthsociety.org
  http://www.fossilfuels.org
  http://www.greeningearthsociety.org/climate/index.htm