By the end of the 21st century, Michigan may feel a little more like Texas.

According to the United States Global Change Research Program, if carbon dioxide emission levels in the ozone layer increase at the rate they are now, Michigan will have the same climate as northern Texas in a century.

Climatology faculty member Ashton Peyrefitte said whether people believe in global warming or not, temperatures are definitely rising.

“When we look at environmental changes that can cause the climate to change, there is a possibility we are going though a natural warming. Although it is universally agreed that temperatures have risen one degree in the past century, we can’t be sure if that is man’s fault,” he said.

While a one-degree rise in temperature in the last 100 years can be hard to notice, there are subtle changes in temperature every year.

“The changes are not anything one can see on a day-to-day basis, but when you were a kid did you notice you were growing?” said David Matty, geology chairman.

Peyrefitte said the rising temperatures are because of the population increase or a natural cycle in the earth.

“The problem with this situation is that there are too many unsubstantiated claims made by scientists who strongly advocate for global warming,” he said. “It’s capturing the imagination of people. If the dustbowl of the 1930s happened right now again, people would be going out of their minds.”

Frederic sophomore and biology student Brian Counsil said he believes the problem is more of a natural earth cycle taking place. He said every 800,000 years, the magnetic poles are inversed and pulled into the planet rather than outward, which will affect the rotation of things.

“In my opinion, global warming is a sign that the earth is getting ready for the poles to change in the next 20,000 years or so. Population is definitely an influence, but I don’t think that we are all the main cause of global warming from the past fifty years,” he said.

Geologists can study rocks to see exactly what the temperature and carbon dioxide levels were when they were formed by bits of atmosphere trapped inside air bubbles, which helps to understand global warming, Matty said.

“From a geological perspective, there has always been changes in climate. Fifteen thousand years ago, there were glaciers, but the real scare with global warming is the carbon dioxide levels we have now are much higher than they ever were in the past,” he said.

Global warming doesn’t have to be all doom and gloom, however.

“What we can do now is educate everyone so they realize what we’re doing to the earth now is something our children and grandchildren will have to deal with,” Matty said. “The real question is do we want to do that to them?”

Peyrefitte said that it is impossible to scientifically determine what is deteriorating the ozone layer, but if evidence is there that temperatures are rising the population should take steps to improve the environment.

“Global warming projections are not only based on a continuation of warming, but also an intensification of it,” Peyrefitte said. “The best thing to do is play it safe by going green.”

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E-mail the author: Kristyn Woll