![]() ![]() The "smoking gun" that shows clearly that human activities are responsible for recent increases in carbon dioxide in the atmosphere is provided by carbon isotopes (carbon atoms of different atomic weight). The well-documented trend of increasing of CO 2 in the atmosphere is caused by the burning of fossil fuels and massive land cover changes. That greenhouse gases "trap" infrared heat is well established through laboratory experiments going back to 1856 when Eunice Foote first measured the effect. There is overwhelming evidence that human activities, especially burning fossil fuels, are leading to increased levels of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases in the atmosphere, which in turn amplify the natural greenhouse effect, causing the temperature of the Earth's atmosphere, ocean, and land surface to increase. This is evident from the increasing greenhouse gas concentrations in the atmosphere, positive radiative forcing, observed warming, and understanding of the climate system." (From the IPCC AR5) Volumes of scientific research across multiple scientific disciplines agree that humans are warming the climate, and the 2013 IPCC Fourth Assessment Report states, "Human influence on the climate system is clear. Drawing by Carlyn Iverson, NOAA potential for human activities to increase the temperature of the Earth through greenhouse gas emissions has been described and calculated for over a century. Foote's experiments with atmospheric gases and her insights about past climate were overlooked for more than a century. Her paper, "Circumstances Affecting the Heat of the Sun's Rays," was published in 1856. If warming exceeds 2 to 3☌ (3.6 to 5.4☏) over the next century, the consequences of the negative impacts are likely to be much greater than the consequences of the positive impacts.īorn on July 17, 1819, Eunice Newton Foote was the scientist who first published findings that CO2 traps heat. Scientists and economists predict that there will be both positive and negative impacts from global climate change. ![]() Some changes resulting from human activities have decreased the capacity of the environment to support various species and have substantially reduced ecosystem biodiversity and ecological resilience.Į. Growing evidence shows that changes in many physical and biological systems are linked to human caused global warming. Burning fossil fuels, releasing chemicals into the atmosphere, reducing the amount of forest cover, and the rapid expansion of farming, development, and industrial activities are releasing carbon dioxide into the atmosphere and changing the balance of the climate system.ĭ. Human activities have affected the land, oceans, and atmosphere, and these changes have altered global climate patterns. Because these gases can remain in the atmosphere for hundreds of years before being removed by natural processes, their warming influence is projected to persist into the next century.Ĭ. Emissions from the widespread burning of fossil fuels since the start of the Industrial Revolution have increased the concentration of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere. ![]()
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