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Page Outline:

1. Basic Facts
2. Greenhouse Effect
3. Global Warming
4. Effects of Climate Change
5. What Can Be Done To Curb The Warming Trend?
6. What Is Washington Doing?
7. Sources

Basic Facts

The following information comes from the US Environmental Protection Agency. ¹

• There is a greater than 99% chance that human activities, such as the burning of fossil fuels, are altering the overall makeup of Earth’s atmosphere.

• Temperature averages across the globe increased by 1 to 1.7 degrees Fahrenheit between 1906 and 2005.

• When atmospheric greenhouse gases increase, the Earth’s average temperatures rise as well.

The Greenhouse Effect

What Is It?

According to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), the greenhouse effect is “one of Earth’s natural processes,” and “is the result of heat absorption by certain gases in the atmosphere…and re-radiation downward of some of that heat.”²

Is It Harmful or Helpful?

In its natural state, the greenhouse effect is very beneficial to the planet. In fact, the greenhouse effect is “essential for life on Earth.” However, according to the research of many scientists, there has been an unnatural rise in greenhouse gas levels since the industrial revolution of the late 19th Century. This rise, according to many scientists, is largely due to growing fossil fuel emissions from the world’s industrial and transportation sectors.³

What Are Greenhouse Gases?

According to the EPA, greenhouse gases are “gases that trap heat in the atmosphere.” The five major greenhouse gases are water vapor, carbon dioxide, methane, nitrous oxide, and fluorinated gases.⁴

Global Warming

What Is It?

According to NOAA, global warming is, “An overall increase in world temperatures which may be caused by additional heat being trapped by greenhouse gases.”⁵

Why Is it important?

Global warming and climate change are things you should care about because even slight increases or decreases in global temperatures can have tremendous effects on global weather patterns and sea/ice levels. According to NASA, “. . . during the last ice age, when ice sheets a mile thick covered North America all the way down to the northern states, the world was only 9 to 15 degrees Fahrenheit colder than today.”⁶

Is It Manmade or Natural?

Although the overwhelming majority of climatologlists believe that the current increase in global temperatures is largely due to human activities such as the burning of fossil fuels, there are a handful of scientists who believe that an increase in solar activity is to blame.⁷

Correlation Between Carbon & Temperature

Historically, whenever atmospheric carbon levels have risen, the earth’s overall temperature rises as well. The USEPA graph below illustrates this trend. The current atmospheric CO2 concentration is the highest in the past 647,000 years. ⁸

Effects of Climate Change

Melting of Ice Caps

To access the most current information regarding how global warming is affecting earth’s polar ice, visit this NASA webpage.

In a study done by NASA from 1992-2002, data was gathered which revealed a net loss in polar ice as well as a slight rise in world sea levels.⁹

If you want to monitor conditions at the North Pole yourself, visit Live From The North Pole. Here you will have access to live North Pole webcams and past video footage courtesy of NOAA.

Rising Sea Levels

According to the multi-governmental agency report, “Coastal Elevations and Sensitivity to Sea Level Rise,” global sea levels are expected to rise between one and three feet by 2100. As a result, hundreds of roads and structures along the east and west coast of the United States will be at risk of serious flooding.¹⁰ Scientists have projected that similar flooding will take place around the globe if greenhouse emissions are not brought under control.

Increase In Extreme Weather

According to a NOAA webpage, the following weather changes are likely to take place as global warming increases.¹¹

• Abnormally hot days and nights, along with heat waves, are very likely to become more common. Cold nights are very likely to become less common.

• Sea ice extent is expected to continue to decrease and may even disappear in the Arctic Ocean in summer in coming decades.

• Precipitation, on average, is likely to be less frequent but more intense.

• Droughts are likely to become more frequent and severe in some regions.

• Hurricanes will likely have increased precipitation and wind.

• The strongest cold-season storms in the Atlantic and Pacific are likely to produce stronger winds and higher extreme wave heights.

NOAA Visual Diagram

Click here to view a visual chart of the projected environmental effects of global warming.

What Can Be Done To Curb the Warming Trend?

Decrease Carbon Emissions

At a national level, governments can set limits on greenhouse gas emissions.

On a personal level, individuals can reduce their contribution to global warming by doing the following:¹²

Large Changes (examples)

* Buying a fuel efficient vehicle
* Heating your home with solar panels

Small Changes (examples)

* Using light bulbs with the ENERGY STAR logo
* Adding insulation and sealing any air leaks in your home
* Recycling your papers and plastics (”Climate Change – What Can You Do”)

Want to learn more about climate change and ways to reduce your carbon footprint? Check out the websites in the table below.

Reduce Your Carbon Footprint

What Is Washington Doing?

Cap and Trade

Cap and trade is a “market-based” policy system that sets limits on emission levels. Under this system, sources of emission, factories for example, must keep their emissions below this level. In addition, each source of emissions gets a set number of emission “credits.” These credits add up to the overall emission limit, the cap. But what happens if a particular company does not need all of their credits? Well, then the trade part of the system comes into affect. When a company’s emissions are much lower than the overall cap, it can sell – trade – some of its emission credits.¹³

Starting in 1999, an EPA cap and trade program was used to greatly reduce the emission of nitrogen oxide – a gas which in high levels is harmful to people’s health – in the northeastern United States. Within three years, by 2002, the emission of nitrogen oxide in the northeastern United States had shrunk to below 60% of 1990 levels.¹⁴

Cap and trade policy was also used by the EPA to lower the occurrence of acid rain. In fact, the EPA’s acid rain – cap and trade program yielded over $70 billion in health benefits between the years 1993 and 2003. According to the EPA, the cost benefit ratio for the project was 40:1.¹⁵

The Select Committee on Energy Independence and Global Warming

Chaired by Rep. Ed Markey of Massachusetts, this House committee researches and holds hearings on the topics of global warming and energy independence. Although instrumental in the formulation of several House global warming and energy bills, this committee has not been granted the authority to create legislation of its own.¹⁶

During a 2007 hearing, Sir Nicholas Stern of the UK stated that for every dollar spent on emission prevention, five dollars in eventual global warming related damages could be saved.¹⁷

Other Congressional Hearings

Over the course of 2008, Congress held numerous hearings on the topic of global warming, inviting scientists and other individuals from around the country to come and shair their expert opinions. For a full list of 2008 House and Senate hearings (including who the presenters were) on global warming click here.

Our Changing Planet

This 2009 Government Report prepared for Congress by the US Climage Change Science Program and the Subcommittee on Global Change Research contains detailed information on global warming and plans for achieving specific environmental goals.

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Sources