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What is Global Warming?
Scientists know more than ever before about how the Earth's climate is changing and what that will mean for people, habitats and wildlife across the planet.
The evidence shows that human activities--like burning fossil fuels like coal, oil and gas--are most likely responsible for the warming observed to date. And, the trend is clear. If we don't take steps to curb global warming pollution, the impacts will become increasingly dire.
The Earth's atmosphere has already warmed by 1.5 degrees Fahrenheit since 1900. This warming signal is also found in ocean temperatures, soil temperatures, melting glaciers and melting polar ice caps. It has been linked to widespread impacts on ecosystems around the planet. This preponderance of evidence all points to the conclusion that our planet is warming and natural systems are struggling to keep up. Read more...
The role of atmospheric carbon dioxide (CO2) in warming the Earth's surface was first demonstrated by Swedish scientist Svante Arrhenius more than 100 years ago. Scientific data have since established that, for hundreds of thousands of years, changes in temperature have closely tracked with atmospheric CO2 concentrations. Since the Industrial Revolution, the burning of coal, oil and natural gas has emitted roughly 500 billion tons of CO2, about half of which remains in the atmosphere. This CO2 is the biggest factor responsible for recent warming trends. Read more...
Scientists documented major changes to natural systems around the planet in the 2007 report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC). New science published after the IPCC report has shown how global warming is happening faster than anticipated. Sea-level rise may be accelerating, Arctic sea ice is rapidly melting, and forests are being transformed. Read more...
Global warming is making hot days hotter, rainfall and flooding heavier, storms stronger, and droughts more severe. This intensification of weather and climate extremes will be the most visible impact of global warming in our everyday lives and will have grave implications for public health and social justice. Indeed, our urban infrastructure, flood protection measures, emergency management strategies, and agricultural systems were all developed based on past experience with extreme weather. But, with global warming pushing these extremes beyond their historical limits, we can no longer plan for the future based on past climate conditions. Read more...
Climate scientists have studied every natural system--from the atmosphere and oceans to the land surface, vegetation, and wildlife--to understand how the planet is warming and what that means for life on Earth. The extensive documentation of global warming has been synthesized in major assessment reports and has led all major scientific societies with significant involvement of climate scientists to adopt statements attesting to the scope of the problem. Read more...
The good news is that we know what is causing global warming, and therefore, we know what needs to be done to solve it. We must curb our emissions of CO2 and other greenhouse gases. Investing in a clean energy future is the essential path forward that will help communities nationwide, especially the most vulnerable. Policy makers, industry, and individuals must work together to reduce global warming pollution from today's levels by at least 80 percent by 2050. At the same time, we must take steps to help people, wildlife, and habitats adapt to climate change impacts that are already unavoidable. Read more....
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