This is a highly debated question that arises when talking about global warming and whether or not it is because of human activity. However, what is not disputed is that the Earth’s climate is changing in temperature. The past few decades have been much warmer and cooler than today. The main reason for this is the relative increase in the amounts of fossil fuels being released into the atmosphere. The climate is changing today because of our actions and the goal is to not completely stop burning fossil fuels because that is not realistic but rather we need to find a way to slow down and eliminate the overuse of fossil fuels. Once the fossil fuels are released, irreversible changes occur, such as global temperature, which is seen below. According to the IPCC, “Warming of the climate is unequivocal, as is now evident from observations of increases in global average air and ocean temperatures, widespread melting of snow and ice, and rising global mean sea level.”
Figure 9: Average Global Temperature
References:
http://www.ipcc.ch/publications_and_data/ar4/syr/en/mains1.html
No comments:
Post a Comment