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• U.S. Department of Transportation - Global Warming: A Science Overview
• NOAA Climate.gov - Climate Change: Global Temperature
• Natural Resources Defense Council - Global Warming 101
• American Institute of Physics - The discovery of global warming
• LiveScience - Causes of Global Warming
• global warming - Children's Encyclopedia (Ages 8-11)
• global warming - Student Encyclopedia (Ages 11 and up)
• Table Of Contents

Human activity affects global surface temperatures by changing Earth ’s radiative balance—the “give and take” between what comes in during the day and what Earth emits at night. Increases in greenhouse gases —i.e., trace gases such as carbon dioxide and methane that absorb heat energy emitted from Earth’s surface and reradiate it back—generated by industry and transportation cause the atmosphere to retain more heat, which increases temperatures and alters precipitation patterns.

Global warming, the phenomenon of increasing average air temperatures near Earth’s surface over the past one to two centuries, happens mostly in the troposphere , the lowest level of the atmosphere, which extends from Earth’s surface up to a height of 6–11 miles. This layer contains most of Earth’s clouds and is where living things and their habitats and weather primarily occur.

Continued global warming is expected to impact everything from energy use to water availability to crop productivity throughout the world. Poor countries and communities with limited abilities to adapt to these changes are expected to suffer disproportionately. Global warming is already being associated with increases in the incidence of severe and extreme weather, heavy flooding , and wildfires —phenomena that threaten homes, dams, transportation networks, and other facets of human infrastructure. Learn more about how the IPCC’s Sixth Assessment Report, released in 2021, describes the social impacts of global warming.

Polar bears live in the Arctic , where they use the region’s ice floes as they hunt seals and other marine mammals . Temperature increases related to global warming have been the most pronounced at the poles, where they often make the difference between frozen and melted ice. Polar bears rely on small gaps in the ice to hunt their prey. As these gaps widen because of continued melting, prey capture has become more challenging for these animals.

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global warming , the phenomenon of increasing average air temperatures near the surface of Earth over the past one to two centuries. Climate scientists have since the mid-20th century gathered detailed observations of various weather phenomena (such as temperatures, precipitation , and storms) and of related influences on climate (such as ocean currents and the atmosphere’s chemical composition). These data indicate that Earth’s climate has changed over almost every conceivable timescale since the beginning of geologic time and that human activities since at least the beginning of the Industrial Revolution have a growing influence over the pace and extent of present-day climate change .

Giving voice to a growing conviction of most of the scientific community , the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) was formed in 1988 by the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) and the United Nations Environment Program (UNEP). The IPCC’s Sixth Assessment Report (AR6), published in 2021, noted that the best estimate of the increase in global average surface temperature between 1850 and 2019 was 1.07 °C (1.9 °F). An IPCC special report produced in 2018 noted that human beings and their activities have been responsible for a worldwide average temperature increase between 0.8 and 1.2 °C (1.4 and 2.2 °F) since preindustrial times, and most of the warming over the second half of the 20th century could be attributed to human activities.

AR6 produced a series of global climate predictions based on modeling five greenhouse gas emission scenarios that accounted for future emissions, mitigation (severity reduction) measures, and uncertainties in the model projections. Some of the main uncertainties include the precise role of feedback processes and the impacts of industrial pollutants known as aerosols , which may offset some warming. The lowest-emissions scenario, which assumed steep cuts in greenhouse gas emissions beginning in 2015, predicted that the global mean surface temperature would increase between 1.0 and 1.8 °C (1.8 and 3.2 °F) by 2100 relative to the 1850–1900 average. This range stood in stark contrast to the highest-emissions scenario, which predicted that the mean surface temperature would rise between 3.3 and 5.7 °C (5.9 and 10.2 °F) by 2100 based on the assumption that greenhouse gas emissions would continue to increase throughout the 21st century. The intermediate-emissions scenario, which assumed that emissions would stabilize by 2050 before declining gradually, projected an increase of between 2.1 and 3.5 °C (3.8 and 6.3 °F) by 2100.

Many climate scientists agree that significant societal, economic, and ecological damage would result if the global average temperature rose by more than 2 °C (3.6 °F) in such a short time. Such damage would include increased extinction of many plant and animal species, shifts in patterns of agriculture , and rising sea levels. By 2015 all but a few national governments had begun the process of instituting carbon reduction plans as part of the Paris Agreement , a treaty designed to help countries keep global warming to 1.5 °C (2.7 °F) above preindustrial levels in order to avoid the worst of the predicted effects. Whereas authors of the 2018 special report noted that should carbon emissions continue at their present rate, the increase in average near-surface air temperature would reach 1.5 °C sometime between 2030 and 2052, authors of the AR6 report suggested that this threshold would be reached by 2041 at the latest.

The AR6 report also noted that the global average sea level had risen by some 20 cm (7.9 inches) between 1901 and 2018 and that sea level rose faster in the second half of the 20th century than in the first half. It also predicted, again depending on a wide range of scenarios, that the global average sea level would rise by different amounts by 2100 relative to the 1995–2014 average. Under the report’s lowest-emission scenario, sea level would rise by 28–55 cm (11–21.7 inches), whereas, under the intermediate emissions scenario, sea level would rise by 44–76 cm (17.3–29.9 inches). The highest-emissions scenario suggested that sea level would rise by 63–101 cm (24.8–39.8 inches) by 2100.

The scenarios referred to above depend mainly on future concentrations of certain trace gases, called greenhouse gases , that have been injected into the lower atmosphere in increasing amounts through the burning of fossil fuels for industry, transportation , and residential uses. Modern global warming is the result of an increase in magnitude of the so-called greenhouse effect , a warming of Earth’s surface and lower atmosphere caused by the presence of water vapour , carbon dioxide , methane , nitrous oxides , and other greenhouse gases. In 2014 the IPCC first reported that concentrations of carbon dioxide, methane, and nitrous oxides in the atmosphere surpassed those found in ice cores dating back 800,000 years.

Of all these gases, carbon dioxide is the most important, both for its role in the greenhouse effect and for its role in the human economy. It has been estimated that, at the beginning of the industrial age in the mid-18th century, carbon dioxide concentrations in the atmosphere were roughly 280 parts per million (ppm). By the end of 2022 they had risen to 419 ppm, and, if fossil fuels continue to be burned at current rates, they are projected to reach 550 ppm by the mid-21st century—essentially, a doubling of carbon dioxide concentrations in 300 years.

A vigorous debate is in progress over the extent and seriousness of rising surface temperatures, the effects of past and future warming on human life, and the need for action to reduce future warming and deal with its consequences. This article provides an overview of the scientific background related to the subject of global warming. It considers the causes of rising near-surface air temperatures, the influencing factors, the process of climate research and forecasting, and the possible ecological and social impacts of rising temperatures. For an overview of the public policy developments related to global warming occurring since the mid-20th century, see global warming policy . For a detailed description of Earth’s climate, its processes, and the responses of living things to its changing nature, see climate . For additional background on how Earth’s climate has changed throughout geologic time , see climatic variation and change . For a full description of Earth’s gaseous envelope, within which climate change and global warming occur, see atmosphere .

Climate Matters • November 25, 2020

New Presentation: Our Changing Climate

Key concepts:.

Climate Central unveils Our Changing Climate —an informative and customizable climate change presentation that meteorologists, journalists, and others can use for educational outreach and/or a personal Climate 101 tool.

The presentation follows a ”Simple, Serious, Solvable” framework, inspired by climate scientist Scott Denning. This allows the presenter to comfortably explain, and the viewers to easily understand, the causes (Simple), impacts (Serious), and solutions (Solvable) of climate change. 

Our Changing Climate is a revamped version of our 2016 climate presentation, and includes the following updates and features:

Up-to-date graphics and topics

Local data and graphics

Fully editable slides (add, remove, customize)

Presenter notes, background information, and references for each slide

Supplementary and bonus slides

Download Outline (PDF, 110KB)

Download Full Presentation (PPT, 148MB)

Updated: April 2021

Climate Central is presenting a new outreach and education resource for meteorologists, journalists, and others—a climate change presentation, Our Changing Climate . This 55-slide presentation is a guide through the basics of climate change, outlining its causes, impacts, and solutions. This climate change overview is unique because it includes an array of local graphics from our ever-expanding media library. By providing these local angles, the presenter can demonstrate that climate change is not only happening at a global-scale, but in our backyards.

This presentation was designed to support your climate change storytelling, but can also double as a great Climate 101 tool for journalists or educators who want to understand climate change better. Every slide contains main points along with background information, so people that are interested can learn at their own pace or utilize graphics for their own content. 

In addition to those features, it follows the “Simple, Serious, Solvable” framework inspired by Scott Denning, a climate scientist and professor of atmospheric science at Colorado State University (and a good friend of the program). These three S’s help create the presentation storyline and outline the causes (Simple), impacts (Serious), and solutions (Solvable) of climate change. 

Simple. It is simple—burning fossil fuels is heating up the Earth. This section outlines the well-understood science that goes back to the 1800s, presenting local and global evidence that our climate is warming due to human activities.

Serious. More extreme weather, rising sea levels, and increased health and economic risks—the consequences of climate change. In this section, well, we get serious. Climate change impacts are already being felt around the world, and they will continue to intensify until we cut greenhouse gas emissions. 

Solvable. With such a daunting crisis like climate change, it is easy to get wrapped up in the negative impacts. This section explains how we can curb climate change and lists the main pathways and solutions to achieving this goal. 

With the rollout of our new climate change presentation, we at Climate Central would value any feedback on this presentation. Feel free to reach out to us about how the presentation worked for you, how your audience reacted, or any ideas or topics you would like to see included. 

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS & SPECIAL THANKS

Climate Central would like to acknowledge Paul Gross at WDIV-TV in Detroit and the AMS Station Science Committee for the original version of the climate presentation, Climate Change Outreach Presentation , that was created in 2016. We would also like to give special thanks to Scott Denning, professor of atmospheric science at Colorado State University and a member of our NSF advisory board, for allowing us to use this “Simple, Serious, Solvable” framework in this presentation resource.

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Global warming.

The causes, effects, and complexities of global warming are important to understand so that we can fight for the health of our planet.

Earth Science, Climatology

Tennessee Power Plant

Ash spews from a coal-fueled power plant in New Johnsonville, Tennessee, United States.

Photograph by Emory Kristof/ National Geographic

Global warming is the long-term warming of the planet’s overall temperature. Though this warming trend has been going on for a long time, its pace has significantly increased in the last hundred years due to the burning of fossil fuels . As the human population has increased, so has the volume of fossil fuels burned. Fossil fuels include coal, oil, and natural gas, and burning them causes what is known as the “greenhouse effect” in Earth’s atmosphere.

The greenhouse effect is when the sun’s rays penetrate the atmosphere, but when that heat is reflected off the surface cannot escape back into space. Gases produced by the burning of fossil fuels prevent the heat from leaving the atmosphere. These greenhouse gasses are carbon dioxide , chlorofluorocarbons, water vapor , methane , and nitrous oxide . The excess heat in the atmosphere has caused the average global temperature to rise overtime, otherwise known as global warming.

Global warming has presented another issue called climate change. Sometimes these phrases are used interchangeably, however, they are different. Climate change refers to changes in weather patterns and growing seasons around the world. It also refers to sea level rise caused by the expansion of warmer seas and melting ice sheets and glaciers . Global warming causes climate change, which poses a serious threat to life on Earth in the forms of widespread flooding and extreme weather. Scientists continue to study global warming and its impact on Earth.

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Our planet is experiencing an increase in temperatures like no other. and it's not a natural process: it's something caused by humans. due to global warming, many icebergs are melting, raising the water level, which poses a danger to many coastal towns. let's take action prepare presentations with these google slides & powerpoint templates and start raising awareness.

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• Page 1 of 6

What Is Climate Change?

Climate change is a long-term change in the average weather patterns that have come to define Earth’s local, regional and global climates. These changes have a broad range of observed effects that are synonymous with the term.

Changes observed in Earth’s climate since the mid-20th century are driven by human activities, particularly fossil fuel burning, which increases heat-trapping greenhouse gas levels in Earth’s atmosphere, raising Earth’s average surface temperature. Natural processes, which have been overwhelmed by human activities, can also contribute to climate change, including internal variability (e.g., cyclical ocean patterns like El Niño, La Niña and the Pacific Decadal Oscillation) and external forcings (e.g., volcanic activity, changes in the Sun’s energy output , variations in Earth’s orbit ).

Scientists use observations from the ground, air, and space, along with computer models , to monitor and study past, present, and future climate change. Climate data records provide evidence of climate change key indicators, such as global land and ocean temperature increases; rising sea levels; ice loss at Earth’s poles and in mountain glaciers; frequency and severity changes in extreme weather such as hurricanes, heatwaves, wildfires, droughts, floods, and precipitation; and cloud and vegetation cover changes.

“Climate change” and “global warming” are often used interchangeably but have distinct meanings. Similarly, the terms "weather" and "climate" are sometimes confused, though they refer to events with broadly different spatial- and timescales.

What Is Global Warming?

Global warming is the long-term heating of Earth’s surface observed since the pre-industrial period (between 1850 and 1900) due to human activities, primarily fossil fuel burning, which increases heat-trapping greenhouse gas levels in Earth’s atmosphere. This term is not interchangeable with the term "climate change."

Since the pre-industrial period, human activities are estimated to have increased Earth’s global average temperature by about 1 degree Celsius (1.8 degrees Fahrenheit), a number that is currently increasing by more than 0.2 degrees Celsius (0.36 degrees Fahrenheit) per decade. The current warming trend is unequivocally the result of human activity since the 1950s and is proceeding at an unprecedented rate over millennia.

Weather vs. Climate

“If you don’t like the weather in New England, just wait a few minutes.” - Mark Twain

Weather refers to atmospheric conditions that occur locally over short periods of time—from minutes to hours or days. Familiar examples include rain, snow, clouds, winds, floods, or thunderstorms.

Climate, on the other hand, refers to the long-term (usually at least 30 years) regional or even global average of temperature, humidity, and rainfall patterns over seasons, years, or decades.

Find Out More: A Guide to NASA’s Global Climate Change Website

This website provides a high-level overview of some of the known causes, effects and indications of global climate change:

Evidence. Brief descriptions of some of the key scientific observations that our planet is undergoing abrupt climate change.

Causes. A concise discussion of the primary climate change causes on our planet.

Effects. A look at some of the likely future effects of climate change, including U.S. regional effects.

Vital Signs. Graphs and animated time series showing real-time climate change data, including atmospheric carbon dioxide, global temperature, sea ice extent, and ice sheet volume.

Earth Minute. This fun video series explains various Earth science topics, including some climate change topics.

Other NASA Resources

Goddard Scientific Visualization Studio. An extensive collection of animated climate change and Earth science visualizations.

Sea Level Change Portal. NASA's portal for an in-depth look at the science behind sea level change.

NASA’s Earth Observatory. Satellite imagery, feature articles and scientific information about our home planet, with a focus on Earth’s climate and environmental change.

Header image is of Apusiaajik Glacier, and was taken near Kulusuk, Greenland, on Aug. 26, 2018, during NASA's Oceans Melting Greenland (OMG) field operations. Learn more here . Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech

• ENVIRONMENT

How global warming is disrupting life on Earth

The signs of global warming are everywhere, and are more complex than just climbing temperatures.

Our planet is getting hotter. Since the Industrial Revolution—an event that spurred the use of fossil fuels in everything from power plants to transportation—Earth has warmed by 1 degree Celsius, about 2 degrees Fahrenheit.  

That may sound insignificant, but 2023 was the hottest year on record , and all 10 of the hottest years on record have occurred in the past decade.  

Global warming and climate change are often used interchangeably as synonyms, but scientists prefer to use “climate change” when describing the complex shifts now affecting our planet’s weather and climate systems.  

Climate change encompasses not only rising average temperatures but also natural disasters, shifting wildlife habitats, rising seas , and a range of other impacts. All of these changes are emerging as humans continue to add heat-trapping greenhouse gases , like carbon dioxide and methane, to the atmosphere.

What causes global warming?

When fossil fuel emissions are pumped into the atmosphere, they change the chemistry of our atmosphere, allowing sunlight to reach the Earth but preventing heat from being released into space. This keeps Earth warm, like a greenhouse, and this warming is known as the greenhouse effect .  

Carbon dioxide is the most commonly found greenhouse gas and about 75 percent of all the climate warming pollution in the atmosphere. This gas is a product of producing and burning oil, gas, and coal. About a quarter of Carbon dioxide also results from land cleared for timber or agriculture.  

Methane is another common greenhouse gas. Although it makes up only about 16 percent of emissions, it's roughly 25 times more potent than carbon dioxide and dissipates more quickly. That means methane can cause a large spark in warming, but ending methane pollution can also quickly limit the amount of atmospheric warming. Sources of this gas include agriculture (mostly livestock), leaks from oil and gas production, and waste from landfills.  

What are the effects of global warming?  

One of the most concerning impacts of global warming is the effect warmer temperatures will have on Earth's polar regions and mountain glaciers. The Arctic is warming four times faster than the rest of the planet. This warming reduces critical ice habitat and it disrupts the flow of the jet stream, creating more unpredictable weather patterns around the globe.  

( Learn more about the jet stream. )

A warmer planet doesn't just raise temperatures. Precipitation is becoming more extreme as the planet heats. For every degree your thermometer rises, the air holds about seven percent more moisture. This increase in moisture in the atmosphere can produce flash floods, more destructive hurricanes, and even paradoxically, stronger snow storms.  

The world's leading scientists regularly gather to review the latest research on how the planet is changing. The results of this review is synthesized in regularly published reports known as the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) reports.  

A recent report outlines how disruptive a global rise in temperature can be:

• Coral reefs are now a highly endangered ecosystem. When corals face environmental stress, such as high heat, they expel their colorful algae and turn a ghostly white, an effect known as coral bleaching . In this weakened state, they more easily die.  
• Trees are increasingly dying from drought , and this mass mortality is reshaping forest ecosystems.
• Rising temperatures and changing precipitation patterns are making wildfires more common and more widespread. Research shows they're even moving into the eastern U.S. where fires have historically been less common.
• Hurricanes are growing more destructive and dumping more rain, an effect that will result in more damage. Some scientists say we even need to be preparing for Cat 6 storms . (The current ranking system ends at Cat 5.)

How can we limit global warming?  

Limiting the rising in global warming is theoretically achievable, but politically, socially, and economically difficult.  

Those same sources of greenhouse gas emissions must be limited to reduce warming. For example, oil and gas used to generate electricity or power industrial manufacturing will need to be replaced by net zero emission technology like wind and solar power. Transportation, another major source of emissions, will need to integrate more electric vehicles, public transportation, and innovative urban design, such as safe bike lanes and walkable cities.  

( Learn more about solutions to limit global warming. )

One global warming solution that was once considered far fetched is now being taken more seriously: geoengineering. This type of technology relies on manipulating the Earth's atmosphere to physically block the warming rays of the sun or by sucking carbon dioxide straight out of the sky.

Restoring nature may also help limit warming. Trees, oceans, wetlands, and other ecosystems help absorb excess carbon—but when they're lost, so too is their potential to fight climate change.  

Ultimately, we'll need to adapt to warming temperatures, building homes to withstand sea level rise for example, or more efficiently cooling homes during heat waves.  

Related Topics

• CLIMATE CHANGE
• ENVIRONMENT AND CONSERVATION
• POLAR REGIONS

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Climate Change Powerpoint Presentation Template

Climate change presentation

Transcript: Evidence of global warming Clearing forests also releases large amounts of carbon dioxide. On top of that, plants and trees use it to grow. Worldwide deforestation means we don’t have as many trees to absorb the extra carbon dioxide.This means more of it stays in the atmosphere, trapping more heat. One of the most immediate and obvious effects of global warming is the increase in temperatures around the world. The average global temperature has increased by about 1.4 degrees Fahrenheit (0.8 degrees Celsius) over the past 100 years, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). Effects of global Warming Evidence of global warming Images of global warming Images of global warming Most climate scientists agree the main cause of the current global warming trend is human expansion of the "greenhouse effect"1 — warming that results when the atmosphere traps heat radiating from Earth toward space. Certain gases in the atmosphere block heat from escaping. Since 1970, the area of snow cover in the United States has steadily decreased, according to the EPA, and the average temperature of permafrost (soil that's at or below freezing temperature) has grown warmer.One of the most dramatic effects of global warming is the reduction in Arctic sea ice: In 2012, scientists saw the smallest amount of Arctic ice cover ever recorded. Most analyses project that, within a matter of years, the Arctic Sea will be completely ice-free during the summer months. Since record keeping began in 1895, the hottest year on record for the 48 contiguous U.S. states was 2012. Worldwide, 2012 was also the 10th-warmest year on record, according to NOAA. And nine of the warmest years on record have occurred since 2000. According to NOAA, 2013 tied with 2003 as the fourth warmest year globally since 1880. Detailed measurements of atmospheric carbon dioxide (CO2) levels have been taken continuously for more than 50 years. The data show that CO2 levels have steadily increased every year. Today they are 25 percent higher than in 1957.What's more, scientists have detailed records of past CO2 levels from ice core studies, which show that CO2 levels are higher today than at any point since our distant ancestors began migrating out of Africa 800,000 years ago. Causes of global warming The heat-trapping nature of carbon dioxide and other gases was demonstrated in the mid-19th century. There is no question that increased levels of greenhouse gases must cause the earth to warm. ice cores from greenland, antarctica shows that the earth reaponds to change in the greenhouse levels. Images of global warming Images of global warming Global warming is projected to have a number of effects on the oceans. Ongoing effects include rising sea levels due to thermal expansion and melting of glaciers and ice sheets, and warming of the ocean surface, leading to increased temperature stratification. Images of global warming Effects of global Warming Effects of global Warming Declining sea ice is one of the most visible signs of global warming on our planet. Since 1979, Arctic sea ice extent in September (when the annual minimum is reached) has declined by over 30 percent, according to the National Snow and Ice Data Center. The ice extent has been declining in other seasons, when its not supposed to. Evidence of global warming Effects of global Warming Evidence of global warming Extreme weather is an effect of global warming. While experiencing some of the hottest summers on record, much of the United States also has been experiencing colder than normal winters.Changes in climate can cause the jet stream to migrate south, bringing with it cold, Arctic air. This is why some states can have a sudden cold snap or colder than normal winter, even during the long-term trend of global warming. Causes of global warming Sea-level rise has been happening even faster than scientists anticipated a few years ago. If recent projections are accurate, 2-3°F warming could bring about 3 feet of global sea-level rise by 2100, displacing approximately 56 million people in 84 developing countries around the world. Effects of global Warming Climate change presentation Greenhouse gases are released into the atmosphere in many ways, including through the burning of fossil fuels (such as coal and petroleum) and by deforestation. As some environments warm (e.g. the Arctic tundra) they also release carbon that may have been stored for thousands of years. Quite simply, it hasn't. Even global surface temperatures (which is how Spencer is likely measuring 'global warming', although they only account for about 2% of the Earth's warming), have warmed about 0.2°C over the past 15 years, according to the best available measurements. Evidence of global warming Causes of global warming

Climate Change Presentation

Transcript: photo credit Nasa / Goddard Space Flight Center / Reto Stöckli Climate Change: China has the largest absolute emissions in the world, contributing ~7 gigatonnes of carbon dioxide per year. In absolute terms we see that... ...But the EU-27, with emissions greater than India and Russia combined, constitute the world's third largest emitter, with 4 gigatonnes every year. The second largest emitter is the US, with 5.5 gigatonnes of CO2 emitted per year. So too does Russia, with comparable emissions... A little context on global contributions to climate change... India also makes significant contributions, amounting to just under two gigatonnes of CO2 per year. Any action in the developed world is futile in the face of Asian economic development: a case against.

Transcript: Causes Effects It keeps the Earth's temperature at a comfortable level There is now more precipitationin the arctic because of climate change Member Greenhouse Effect Advantage Tempertures have rose up by about 2 degrees some regions of the acrtic The greenhouse effect is given this name because the effect is similar like in a greenhouse; the heat from the sun is trapped inside by the glass the greenhouse gases have the same property as the glass, infrared radiation cannot pass through them Rising sea levels also shows that there has been change in the Earth's climate Nancy Duong, Sammy Schwab, Ammi Jani Anthropogenic Greenhouse Effect Disadvantages The greenhouse effect is what keeps the heat trapped inside Earth to support life on Earth Without the greenhouse effect, the temperature would drop from 14°C to –18°C Climate Change man-made greenhouse gases; the burning of fossil fuels, can increase the concentration and Earth's temperature If the temperature increases, natural disasters can occur and also the temperature can become unlivable Glaciers are very sensitive to climate change, they can shrink and grow at very fast paces. The Arctic has the most evidence that climate has under gone a significant change (cc) photo by theaucitron on Flickr

Climate Change Powerpoint

Transcript: Off the western coast of the continent Europe lies the United Kingdom, a country made up of both Northern Ireland and Great Britain. This country, which is a combination of islands, is in the eastern Atlantic Ocean. The United Kingdom is English speaking, and ruled under Queen Elizabeth II. These charts, which show the average temperatures and precipitations in the year 1990, give the approximate rainfall per year to be 12 degree Celsius per month, and the precipitation to be 8 days a month, or 567 mm in the year. Severe weather patterns have been occurring constantly throughout the years, as many instances have been recorded equally between 1990 and 2012. Impacts of Climate Change in the Region Current Climate Information Like any other country, the United Kingdom is affected everyday from differences in climate, whether in temperature, precipitation, or in storms. As both the average temperature and precipitation increases, which is proven in the previous slides, this country not only undergoes a rise in sea level and heat, but a change in humidity, and flooding. As more water both comes in and is evaporated by heat, humidity stretches over the United Kingdom to cause effects on plant growth, and surface temperature. As crops decrease, so then does food for livestock, causing a lack of food for both the animal and people. Heat then also brings an environment for unwanted bugs or pests to succeed in, such as the flea, mosquito, and cockroach, who may all cause disease. Tropical storms, which may build from the wind of the ocean, are also affected by climate change on the coasts of the country as evaporation and high waves causes a swirl by the wind which could lead to tornado or hurricane. United Kingdom Climate Change These graphs, which explain the average temperature and precipitation patterns for the United Kingdom in 2012, are ways in which to explain the weather. In terms of temperature, an average of 14 degrees Celsius occurred per month, while 588 mm was the average rainfall in the year. Both records differ throughout the months, however remain approximately in the same range. Severe weather patterns also effect the United Kingdom, as each month may bring a new storm. Although storms may sometimes be unexpected, this gives no regular times for weather to come, yet the waters which surround the country bring constant fear for tropical storms such as tornadoes or hurricanes in the summer months. Summary In summary to my findings, I have realized that over a period of 12 years, temperature patterns have increased by 2 degrees per month, while precipitation patterns have increased by 24 mm per year. Throughout the years, however, tropical storms and weather have remained a common happening within the country. Many different problems can be affected by climate change, such as lack of crop growth for both people and livestock, a weather for pests to succeed in, flooding, sea level rise, and many others. Over time, these may cause huge affects on the planet as climate change increasing becomes a worse problem. Although somethings may be out of the human population's hands, small changes can be made to slowly deteriorate climate change. These could be transportation means, recycling and garbage, or pollution through factories and manufacturing. Together, as both smoke and polluted extract reaches the atmosphere, causes in temperature can be made which affect our planet. As a population, alterations can easily be set forth to both achieve and successfully reach a goal to control climate change. Past Climate Information Location of the United Kingdom

Transcript: Engaging Citizens in reducing the carbon footprint of BC communities Long Term Thinking Broad in scope co-ordinated across community collaborative networks through community a "living" plan target and track results Results of competitions support community goals and and - calculators + validation process PERSONAL efforts by citizens elders citizen accounts - personal inputs to system club accounts - club inputs challenge accounts - terms of challenges Pacific Institute For Climate Solutions Cap and Trade Revenue Competition as motivator make it fun Use existing facilitators who know community accurate metrics User-friendly! FUN Bottom-up Community Development Expanded - online challenge admin system -- sets goals -- creates metrics -- provides facilitation Engage & support existing community networks Expertise "Smart Planning for Communities" many data sets disaggregated by community - priorities, citizen dialogue + voting Existing Networks Government: Our system supports Interactive monitoring of results relevant narratives from users to share ideas organized by concepts & 'hood build in useful apps & calculators & display results to communities "Social Mobilization Workshop Report" not PERFECTION experts Apartment building residents high school teams soccer moms company employees Contests neighbourhoods Motivate common Community * data visualized & interactive * interactive maps * data with narratives Brainstorming: Project Design - node view supports social infrastructure provides resources We'd love to develop a detailed proposal for the Climate Action Secretariat software designed for community engagement Competition among similar entities: employees of Bank "A" challenge those of Bank "B" would contribute to improve Goal publicity, success stories competition stories provide special access to data & stories insures inclusivity for all prizes, recognition initially "priming the pump" are our team has the facilitate networking Community "A" challenges others tracking tool keeps track of entity in multiple competitions validation process authenticates individual efforts semantic framework We have the right stuff! activities credible metrics more calculators wider tracking public to add ideas Inspire Grass Roots solutions Citizen engagement Individual efforts may be small but... citzens of their communities united interest creation of coefficients is a key task Climate Change Data Catalogue - citizens stories about experiences inspired new solutions engage everyone Narratives results reports and analysis Community Facilitation Inspired diverse Green commuter challenge i.e. Parks & Rec staff... pay an honorarium many new everyday tasks Get support of local media social mobilization can add up! Local Media to report on successes prize is recognition focus all on a Fraser Basin Council aggregate individuals' efforts Method: such benefit will cap Trade learn If proposed methods can be proven Community Facilitators support of community media in context of community goals Participants Facilitators develop "entity competitions" Competitions

Climate Change presentation

Transcript: While the Earth's Temperature rises naturally, humans are helping it, and making it worse. We have added a lot of green house gasses to our atmosphere, helping the temperature of the earth rise. Conclusion One major affect of global climate change, is the melting of the glaciers. The melting of these glaciers will affect the lives of animals, and also cause a rise in ocean water, creating floods. This will ruin many peoples homes, and lives. The melting of the glaciers become more noticeable as time passed. The earth started getting warmer, melting the glaciers. 1. The rising temperatures of the earth will have a direct affect on me. 2. The rising temperatures make the El Nino and la Nina years worse. An El Nino year is when parts of the ocean are hotter than normal, an El Nino year is when parts of the ocean are colder. 3. Climate change makes these years worse, affecting the weather and climate of where I live. 1. Studies have shown that the glaciers have been melting since 1850. 2. Currently, all glaciers are showing less mass than they have been before, and are melting. Data There is another aspect of climate change, though it wont directly affect me, I'm still concerned about Data Background Information Climate Change presentation By Courtney Douglas Climate Change Will Have a Direct Impact on My Life 1. The glacier cover on Mount Kilimanjaro has retreated 75%. 2. The volume of the glacier is now 80% less than it was a century ago. Conclusion Global climate change is a real issue, caused by real people, that needs real attention. If we continue to ignore the dangerous side affects of the global climate change, things could be very dangerous for humans, plants, animals, and the earth itself. People must be made aware, so that things can change, and life can become healthier. 1. Rising levels of CO2 in the atmosphere is dangerous for everything and everyone. 2. Rising CO2 are causing many health issues for people and even loss of life, for some. 3. Rising CO2 levels are causing our atmosphere to deplete. 4. Rising CO2 levels are causing harm to plants and animals. Background Information The glaciers are melting because of global climate change. The earth is warming because of our actions, and the glaciers melting is a consequence. There is documented proof of their melting since 1850. The melting of these glaciers will cause a loss of life, homes, fresh water that is available, and mountain climbing/viewing.. Date The earth is 5x warmer now, than it was a century ago. It is estimated that in 2036, earth will reach her boiling point... The earth's temperature has lowered 1.4 degrees since 1850. Date

Transcript: Deforestation and the destruction of rainforests have a huge affect on climate change. Trees absorb CO2 from the air as they grow. Using energy from the sun, they turn the carbon captured from the CO2 molecules into building blocks for their trunks, branches and foliage. This is all part of the carbon cycle. A mature forest doesn't necessarily absorb much more CO2 that it releases, however, because when each tree dies it either rots down or is burned, much of its stored carbon is released once again. In other words, Human activities contribute to climate change by causing changes in the Earth's atmosphere in the amount of greenhouse gases, small particles and cloudiness. Greenhouse gases and aerosols (small particles) affect climate change by changing incoming solar radiation and out going infrared radiation that are part of Earth’s energy balance. Changing the properties of these gases and particles can lead to a warming or cooling of the climate system. Human Causes How do humans affect climate change? When humans burn gasoline, coal, natural gas, and other common fuels to make electricity or drive cars, they release a large amount of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere. For every gallon (or liter) of gasoline your car burns, 1300 times that volume of CO2 is released (a gallon of gas weighs about 6 pounds or 2.8 kilograms, but the released CO2 would weigh over 19 pounds or 8.75 kilograms). Climate Change talking about climate change, the most important thing about CO2 levels. - Pollution created by human activities - Carbon dioxide and other pollutants Other ways humans impact climate change Climate change has already had noticeable effects on the environment. Glaciers have shrunk, ice on rivers and lakes are breaking up earlier than suppose to, plant and animal ranges have shifted and trees are flowering sooner. Effects that scientists had predicted in the past would result from climate change are now occurring: loss of sea ice, accelerated sea level rise and longer, more intense heat waves. Decreased water resources in many semi-arid areas, including western U.S. and Mediterranean basin, increased frequency of hot extremes, heat waves and heavy precipitation, precipitation increases in high latitudes and precipitation decreases in subtropical land regions all have a high certainty on occurring in the future due to scientists predicaments. By: Nikolas and Rebecca Greenhouses: References: result from the burning of coal to All of the next three slides/ photos shown on your left focus on the adverse effects of climate change that have already happened or have a high risk of happening in the future. What can we do to help? produce electricity. As individuals we could help fix climate change by recycling, driving less, car pooling, using less water than what's needed for you and using less energy. As a society we could organize a protest on parliament where a group of people go and give their opinion on climate change and what we could do to help. forests is not that they reduce the amount of CO2 in the air but that they are huge reservoirs of stored carbon. If such a forest is burned or cleared then much of that carbon is released back into the atmosphere, adding to atmospheric Human Activities: Since the start of the industrial era (about 1750), the overall effect of human activities on climate change has been a warming influence. The human impact on climate during this era exceeds largely that due to known changes in natural action, such as solar changes and volcanic eruptions. Adverse Effects on Climate Change - Electricity generated at power plants is carried by power lines to users, sometimes hundreds of miles away. becoming worse. Conclusion Cars affecting climate change: Forest and Forestry: In conclusion, humans have a high impact on climate change and how our environment is till this day. Also, the harmful affects on climate change for the future are very high on our climate Continuation from last slide: http://www.ipcc.ch/publications_and_data/publications_and_data_reports.shtml#.Ut2eXHn0B1M http://ncse.com/climate/climate-change-101/how-much-human-responsibility-for-climate-change http://climate.nasa.gov/effects https://docs.google.com/a/ocsb.ca/viewer?a=v&pid=sites&srcid=ZGVmYXVsdGRvbWFpbnxtYXRobWFuaGVyYnl8Z3g6MjE3YTRkNTgxOGI2MWQ0OQ

Transcript: BORING TITLE FOR AN EXCITING TALK ABOUT CLIMATE CHANGE WHO KNOWS WHAT CLIMATE CHANGE IS? IT IS... The Goldilocks Effect Climate change refers to a change in the state of the climate that can be identified (e.g., by using statistical tests) by changes in the mean and/or the variability of its properties, and that persists for an extended period, typically decades or longer. Climate change may be due to natural internal processes or external forcings, or to persistent anthropogenic changes in the composition of the atmosphere or in land use. Just how warm...? 3-5° F by 2050 Just how high? 7-12 inches by 2050 Populus sp. All images courtesy of Estelle Levetin except Fagus sp. (ssb.plymouth.ac.uk) Ambrosia sp. Venus 863° Betula sp. Ulmus sp. Mars -82° Acer sp. BRIAN KAHN JULIE ARRIGHI CYNTHIA THOMSON Fraxinus sp. Fagus sp. Platanus sp. Quercus sp. Carya sp. Poaceae Earth 58° http://j.mp/MarchHeatwave

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Science Leads the Future

Are We Entering The Golden Age Of Climate Modeling?

Alumni push universities forward on climate, indoor air pollution in the time of coronavirus, how an unlikely friendship upended permafrost myths, the alarming rise of predatory conferences, science leads the future, and the future is now.

Has this happened to you? You are presenting the latest research about climate change to a general audience, maybe at the town library, to a local journalist, or even in an introductory science class. After presenting the solid science about greenhouse gases, how they work, and how we are changing them, you conclude with “and this is what the models predict about our climate future…”

At that point, your audience may feel they are being asked to make a leap of faith. Having no idea how the models work or what they contain and leave out, this final and crucial step becomes to them a “trust me” moment. Trust me moments can be easy to deny.

This problem has not been made easier by a recent expansion in the number of models and the range of predictions presented in the literature. One recent study making this point is that of Hausfather et al. [2022], which presents the “hot model” problem: the fact that some of the newer models in the Coupled Model Intercomparison Project Phase 6 (CMIP6) model comparison yield predictions of global temperatures that are above the range presented in the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change’s (IPCC) Sixth Assessment Report (AR6). The authors present a number of reasons for, and solutions to, the hot model problem.

Models are crucial in advancing any field of science. They represent a state-of-the-art summary of what the community understands about its subject. Differences among models highlight unknowns on which new research can be focused.

But Hausfather and colleagues make another point: As questions are answered and models evolve, they should also converge. That is, they should not only reproduce past measurements, but they should also begin to produce similar projections into the future. When that does not happen, it can make trust me moments even less convincing.

Are there simpler ways to make the major points about climate change, especially to general audiences, without relying on complex models?

We think there are.

Old Predictions That Still Hold True

In a recent article in Eos , Andrei Lapenis retells the story of Mikhail Budyko ’s 1972 predictions about global temperature and sea ice extent [ Budyko , 1972]. Lapenis notes that those predictions have proven to be remarkably accurate. This is a good example of effective, long-term predictions of climate change that are based on simple physical mechanisms that are relatively easy to explain.

There are many other examples that go back more than a century. These simpler formulations don’t attempt to capture the spatial or temporal detail of the full models, but their success at predicting the overall influence of rising carbon dioxide (CO 2 ) on global temperatures makes them a still-relevant, albeit mostly overlooked, resource in climate communication and even climate prediction.

One way to make use of this historical record is to present the relative consistency over time in estimates of equilibrium carbon sensitivity (ECS), the predicted change in mean global temperature expected from a doubling of atmospheric CO 2 . ECS can be presented in straightforward language, maybe even without the name and acronym, and is an understandable concept.

Estimates of ECS can be traced back for more than a century (Table 1), showing that the relationship between CO 2 in the atmosphere and Earth’s radiation and heat balance, as an expression of a simple and straightforward physical process, has been understood for a very long time. We can now measure that balance with precision [e.g., Loeb et al. , 2021], and measurements and modeling using improved technological expertise have all affirmed this scientific consistency.

Table 1. Selected Historical Estimates of Equilibrium Carbon Sensitivity (ECS)

Date	Author	ECS (°C)	Notes
1908	Svante Arrhenius	4	In , Arrhenius also described a nonlinear relationship between CO and temperature.
1938		2	Predictions were based on infrared absorption by CO , but in the absence of feedbacks involving water vapor.
1956		3.6	A simple climate model was used to estimate ECS. Plass also accurately predicted changes by 2000 in both CO concentration and global temperature.
1967		2.3	Predictions were derived from the first climate model to incorporate convection.
1979		2–3.5	The results were based on a summary of the state of research on climate change. The authors also concluded that they could not find any overlooked or underestimated physical effects that could alter that range.
1990 to present		3 (2.5–4)	Numerous IPCC reports have generated estimates of ECS that have not changed significantly across the 30-year IPCC history.
2022		2.5–4	ECS was derived by weighting models based on their historical accuracy when calculating multimodel averages.
2022		2.8	A simple equation derived from [1908] was applied to the Keeling curve and GISS temperature data set.

Settled Science

Another approach for communicating with general audiences is to present an abbreviated history demonstrating that we have known the essentials of climate change for a very long time—that the basics are settled science.

The following list is a vastly oversimplified set of four milestones in the history of climate science that we have found to be effective. In a presentation setting, this four-step outline also provides a platform for a more detailed discussion if an audience wants to go there.

• 1850s: Eunice Foote observes that, when warmed by sunlight, a cylinder filled with CO 2 attained higher temperatures and cooled more slowly than one filled with ambient air, leading her to conclude that higher concentrations of CO 2 in the atmosphere should increase Earth’s surface temperature [ Foote , 1856]. While not identifying the greenhouse effect mechanism, this may be the first statement in the scientific literature linking CO 2 to global temperature. Three years later, John Tyndall separately develops a method for measuring the absorbance of infrared radiation and demonstrates that CO 2 is an effective absorber (acts as a greenhouse gas) [ Tyndall , 1859 ; 1861 ]. 
• 1908: Svante Arrhenius describes a nonlinear response to increased CO 2 based on a year of excruciating hand calculations actually performed in 1896 [ Arrhenius , 1896]. His value for ECS is 4°C (Table 1), and the nonlinear response has been summarized in a simple one-parameter model .
• 1958: Charles Keeling establishes an observatory on Mauna Loa in Hawaii. He begins to construct the “ Keeling curve ” based on measurements of atmospheric CO 2 concentration over time. It is amazing how few people in any audience will have seen this curve.
• Current: The GISS data set of global mean temperature from NASA’s Goddard Institute for Space Studies records the trajectory of change going back decades to centuries using both direct measurements and environmental proxies.

The last three of these steps can be combined graphically to show how well the simple relationship derived from Arrhenius ’s [1908] projections, driven by CO 2 data from the Keeling curve, predicts the modern trend in global average temperature (Figure 1). The average error in this prediction is only 0.081°C, or 8.1 hundredths of a degree.

A surprise to us was that this relationship can be made even more precise by adding the El Niño index (November–January (NDJ) from the previous year) as a second predictor. The status of the El Niño–Southern Oscillation ( ENSO ) system has been known to affect global mean temperature as well as regional weather patterns. With this second term added , the average error in the prediction drops to just over 0.06°C, or 6 one hundredths of a degree.

It is also possible to extend this simple analysis into the future using the same relationship and IPCC AR6 projections for CO 2 and “assessed warming” (results from four scenarios combined; Figure 2).

Although CO 2 is certainly not the only cause of increased warming, it provides a powerful index of the cumulative changes we are making to Earth’s climate system.

A presentation built around the consistency of equilibrium carbon sensitivity estimates does not deliver a complete understanding of the changes we are causing in the climate system, but the relatively simple, long-term historical perspective can be an effective way to tell the story.

In this regard, it is interesting that the “Summary for Policy Makers” [ Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change , 2021] from the most recent IPCC science report also includes a figure (Figure SPM.10, p. 28) that captures both measured past and predicted future global temperature change as a function of cumulative CO 2 emissions alone. Given that the fraction of emissions remaining in the atmosphere over time has been relatively constant, this is equivalent to the relationship with concentration presented here. That figure also presents the variation among the models in predicted future temperatures, which is much greater than the measurement errors in the GISS and Keeling data sets that underlie the relationship in Figure 1.

A presentation built around the consistency of ECS estimates and the four steps clearly does not deliver a complete understanding of the changes we are causing in the climate system, but the relatively simple, long-term historical perspective can be an effective way to tell the story of those changes.

Past Performance and Future Results

Projecting the simple model used in Figure 1 into the future (Figure 2) assumes that the same factors that have made CO 2 alone such a good index to climate change to date will remain in place. But we know there are processes at work in the world that could break this relationship.

For example, some sources now see the electrification of the economic system, including transportation, production, and space heating and cooling, as part of the path to a zero-carbon economy [e.g., Gates , 2021]. But there is one major economic sector in which energy production is not the dominant process for greenhouse gas emissions and carbon dioxide is not the major greenhouse gas. That sector is agriculture.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture has estimated that agriculture currently accounts for about 10% of total U.S. greenhouse gas emissions, with nitrous oxide (N 2 O) and methane (CH 4 ) being major contributors to that total. According to the EPA (Figure 3), agriculture contributes 79% of N 2 O emissions in the United States, largely from the production and application of fertilizers (agricultural soil management) as well as from manure management, and 36% of CH 4 emissions (enteric fermentation and manure management—one might add some of the landfill emissions to that total as well).

If we succeed in moving nonagricultural sectors of the economy toward a zero-carbon state, the relationship in Figures 1 and 2 will be broken. The rate of overall climate warming would be reduced significantly, but N 2 O and CH 4 would begin to play a more dominant role in driving continued greenhouse gas warming of the planet, and we will then need more complex models than the one used for Figures 1 and 2. But just how complex?

In his recent book Life Is Simple , biologist Johnjoe McFadden traces the influence across the centuries of William of Occam (~1287–1347) and Occam’s razor as a concept in the development of our physical understanding of everything from the cosmos to the subatomic structure of matter [ McFadden , 2021]. One simple statement of Occam’s razor is, Entities should not be multiplied without necessity.

This is a simple and powerful statement: Explain a set of measurements with as few parameters, or entities, as possible. But the definition of necessity can change when the goals of a model or presentation change. The simple model used in Figures 1 and 2 tells us nothing about tomorrow’s weather or the rate of sea level rise or the rate of glacial melt. But for as long as the relationship serves to capture the role of CO 2 as an accurate index of changes in mean global temperature, it can serve the goal of making plain to general audiences that there are solid, undeniable scientific reasons why climate change is happening.

Getting the Message Across

When and if the simple relationship derived from Arrhenius’s calculations does fail as an accurate index of changes in mean global temperature, it will still provide a useful platform for explaining what has happened and why.

If we move toward an electrified economy and toward zero-carbon sources of electricity, the simple relationship derived from Arrhenius’s calculations will no longer serve that function. But when and if it does fail, it will still provide a useful platform for explaining what has happened and why. Perhaps there will be another, slightly more complex model for predicting and explaining climate change that involves three gases.

No matter how our climate future evolves, simpler and more accessible presentations of climate change science will always rely on and begin with our current understanding of the climate system. Complex, detailed models will be central to predicting our climate future (Figure 2 here would not be possible without them), but we will be more effective communicators if we can discern how best to simplify that complexity when presenting the essentials of climate science to general audiences.

Arrhenius, S. (1896), On the influence of carbonic acid in the air upon temperature of the ground, Philos. Mag. J. Sci. , Ser. 5 , 41 , 237–276, https://doi.org/10.1080/14786449608620846 .

Arrhenius, S. (1908), Worlds in the Making: The Evolution of the Universe , translated by H. Borns, 228 pp., Harper, New York.

Budyko, M. I. (1972), Man’s Impact on Climate [in Russian], Gidrometeoizdat, St. Petersburg, Russia.

Foote, E. (1856), Circumstances affecting the heat of the Sun’s rays,  Am. J. Sci. Arts ,  22 (66), 382–383,  ia800802.us.archive.org/4/items/mobot31753002152491/mobot31753002152491.pdf .

Gates, B. (2021), How to Avoid a Climate Disaster , 257 pp., Alfred A. Knopf, New York.

Hausfather, Z., et al. (2022), Climate simulations: Recognize the ‘hot model’ problem, Nature , 605 , 26–29, https://doi.org/10.1038/d41586-022-01192-2 .

Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (2021), Summary for policymakers, in Climate Change 2021: The Physical Science Basis—Contribution of Working Group I to the Sixth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change , edited by V. Masson-Delmotte et al., pp. 3–32, Cambridge Univ. Press, Cambridge, U.K., and New York, https://www.ipcc.ch/report/ar6/wg1/downloads/report/IPCC_AR6_WGI_SPM.pdf .

Loeb, N. G., et al. (2021), Satellite and ocean data reveal marked increase in Earth’s heating rate, Geophys. Res. Lett. , 48 (13), e2021GL093047, https://doi.org/10.1029/2021GL093047 .

McFadden, J. (2021), Life Is Simple: How Occam’s Razor Set Science Free and Shapes the Universe , 376 pp., Basic Books, New York.

Tyndall, J. (1859), Note on the transmission of radiant heat through gaseous bodies,  Proc. R. Soc. London ,  10 , 37–39,  https://www.jstor.org/stable/111604 . 

Tyndall, J. (1861), I. The Bakerian Lecture.—On the absorption and radiation of heat by gases and vapours, and on the physical connexion of radiation, absorption, and conduction, Philos. Trans. R. Soc. London , 151 , https://doi.org/10.1098/rstl.1861.0001 .

Author Information

John Aber ( [email protected] ) and Scott V. Ollinger, Department of Natural Resources and the Environment and the Institute for the Study of Earth, Oceans, and Space, University of New Hampshire, Durham

Update, 26 September 2022: This article has been updated to include the early contribution of Eunice Foote in the study of CO 2 and its effects on Earth’s climate.

Citation:  Aber, J., and S. V. Ollinger (2022), Simpler presentations of climate change,  Eos, 103, https://doi.org/10.1029/2022EO220444 . Published on 13 September 2022.

Text © 2022. the authors.  cc by-nc-nd 3.0 except where otherwise noted, images are subject to copyright. any reuse without express permission from the copyright owner is prohibited., features from agu publications, ocean spray is relatively lifeless, future global flood hazards at unprecedented accuracy, lifting the veil of journal editing.

Global warming frequently asked questions

] Earth’s average surface temperature has risen by 1.8°F (1.0°C) since the late 1800s, an average rate of 0.13° F (0.07° C) per decade. Since 1981, the rate of warming has more than doubled to 0.32°F (0.18°C) per decade. The six warmest years in the 1880–2020 record have all occurred since 2014, while 19 of the 20 warmest years have occurred since 2001.  ] With significant reductions in the emissions of greenhouse gases, the annual global surface temperature rise this century could be limited to 3.6°F (2°C) or less. Without major reductions in these emissions, the increase in annual average global temperatures relative to preindustrial times could reach 9°F (5°C) or more by the end of this century. ] Learn more and .

] Thanks to natural climate variability, volcanic eruptions, and to a smaller extent, low solar activity, the rate of average global warming from 1998–2013 was slower than it had been over the two preceding decades. Such varations in the rate of warming from decade to decade are common. ] Meanwhile, excess heat continued to accumulate in the deeper layers of the ocean, contributing to marine heat waves and sea level rise. ] The slowdown in surface warming was only temporary, however, as the six warmest years in recorded history have all occurred after 2013. ] Learn more and

. and and . . ] Carbon dioxide, methane, nitrous oxide, ozone, and various chlorofluorocarbons are all human-emitted . Among these, carbon dioxide is of greatest concern to scientists because it exerts a larger overall warming influence than the .

At present, humans are putting an estimated 9.5 billion metric tons of carbon into the atmosphere each year by burning fossil fuels, and another 1.5 billion through deforestation and other land cover changes. Of this human-produced carbon, forests and other vegetation absorb around 3.2 billion metric tons per year, while the ocean absorbs about 2.5 billion metric tons per year. A net 5 billion metric tons of human-produced carbon remain in the atmosphere each year, raising the global average carbon dioxide concentrations by about 2.3 parts per million per year. Since 1750, humans have increased the abundance of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere by nearly 50 percent. ]  .

and ?

generally refers to the long-term increase in global average temperature as a result of human activity. Climate change is a much broader term that covers changes in multiple parts of the climate system, from temperature to precipitation to wind patterns. Climate change can be local, regional, or global, and it can have natural or human causes. Global warming is a type of climate change; however, not all climate change is global warming. .

] When different teams of climate scientists in different agencies (e.g., NOAA and NASA) and in other countries (e.g., the U.K.’s Hadley Centre) average these data together, they all find essentially the same result: Earth’s average surface temperature has risen by about 1.8°F (1.0°C) since 1880. ]

In addition to our surface station data, we have many different lines of evidence that Earth is warming ( ). Birds are migrating earlier, and their migration patterns are changing. and are moving north. Plants are blooming earlier in the spring. Mountain glaciers are melting and snow cover is declining in the Northern Hemisphere (Learn more and ). Greenland’s ice sheet—which holds about 8 percent of Earth’s fresh water—is melting at an accelerating rate ( ). Mean global sea level is rising ( ). Arctic sea ice is declining rapidly in both thickness and extent ( ).

We know this warming is largely caused by human activities because the key role that carbon dioxide plays in maintaining Earth’s natural greenhouse effect has been understood since the mid-1800s. Unless it is offset by some equally large cooling influence, more atmospheric carbon dioxide will lead to warmer surface temperatures. Since 1800, the amount of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere from about 280 parts per million to 410 ppm in 2019. We know from both its rapid increase and its isotopic “fingerprint” that the source of this new carbon dioxide is fossil fuels, and not natural sources like forest fires, volcanoes, or outgassing from the ocean.

Finally, no other known climate influences have changed enough to account for the observed warming trend. Taken together, these and other lines of evidence point squarely to human activities as the cause of recent global warming.

] In addition, fossil fuels are the only source of carbon consistent with the of the carbon present in today’s atmosphere. That analysis indicates it must be coming from terrestrial plant matter, and it must be very, very old. These and other lines of evidence leave no doubt that fossil fuels are the primary source of the carbon dioxide building up in Earth’s atmosphere.

] [ ] [ ] [ ]

This scientific consensus is clearly summarized in the climate assessment reports of the U.S. Global Change Research Program and the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. ] [ ] [ ] NOAA scientists played lead roles in authoring and editing both sets of reports.

Additionally, the United States’ foremost science agencies and organizations have all recognized global warming as a human-caused problem that threatens human and natural systems and, therefore, should be addressed. These agencies and organizations include (but are not limited to) ; the ; the ; the ; the ; the ; the ; the ; the ; and the .

is the short-term atmospheric conditions at a given location on a specific day and time. is usually described as the long-term average weather at a given place, but it the range of weather conditions that are possible at a given place, including the types and historical frequency of extreme events that occur there. By analogy, if the outcome of any given at-bat is like the weather, then a baseball player’s career batting average is like the climate. There’s an old saying: “Climate is what you expect; weather is what you get.”

Another way to think about the difference between weather and climate is to say that a region’s climate is the background conditions that give rise to a location’s weather events. Because all weather occurs within Earth’s climate system, changes in the background state of the climate system can make different weather outcomes more or less likely to happen. For example, during the period from 1997-2018, the percentage area of the globe that experienced record-setting warm temperatures dwarfed the percentage area of the globe that experienced record-setting cold temperatures. ] This was a predictable set of weather outcomes due to global warming. .

conditions and climate is about conditions. Climate models are not trying, for example, to forecast the daytime high temperature in Chicago, IL, on August 15, 2035. They are trying to forecast the daytime high temperature for the of August over the entire of the 2030s. And while the exact weather conditions at a given location can change dramatically from hour to hour, the average changes much less from year to year or even decade to decade. The difference in time scale means that our ability to predict future climate doesn’t depend on our ability to predict next week’s weather.

Not only are weather models predicting different things than climate models, they require different kinds of starting information. Modelers call weather forecasting an problem because, at short time scales, the future atmospheric conditions depend mostly on the initial atmospheric conditions. The accuracy of your forecast for a given location depends heavily on how well you can describe these initial conditions, especially in the surrounding area.

In contrast, most modelers describe a climate projection as a problem because at long time scales (years to decades), future climate depends mostly on big-picture characteristics of the Earth system that don’t vary from day to day: the amount of land and ocean surface, the height and location of mountain ranges, the geometry of Earth’s orbit, and—crucially—the composition of the global atmosphere. These things define the boundaries of the climate system, the relatively narrow range of outcomes that are possible over long time frames.

These fundamental differences between weather models and climate models, in both what they are trying to predict and what those predictions depend on, mean that the quality of a weather forecast two weeks out isn’t a good test of how well we can predict the climate two decades out.

since the mid-1800s. The more greenhouse gases in the atmosphere, the more heat energy the atmosphere traps near the surface ( ), causing Earth’s surface temperature to rise.

The initial warming due to increasing carbon dioxide kicks off several feedback loops: more water vapor, which is a powerful greenhouse gas; permafrost thaw and decomposition, which releases more methane and carbon dioxide; loss of sea ice and snow, which reduces the amount of sunlight the Earth reflects; and outgassing of additional carbon dioxide from the ocean. Together, these feedback loops make the actual warming two or more times larger than it would be due to carbon dioxide increases alone. ]

] So in terms of total warming, water vapor is the most important greenhouse gas. But without the background warmth provided by carbon dioxide—which doesn’t condense and rain out of the atmosphere as water vapor does—the atmosphere would be too cold to support much water vapor, and the entire greenhouse effect would collapse. Models indicate Earth would likely freeze over everywhere but the equator. ] So in terms of making the greenhouse effect , carbon dioxide is the most important greenhouse gas.

As the most abundant of the non-condensing , carbon dioxide is the main control knob—the thermostat—of Earth’s greenhouse effect. ] Increases in atmospheric carbon dioxide from human activities are turning the thermostat up. As surface temperatures rise, more water evaporates, enhancing the initial warming. This water vapor feedback loop is powerful, at least doubling the warming provided by carbon dioxide alone. ] [ ] [ ] But water vapor can’t act on its own to cause climate change; it can only amplify a change caused by the non-condensing greenhouse gases or other climate influences, such as variations in incoming sunlight. That means that when it comes to causing global warming, carbon dioxide is without question the most important greenhouse gas.

]  ]  ]  ] It was partly through their attempts to understand previous ice ages that climate scientists came to understand the dominant role that carbon dioxide plays in Earth’s climate system, and the role it is playing in current global warming. Learn more and .

Over at least the past million years, have been triggered by in how much sunlight reaches the Northern Hemisphere in the summer, which are driven by small variations in the geometry of Earth’s orbit around the Sun. But these fluctuations in sunlight aren’t enough on their own to bring about full-blown ice ages and interglacials. They trigger several that amplify the original warming or cooling. During an interglacial,

These feedbacks until the Earth’s orbit goes through a phase during which the amount of Northern Hemisphere summer sunlight is minimized. Then these feedbacks operate in reverse, reinforcing the cooling trend.

During all the ice ages that have occurred over at least the past million years, these opposing branches of the carbon cycle have kept the atmospheric carbon dioxide level at or below 300 parts per million (ppm). ] , that level is close to 410 ppm. Not only is this the highest carbon dioxide has been during all of human civilization, it has reached these levels virtually instantaneously in geologic time frames. During ice age cycles of the past, a change this large would likely have taken thousands of years to occur.

This extremely rapid build-up of carbon dioxide is happening because humans are putting carbon dioxide into the atmosphere faster than natural sinks can remove it. By burning fossil fuels, we have essentially taken millions of years of carbon uptake by plants and returned it to the atmosphere in . ]

] to perhaps as much as 0.6 billion metric tons ], whereas human activities have been releasing more than 30 billion metric tons of carbon dioxide per year ] 

up to 0.1°C of the 1.0°C (1.8°F) of warming observed since the pre-industrial era. ] However, there has been no significant net change in the Sun’s energy output from the late 1970s to the present, which is when we have observed the most rapid global warming. .

A second reason that scientists have ruled out a significant role for the Sun in global warming is that if the Sun’s energy output had intensified, we would expect all layers of Earth’s atmosphere to have warmed. But we don’t see that. Rather, satellites and observations from weather balloons show warming in the lower atmosphere (troposphere) and cooling in the upper stratosphere (stratosphere)—which is exactly what we would expect to see as a result of increasing greenhouse gases trapping heat in the lower atmosphere. ] Scientists regard this piece of evidence as one of several “smoking guns” linking today’s global warming to human-emitted, heat-trapping gases.

are smaller than the warming influence of the heat-trapping gases humans put into the air. ]

Our greatest cooling influence comes from particulate pollution (aerosols) we produce. We put plumes of aerosols into the air from power plants and industrial smokestacks; smoke and gases from biomass burning; windblown dust from deforested areas, dried wetlands, and crop fields; exhaust from ships’ smokestacks; tailpipe emissions from cars, trucks, buses, and trains; etc. Aerosol particles absorb and reflect the sun’s rays, thereby reducing the amount of sunlight reaching Earth’s surface. They also interact with clouds, in many cases making them brighter and longer-lived, also reducing the amount of sunlight reaching the surface. .

Whereas aerosols linger in the atmosphere from days to a few weeks, heat-trapping gases that we add to the atmosphere linger from decades to centuries. Plus, when scientists discovered that our aerosol emissions were causing other undesired harmful side effects—such as acid rain and human respiratory diseases and deaths—we began to regulate and reduce their emission. Thus, the warming effect of our heat-trapping gases is ultimately winning out over the cooling influence of our particle pollution. .

makes it harder for shell-building marine life—including commercially and culturally valuable species such as coral, crabs, and oysters—to build and maintain their shells. ]

Because of its tremendous volume and high heat capacity, the ocean has absorbed more than 90 percent of all excess heat trapped in Earth's climate system by greenhouse gases. Currents mix much of that heat into deeper layers of the ocean, delaying the full impact of surface warming we would otherwise expect. However, the heating of deeper layers of the ocean still contributes to sea level rise, sea ice retreat, marine heatwaves, oxygen depletion and expanding dead zones, shifts in the ranges of several marine species, and accelerating loss of polar ice shelves. ]

and not necessarily in all seasons. It’s like your grades—if you get Bs and Cs in your first semester and in the next semester you get all As and Cs, your overall grade point average rises even though you didn’t improve in every class. Differences in exposure to sunlight, cloud cover, atmospheric circulation patterns, aerosol concentrations, atmospheric humidity, land surface cover, etc., all vary from place to place which, in turn, influence whether and how much a location is warming or cooling. Learn more , , , and .

Generally speaking, an extreme event is any event that ranks in the highest or lowest 5 percent or 10 percent of all historical observations of that type of event. The percentage threshold is arbitrary and is designated by a researcher to provide context on a given event or set of events.

Scientists sometimes describe extreme events in terms of their “sigmas” (or their “standard deviation”), which is a measure of how far removed an individual value is from the average of all observations in a data set. So, if a climate expert describes a heavy rain event as a “5-sigma event,” s/he is talking about rainfall so extreme that it was 5 standard deviations away from the average rainfall for that location—way out at the tail end of the range of all values that have ever been observed. .

Another way of characterizing an extreme event is by describing the probability of occurrence in a given span of time. Based on historical observations, experts to estimate the range of all possible events that we would eventually expect to observe if our data record was long enough. From this range of all possible values, they can pinpoint how frequently a particular value would be expected to recur within a given amount of time. For example, 100-year event means an event is so extreme that it has only a 1 percent chance (1 divided by 100) of happening in any given year. A thousand-year event has a 0.1 percent chance of happening in any single year (1 divided by 1,000). .

 by global warming. However, over the past decade, that climate change due to global warming has made many extreme events more likely, more intense, longer-lasting, or larger in scale than they would have been without it. For many of the events that have been studied, global warming has been identified as the primary driver of the event, not just a supporting player. And a number of recent studies have concluded that certain heat-related extreme events would not have been possible without human-caused global warming. Learn more   and  .

is the science of figuring out what caused a given extreme weather or climate event, and weighting the relative influence of global warming versus natural variability. The biggest collection of research dedicated to understanding the causes of extreme events is published annually in a special issue of the Bulletin of the American Meteorological Society. The most recent edition of the report, , was the eighth in the series. (The report covering a selection of events from 2019 is soon to be released). Together, these eight reports have documented 168 attribution studies, 73 percent of which identified a substantial link between an extreme event and human-caused climate change, whereas 27 percent did not. To learn more, go   and 

]

Today’s warming is occurring much more quickly than previous interglacial episodes. In transitions from an ice age to an interglacial, it took 5,000–10,000 years for the temperature to rise between 5 and 9° Fahrenheit (3–5° Celsius). Humans could witness the same amount of global warming within the next 80 years if we continue emitting heat-trapping gases at today’s rate. ]

Finally, if we cause our world to warm by 2.7°F (1.5°C) or more compared to the temperatures before the start of the Industrial Revolution, scientists warn that there will be harmful repercussions for human health, the economy, infrastructure, and agriculture and natural resources. ] The greater the warming above that threshold, the more widespread and severe the impacts are likely to be. Human and natural systems that cannot adapt quickly enough may be overwhelmed.

from year to year. In a geological context, a global-scale warming of 1.8°F (1°C) in less than 150 years is an unusually large temperature change in a relatively short span of time.

It's also important to recognize that Earth is not warming uniformly, nor is it expected to. Middle and high latitudes in general will warm more than the tropics, and land surface temperatures will rise more than ocean temperatures. Over the long term, land masses at the latitude of the United States are expected to warm much more than the global average.  ] If global warming continues at an increasing rate, in several decades the world is likely to be warmer than it's been for over a million years, with unpredictable consequences for humans and the natural resources we depend on.

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In terms of biodiversity, adaptable species with wide geographic ranges—such as white-tailed deer and feral hogs—are likely to continue to thrive. But those species that depend on particular habitats—polar and alpine species, coral reefs, coldwater fishes—are vulnerable, as are the communities that depend on them culturally and economically. ] According to the Fourth National Climate Assessment, “[S]pecies, including many iconic species, may disappear from regions where they have been prevalent or become extinct, altering some regions so much that their mix of plant and animal life will become almost unrecognizable.” ]

Food and forage production will decline in agricultural regions experiencing increased frequency and duration of drought. Even without drought, higher temperatures will increase evaporation of soil moisture, increasing crop stress and water demand—further stressing U.S. surface and groundwater supplies used for irrigation. And even with irrigation, many commodity crops are likely to experience declines in average yield as temperatures rise beyond their preferred heat tolerance range. Milder winters and shifts in precipitation are likely to increase the incidence of pests and diseases for crops and livestock, while extreme heat—especially nighttime heat—will reduce livestock productivity. Impacts will vary from region to region, depending on the extent of warming and the level of adaptation. ]

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] and the trend is likely to continue as many extreme events become more frequent and severe. The economic impacts of extreme events include not just the direct damages, but also the loss of productivity and interruption of essential services and supply chains that can reach deep into the national economy. ]

In many parts of the country, existing infrastructure—septic and stormwater systems, roads, bridges, the energy grid—was not designed to cope with current and future sea level and climate extremes, and current levels of investment aren’t enough to cover necessary repairs and upgrades. ]  ]

Beyond extreme events, human-caused climate change is likely to disrupt many sectors of the U.S. economy and the communities that depend on them, including commercial and recreational fisheries, tourism and recreation, and agriculture. ]  ]  ]

In the short term, farmers in some regions may benefit from the earlier onset of spring and from a longer warm season that is suitable for growing crops. Also, studies show that, up to a certain point, crops and other plants grow better in the presence of higher carbon dioxide levels and seem to be more drought-tolerant. ] But this benefit is a two-edged sword: weeds, many invasive plant species, and insect pests will also thrive in a warmer world. Water availability will be impacted in drier agricultural areas that need irrigation. At some point, the benefits to crops of increased carbon dioxide will likely be overwhelmed by the negative impacts of heat stress and drought.

In the long term, shipping commerce will benefit from the opening of the Northwest Passage for longer periods of the year due to the loss of Arctic sea ice. However, in the long run, if a "business as usual" approach to emitting heat-trapping gases is maintained at the present rate, or faster, then the negative costs and impacts of global warming are very likely to far outweigh the benefits over the course of this century, with increased potential for catastrophic impacts from more extreme events. ] In part, this is because any substantial change, whether warmer or colder, would challenge the societal infrastructure that has developed under the current climate.

]

If all human emissions of heat-trapping gases were to stop today, Earth’s temperature would continue to rise for a few decades as ocean currents bring excess heat stored in the deep ocean back to the surface. Once this excess heat radiated out to space, Earth’s temperature would stabilize. Experts think the additional warming from this “hidden” heat is unlikely to exceed 0.9° Fahrenheit (0.5°Celsius). ] With no further human influence, natural processes would begin to slowly remove the excess carbon dioxide from the atmosphere, and global temperatures would gradually begin to decline.

It’s true that without dramatic action in the next couple of decades, we are unlikely to keep global warming in this century below 2.7° Fahrenheit (1.5° Celsius) compared to pre-industrial temperatures—a threshold that experts say offers a lower risk of serious negative impacts. ] But the more we overshoot that threshold, the more serious and widespread the negative impacts will be, which means that it is never “too late” to take action.

it is likely many strategies working together will be needed. Generally speaking, here are some examples of mitigation strategies we can use to slow or stop the human-caused global warming ( ):

techniques.

Note that NOAA doesn’t advocate for or against particular climate policies. Instead, NOAA’s role is to provide data and scientific information about climate, including how it has changed and is likely to change in the future depending on different climate policies or actions society may or may not take. Learn more  and .

):

Note that NOAA doesn’t advocate for or against particular climate policies. Instead, NOAA’s role is to provide data and scientific information about climate, including how it has changed and is likely to change in the future depending on different climate policies or actions society may or may not take. Learn more  and .

NOAA is helping to improve the nation’s resilience to changes in climate and weather. Specifically, NOAA is working to…

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G., Ciais, P., Jackson, R. B., Anthoni, P., Barbero, L., Bastos, A., Bastrikov, V., Becker, M., … Zaehle, S. (2019). Global carbon budget 2019. 11(4), 1783–1838. Masson-Delmotte, V., M. Schulz, A. Abe-Ouchi, J. Beer, A. Ganopolski, J.F. González Rouco, E. Jansen, K. Lambeck, J. Luterbacher, T. Naish, T. Osborn, B. Otto-Bliesner, T. Quinn, R. Ramesh, M. Rojas, X. Shao and A. Timmermann. (2013). Information from Paleoclimate Archives. In: [Stocker, T.F., D. Qin, G.-K. Plattner, M. Tignor, S.K. Allen, J. Boschung, A. Nauels, Y. Xia, V. Bex and P.M. Midgley (eds.)]. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, United Kingdom and New York, NY, USA. Ebi, K.L., J.M. Balbus, G. Luber, A. Bole, A. Crimmins, G. Glass, S. Saha, M.M. Shimamoto, J. Trtanj, and J.L. White-Newsome, 2018: Human Health. In  Volume II [Reidmiller, D.R., C.W. Avery, D.R. Easterling, K.E. Kunkel, K.L.M. Lewis, T.K. Maycock, and B.C. Stewart (eds.)]. U.S. Global Change Research Program, Washington, DC, USA, pp. 539–571. doi: 10.7930/NCA4.2018.CH14 Monnin, E., Indermühle, A., Dällenbach, A., Flückiger, J., Stauffer, B., Stocker, T. F., Raynaud, D., & Barnola, J.-M. (2001). Atmospheric CO Concentrations over the Last Glacial Termination. , 291(5501), 112–114. Lüthi, D., M. Le Floch, B. Bereiter, T. Blunier, J.-M. Barnola, U. Siegenthaler, D. Raynaud, J. Jouzel, H. Fischer, K. Kawamura, and T.F. Stocker. (2008). High-resolution carbon dioxide concentration record 650,000-800,000 years before present.  , Vol. 453, pp. 379-382. doi:10.1038/nature06949. Myhre, G., D. Shindell, F.-M. Bréon, W. Collins, J. Fuglestvedt, J. Huang, D. Koch, J.-F. Lamarque, D. Lee, B. Mendoza, T. Nakajima, A. Robock, G. Stephens, T. Takemura and H. Zhang (2013). Anthropogenic and Natural Radiative Forcing. In: [Stocker, T.F., D. Qin, G.-K. Plattner, M. Tignor, S.K. Allen, J. Boschung, A. Nauels, Y. Xia, V. Bex and P.M. Midgley (eds.)]. 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Easterling, K.E. Kunkel, K.L.M. Lewis, T.K. Maycock, and B.C. Stewart (eds.)]. U.S. Global Change Research Program, Washington, DC, USA, pp. 353–390. doi: 10.7930/NCA4.2018.CH9 Lipton, D., M. A. Rubenstein, S.R. Weiskopf, S. Carter, J. Peterson, L. Crozier, M. Fogarty, S. Gaichas, K.J.W. Hyde, T.L. Morelli, J. Morisette, H. Moustahfid, R. Muñoz, R. Poudel, M.D. Staudinger, C. Stock, L. Thompson, R. Waples, and J.F. Weltzin (2018). Ecosystems, Ecosystem Services, and Biodiversity. In   [Reidmiller, D.R., C.W. Avery, D.R. Easterling, K.E. Kunkel, K.L.M. Lewis, T.K. Maycock, and B.C. Stewart (eds.)]. U.S. Global Change Research Program, Washington, DC, USA, pp. 268–321. doi: 10.7930/NCA4.2018.CH7 Gowda, P., J.L. Steiner, C. Olson, M. Boggess, T. Farrigan, and M.A. Grusak (2018). Agriculture and Rural Communities. In   [Reidmiller, D.R., C.W. Avery, D.R. Easterling, K.E. Kunkel, K.L.M. Lewis, T.K. Maycock, and B.C. Stewart (eds.)]. 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Orr, B.L. Preston, P. Reed, R.D. Sands, and D.D. White. (2018). Sector Interactions, Multiple Stressors, and Complex Systems. In   [Reidmiller, D.R., C.W. Avery, D.R. Easterling, K.E. Kunkel, K.L.M. Lewis, T.K. Maycock, and B.C. Stewart (eds.)]. U.S. Global Change Research Program, Washington, DC, USA, pp. 638–668. doi: 10.7930/NCA4.2018.CH17 Allen, M.R., O.P. Dube, W. Solecki, F. Aragón-Durand, W. Cramer, S. Humphreys, M. Kainuma, J. Kala, N. Mahowald, Y. Mulugetta, R. Perez, M.Wairiu, and K. Zickfeld (2018 Framing and Context. In: [Masson-Delmotte, V., P. Zhai, H.-O. Pörtner, D. Roberts, J. Skea, P.R. Shukla, A. Pirani, W. Moufouma-Okia, C. Péan, R. Pidcock, S. Connors, J.B.R. Matthews, Y. Chen, X. Zhou, M.I. Gomis, E. Lonnoy, T. Maycock, M. Tignor, and T. Waterfield (eds.)]. In Press. Wuebbles, D.J., D.R. Easterling, K. Hayhoe, T. Knutson, R.E. Kopp, J.P. Kossin, K.E. Kunkel, A.N. LeGrande, C. Mears, W.V. Sweet, P.C. Taylor, R.S. Vose, and M.F. 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1. Spread the word

Encourage your friends, family and co-workers to reduce their carbon pollution. Join a global movement like  Count Us In, which aims to inspire 1 billion people to take practical steps and challenge their leaders to act more boldly on climate. Organizers of the platform say that if 1 billion people took action, they could reduce as much as 20 per cent of global carbon emissions. Or you could sign up to the UN’s  #ActNow campaign on climate change and sustainability and add your voice to this critical global debate.

2. Keep up the political pressure

Lobby local politicians and businesses to support efforts to cut emissions and reduce carbon pollution.  #ActNow Speak Up  has sections on political pressure and corporate action - and Count Us In also has  some handy tips  for how to do this. Pick an environmental issue you care about, decide on a specific request for change and then try to arrange a meeting with your local representative. It might seem intimidating but your voice deserves to be heard. If humanity is to succeed in tackling the climate emergency, politicians must be part of the solution. It’s up to all of us to keep up with the pressure. 

3. Transform your transport

Transport accounts for around a quarter of all greenhouse gas emissions and across the world, many governments are implementing policies to decarbonize travel. You can get a head start: leave your car at home and walk or cycle whenever possible. If the distances are too great, choose public transport, preferably electric options. If you must drive, offer to carpool with others so that fewer cars are on the road. Get ahead of the curve and buy an electric car. Reduce the number of long-haul flights you take. 

4. Rein in your power use

If you can, switch to a zero-carbon or renewable energy provider. Install solar panels on your roof. Be more efficient: turn your heating down a degree or two, if possible. Switch off appliances and lights when you are not using them and better yet buy the most efficient products in the first place (hint: this will save you money!). Insulate your loft or roof: you’ll be warmer in the winter, cooler in the summer and save some money too. 

5. Tweak your diet

Eat more plant-based meals – your body and the planet will thank you. Today, around 60 per cent of the world’s agricultural land is used for livestock grazing and people in many countries are consuming more animal-sourced food than is healthy. Plant-rich diets can help reduce chronic illnesses, such as heart disease, stroke, diabetes and cancer.

The climate emergency demands action from all of us. We need to get to net zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050 and everyone has a role to play.

6. Shop local and buy sustainable

To reduce your food’s carbon footprint, buy local and seasonal foods. You’ll be helping small businesses and farms in your area and reducing fossil fuel emissions associated with transport and cold chain storage. Sustainable agriculture uses up to 56 per cent less energy, creates 64 per cent fewer emissions and allows for greater levels of biodiversity than conventional farming. Go one step further and try growing your own fruit, vegetables and herbs. You can plant them in a garden, on a balcony or even on a window sill. Set up a community garden in your neighbourhood to get others involved. 

7. Don’t waste food

One-third of all food produced is either lost or wasted. According to UNEP’s  Food Waste Index Report 2021 , people globally waste 1 billion tonnes of food each year, which accounts for around 8-10 per cent of global greenhouse gas emissions. Avoid waste by only buying what you need. Take advantage of every edible part of the foods you purchase. Measure portion sizes of rice and other staples before cooking them, store food correctly (use your freezer if you have one), be creative with leftovers, share extras with your friends and neighbours and contribute to a local food-sharing scheme. Make compost out of inedible remnants and use it to fertilize your garden. Composting is one of the best options for managing organic waste while also reducing environmental impacts.

8. Dress (climate) smart

The fashion industry accounts for 8-10 per cent of global carbon emissions – more than all international flights and maritime shipping combined – and ‘fast fashion’ has created a throwaway culture that sees clothes quickly end up in landfills. But we can change this. Buy fewer new clothes and wear them longer. Seek out sustainable labels and use rental services for special occasions rather than buying new items that will only be worn once. Recycle pre-loved clothes and repair when necessary.

9. Plant trees  

Every year approximately 12 million hectares of forest are destroyed and this deforestation, together with agriculture and other land use changes, is responsible for roughly 25 per cent of global greenhouse gas emissions. We can all play a part in reversing this trend by planting trees, either individually or as part of a collective. For example, the Plant-for-the-Planet initiative allows people to sponsor tree-planting around the world.

Check out this UNEP guide to see what else you can do as part of the UN Decade on Ecosystem Restoration , a global drive to halt the degradation of land and oceans, protect biodiversity, and rebuild ecosystems. 

10. Focus on planet-friendly investments

Individuals can also spur change through their savings and investments by choosing financial institutions that do not invest in carbon-polluting industries. #ActNow Speak Up  has a section on money and so does  Count Us In . This sends a clear signal to the market and already many financial institutions are offering more ethical investments, allowing you to use your money to support causes you believe in and avoid those you don’t. You can ask your financial institution about their responsible banking policies and find out how they rank in independent research. 

UNEP is at the front in support of the Paris Agreement goal of keeping the global temperature rise well below 2°C, and aiming - to be safe - for 1.5°C, compared to pre-industrial levels. To do this, UNEP has developed a Six-Sector Solution . The Six Sector Solution is a roadmap to reducing emissions across sectors in line with the Paris Agreement commitments and in pursuit of climate stability. The six sectors identified are Energy; Industry; Agriculture & Food; Forests & Land Use; Transport; and Buildings & Cities.

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Further Resources

• 7 climate action highlights to remember before COP26
• Climate Action Note - data you need to know
• Emissions Gap Report 2021
• Food Waste Index 2021
• Act Now: the UN campaign for individual action
• Count Us In
• Food Loss and Waste Website

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Bernie Sanders dubiously claims US heat wave caused by climate change

by JACKSON WALKER | The National Desk

WASHINGTON (TND) — Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., on Tuesday suggested an ongoing U.S. heatwave is being caused by climate change.

The claim, shared via X, cited forecasted temperatures of 105F in Philadelphia, 104F in Washington D.C. and 102F in St. Louis. Attached to the post is a report indicating some schools are dismissing students early to avoid the heat.

“The climate crisis isn't coming -- it's already arrived,” Sen. Sanders wrote . “It's time to transform our energy systems away from fossil fuels.”

Former University of Alabama earth science professor Matthew Wielicki refuted the senator, saying the numbers had little to do with climate averages.

“Highlighting warm days to 'prove' climate change is like pointing to a cold snap to disprove it—short-term weather is not climate,” Wielicki wrote . “True understanding requires long-term trends and comprehensive data, not cherry-picking anomalies.”

The stance is reminiscent of remarks made by former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, who suggested in 2023 the Make America Great Again movement is to blame for rising global temperatures.

“Hot enough for you?” Clinton asked. “Thank a MAGA Republican. Or better yet, vote them out of office.”

Sen. Amy Klobuchar, D-Minn., made a similar comment in 2022 regarding Hurricane Ian, an extremely destructive tropical cyclone which struck the southwest coast of Florida.

"We just did something about climate change for the first time in decades. That's why we got to win this as that hurricane bears down on Florida. We've got to win in the midterms," Sen. Klobuchar said.

The comment stood in contrast to research by Dr. Dale Ward, an atmospheric physicist at the University of Arizona, who noted trying to attribute damage caused by recent storms to "a systematic increase in hurricane activity or intensity" is inaccurate.

"While the argument [that tropical cyclones are becoming more destructive due to climate change] seems plausible, it cannot be scientifically proven at this time based on observations of hurricanes over the time period of the warming," Ward found.

While Sen. Sanders is widely believed to be among the most liberal members of the Senate, he said this month former President Donald Trump’s popularity with Americans is understandable.

“He’s very disarming,” he said of Trump. “He gets up there and he says whatever the hell he wants.”

“He’s certainly unusual,” Sen. Sanders continued. “He gets up there and he does his thing and he’s not necessarily— I’m sure his advisors go crazy— but he’s not reading off [prepared notes].”

Follow Jackson Walker on X at @_jlwalker_ for the latest trending national news. Have a news tip? Send it to [email protected].

Global Warming

By Diana Dunn

• What images come to mind when you hear the words global warming?

What causes global warming?

• When CO 2 and other heat-trapping emissions are released into the air, they act like a blanket, holding heat in our atmosphere and warming the planet.

Types of pollution:

• Cars, buses, and trucks are also responsible for over 50% of dangerous chemicals let into the air.
• Humans are pouring carbon dioxide into the atmosphere much faster than plants and oceans can absorb it.
• Industrialization, deforestation, and pollution have greatly increased atmospheric concentrations of water vapor, carbon dioxide, methane, and nitrous oxide, all greenhouse gases that help trap heat near Earth's surface.
• What are greenhouse gases?
• carbon dioxide, water vapor, nitrous oxide, and methane
• Carbon monoxide
• Particulate matter
• Sulfur dioxide
• Reduce polluting fossil fuel energy sources and unsound land use practices; and steady progress toward a green, sustainable future.
• What is the greenhouse effect?
• The greenhouse effect is unquestionably real and helps to regulate the temperature of our planet. It is essential for life on Earth and is one of Earth's natural processes.
• What are the lasting effects of global warming?
• Arctic ice is rapidly disappearing, and the region may have its first completely ice-free summer by 2040 or earlier.
• Polar bears and indigenous cultures are already suffering from sea loss.
• The pollution that causes global warming is linked to acid rain. Acid rain gradually destroys almost everything it touches.
• Average temperatures have climbed 1.4 degrees Fahrenheit around the world since 1880, much of this in recent decades
• Coral reefs, which are highly sensitive to small changes in water temperature, suffered the worst die-off ever recorded in 1998.
• An upsurge in the amount of extreme weather events, such as wildfires, heat waves and strong tropical storms.
• Sea level could rise between 7 and 23 inches
• Some hundred million people live within 3 feet sea level, and much of the world's population is concentrated in vulnerable coastal cities. In the U.S., Louisiana and Florida are especially at risk.
• Glaciers around the world could melt, causing sea levels to rise while creating water shortages in regions dependent on runoff for fresh water.
• Strong hurricanes, droughts, heat waves, wildfires, and other natural disasters may become commonplace in many parts of the world. The growth of deserts may also cause food shortages in many places.
• More than a million species are threatened by changing ecosystems.
• The ocean's circulation system, could be permanently altered, causing a mini ice age in Western Europe.
• How can we make a difference?
• Turn off all appliances when not in use, including the computer, the television, the radio, the lights, and other small appliances.
• What is our government doing?

Clean Air Act

• The government made a law called The Clean Air Act so there is less air pollution. Global warming is making people get very bad illnesses that could make them disabled, very sick, and sometimes even die. The Clean Air Act is making many companies change their products to decrease these problems.
• National Geographic
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