2 Copyright © 2015 Jeffery Nevil

Global Warming: What Are We Really Doing?

We have been aware of global warming since 1824 when Joseph Fourier discovered that the world would be much colder if it had no atmosphere, an average of 60 degrees Fahrenheit cooler in fact. This study was followed by Swedish chemist Svante Arrhenius

’ discovery that

by making carbon dioxide we could enhance what came t o be known as the greenhouse effect.

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These realisations laid the foundations for over 100

years’

worth of studying the

earth’s climate

, and some of the most advanced researc h projects seen on the earth to date. Although the terms

‘

global warming

’

and

‘

climate change

’

can be used interchangeably, g

lobal warming lays reference to the increase in the earth’s temperature

that we have seen due to the building up of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere. The term climate change, on the other hand, refers to the changes we have seen in the weather, though this is also

attributable to the effect of greenhouse gase s in the earth’s atmosphere.

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Whilst this sounds like scientific jargon unrelated to the individual, global warming is directly affecting the world as we know it. Scientists have calculated that every doubling of CO2 levels equates to roughly 1 degree of warming. Yet with just 1 degree of warming there is consequenc e of an increased amount of water vapour and therefore clouds (also greenhouse

gases) which then further contribute to the earth’s temperature.

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This means that with every 1 degree of warming there is also consequential warming which further contributes to the increasing average temperature on earth. Although some places may benefit from an increase in temperature at first, the problem with a warmer planet is that the polar ice caps are melting at a significantly quicker rate. This

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http://environment.nationalgeographic.com/environment/global-warming/gw-overview

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http://www.carbonneutral.com/resource-hub/climate-change-summary

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