Climate Change and the Greenhouse Effect
97% of scientists agree that our dramatically changing climate is due to human enhancement of the "greenhouse effect" - warming that results when the atmosphere traps heat radiating from Earth toward space.
"Scientific evidence for warming of the climate system is unequivocal."
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- The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change
Some of the gases that contribute to the greenhouse effect include:
Carbon Dioxide (CO2): the most important component of climate change. Carbon dioxide is released into the atmosphere naturally, through processes like respiration and volcanic eruptions, and also through human activities such as deforestation and the burning of fossil fuels
Since the beginning of the Industrial Revolution, humans have increased atmospheric carbon dioxide by more than a third.
Methane: like carbon dioxide, methane is produced through natural sources including decomposition. But human activities such as agriculture and domestic livestock operations have led to an increase of methane in the atmosphere
Water Vapor: the most abundant greenhouse gas. Water vapor acts as a feedback to the climate. It increases as Earth's atmosphere warms, which in turn increases clouds and precipitation.
