Global warming is recognized by scientists and most world governments as a major climate event that is currently happening. There has been much debate about its causes, which come from many factors and not all of which are known. Several major contributing factors have been identified, however. It is thought that global warming as we are presently experiencing it is due mainly to four things: an increase of greenhouse gases from man-made sources, man-made ecological changes, climate feedback loops, and solar radiation. The "greenhouse" effect is what happens when infrared radiation is absorbed by the atmosphere which in turn warms a planet's lower atmosphere and surface. The effect was discovered in 1824 by Joseph Fourier and how it works is well established as a science fact (IPCC 2007).
[...] Many scientists calculate that the Sun has added about half the increase in global temperature over the last century, and maybe up to 35% in the last two decades when global warming has been more notable than in earlier decades, although this theory is debated by climatologists. (Scafetta 2006) Conclusion No matter what details of it they debate, overall scientists agree: these mechanisms, and others, that force the climate balance to shift, are heating up our atmosphere. This is a case where many causes - and many which we cannot control at all - are all leading to one effect: global warming. [...]
[...] Ecology Changes There are two major kinds of ecological changes that are feeding global climate change. One is the loss of the world's forest, the other is alteration in the plankton life in the ocean. The loss of forests and vegetation around the globe, especially in dense rainforest areas like in the Amazon Basin, have the effect of increasing CO2 in the atmosphere. This is because trees breath in CO2 and exhale oxygen, so they provide a natural atmosphere conversion process that normally keeps greenhouse gases in a balance. [...]
[...] One is the evaporation of ocean water. When the atmosphere gets warmer, the sea evaporates more quickly. Since water vapor is a greenhouse gas, this just adds more gas that heats things up. Then, when the planet is warmer, the sea evaporates that much more quickly. This cycle continues until something happens to stop it. While things can heat up relatively quickly, it takes longer for them to cool down because CO2 acts as an insulator for a long time in the atmosphere (Soden 2005). [...]
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