Al Gore - Reflecting on Climate Change and Global Warming
I invite you to take 10 minutes to reflect on climate change and Global Warming. Global warming is the increase in the average temperature of the Earth's near-surface air and oceans in recent decades and its projected continuation. Global average air temperature near the Earth's surface rose 0.74
± 0.18 °C (1.3 ± 0.32 °F) during the past century. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) concludes, "most of the observed increase in globally averaged temperatures since the mid-20th century is very likely due to the observed increase in anthropogenic greenhouse gas concentration
s," which leads to warming of the surface and lower atmosphere by increasing the greenhouse effect. Natural phenomena such as solar variation combined with volcanoes have probably had a small warming effect from pre-industrial times to 1950, but a small cooling effect since 1950. These basic conclus
ions have been endorsed by at least 30 scientific societies and academies of science, including all of the national academies of science of the major industrialized countries. The American Association of Petroleum Geologists is the only scientific society that rejects these conclusions, and a few in
dividual scientists also disagree with parts of them. Climate change refers to the variation in the Earth's global climate or in regional climates over time. It describes changes in the variability or average state of the atmosphere over time scales ranging from decades to millions of years. These c
hanges can be caused by processes internal to the Earth, external forces (e.g. variations in sunlight intensity) or, more recently, human activities. In recent usage, especially in the context of environmental policy, the term "climate change" often refers to changes in modern climate which accordi
ng to the IPCC are 90-95% likely to have been in part caused by human action. Consequently the term anthropogenic climate change is frequently adopted; this phenomenon is also referred to in the mainstream media as global warming. In some cases, the term is also used with a presumption of human caus
ation, as in the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC). The UNFCCC uses "climate variability" for non-human caused variations.[1] For information on temperature measurements over various periods, and the data sources available, see temperature record. For attribution of cli
mate change over the past century, see attribution of recent climate change. Other tags: Heat waves and periods of unusually warm weather Ocean warming, sea-level rise and coastal flooding Glaciers melting Arctic and Antarctic warming Spreading disease Earlier spring arrival Plant and animal
range shifts and population changes Coral reef bleaching Downpours, heavy snowfalls, and flooding Droughts and fires Environmental Defense Natural Resources Defense Council Sierra Club Union of Concerned Scientists U.S. Public Interest Research Group World Resources Institute World Wildlife Fund
Health Agriculture and Food Supply Forests Ecosystems and Biodiversity Coastal Zones and Sea Level Rise Water Resources Energy Production and Use Other Tags global climate change warming controversy perspective carbon dioxide decision matrix grid scenario row column
debate

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