| Global warming is the Process that increased the | | | | depletion often are linked in the media, the |
| average temperature of the Earth, near-surface | | | | relationship between the two is not strong. |
| air and oceans. The term global warming is a | | | | Scientists have stated with 66-90% confidence |
| specific example of the broader term climate | | | | that the effects of volcanic and human-caused |
| change, which can also refer to global cooling. In | | | | aerosols have offset some of global warming, and |
| principle, global warming is neutral as to the period | | | | that greenhouse gases would have resulted in |
| or causes, but in both common and scientific | | | | more warming than observed if not for this |
| usage the term generally refers to recent | | | | effect. Many estimates of aggregate net |
| warming and implies a human influence. The | | | | economic costs of damages from climate change |
| climate system varies through natural, internal | | | | across the globe, the social cost of carbon (SCC), |
| processes and in response to variations in | | | | expressed in terms of future net benefits and |
| external "forcing" factors including solar activity, | | | | costs that are discounted to the present, are |
| volcanic emissions, variations in the earth's orbit In | | | | now available. Peer-reviewed estimates of the |
| the past 200 years human industrial activity has | | | | SCC for 2005 have an average value of US$43 |
| injected carbon dioxide and other greenhouse | | | | per tonne Rising global temperature might cause |
| gases into the atmosphere, and recently global | | | | forest fires to occur on larger scale, and more |
| average temperatures have been increasing. The | | | | regularly. This releases more stored carbon into |
| predicted effects for the environment and for | | | | the atmosphere than the carbon cycle can |
| human life are numerous and varied. The main | | | | naturally re-absorb, as well as reducing the overall |
| effect is an increasing global average temperature. | | | | forest area on the planet, creating a positive |
| The scientific consensus is that these greenhouse | | | | feedback loop Projected climate changes due to |
| gases have been responsible for most of the | | | | global warming have the potential to lead to |
| present warming trend. That consensus is not | | | | future large-scale and possibly irreversible changes |
| unanimous. The earth has experienced natural | | | | in our climate resulting in impacts at continental |
| global warming and cooling many times in the past. | | | | and global scales. With increasing average global |
| The recent Antarctic EPICA ice core spans | | | | temperature, the water in the oceans expands in |
| 800,000 years, including eight glacial cycles with | | | | volume, and additional water enters them which |
| interglacial warming periods much hotter than | | | | had previously been locked up on land in glaciers, |
| current temperatures.the time of the last glacial | | | | for example, the Greenland and the Antarctic ice |
| maximum about 20,000 years ago. Scientists | | | | sheets. The sea level has risen more than 120 |
| have studied global warming with computer | | | | metres since the peak of the last ice age about |
| models of the climate. These models are based | | | | 18,000 years ago. For some time it was hoped |
| on physical principles of fluid dynamics, radiative | | | | that a positive effect of global warming would be |
| transfer, and other processes, with some | | | | increased agricultural yields, because of the role of |
| simplifications being necessary because of | | | | carbon dioxide in photosynthesis, especially in |
| limitations in computer power. Some effects on | | | | preventing photorespiration While local benefits |
| both the natural environment and human life are, | | | | may be felt in some regions (such as Siberia), |
| at least in part, already being attributed to global | | | | recent evidence is that global yields will be |
| warming. Although global warming and ozone | | | | negatively affected. |