The truth might be inconvenient, but these Topic Pages aren't!
Climate Change had been conspicuously absent from media discussions of late, until a report from the UN's Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) pushed it to the forefront of this week's news cycle. One thing is certain: whether you believe in anthropogenic climate change, or you believe the oceans are just experiencing a growth spurt, when debating the issue in public you'll want to have reliable facts to make your case.
Climate Change - Fluctuations in global temperatures throughout history have been accompanied by changes in sea levels and altered weather patterns, both of which have been linked to mass migrations, famines leading to disease, the collapse of some civilizations, and the growth of others. These cycles of warm and cold are affected by energy exchanges between oceans and the atmosphere, fossil-fuel emissions, and solar energy.
Global Warming - Term that is used to refer to an increase in Earths average surface temperature. It is due mostly to the release of greenhouse gases (GHGs) into the atmosphere by human-fueled activities such as increased fossil fuel consumption leading to the release of carbon dioxide (CO2), the increasing use of automobiles, the use of nitrogen base fertilizers, and rearing and breeding large methane-belching cattle.
Greenhouse Effect, Atmospheric - Much like The Butterfly Effect, the Greenhouse Effect results from a lot of little things turning into one big ball of awfulness. The latter however does not star Ashton Kutcher, so, at least it has that going for it.
Air Pollution - Contamination of the air by noxious gases and minute particles of solid and liquid matter (particulates) in concentrations that endanger health. The major sources of air pollution are transportation engines, power and heat generation, industrial processes, and the burning of solid waste
Earth - Third Rock from the Sun, Gaia, Terra Firma, Ol' Blue and Her Orbiting Cheese Face. While home to many geological and architectural wonders, visitors to this planet seem to have been mostly preoccupied with its crop fields, cows, and rural hill-populations.
