Three stories caught my eye this week. The first study adjusts earlier estimates of carbon uptake by land plants. In the other two articles, scientists document the biological effects of Europe’s record-breaking temperatures, and estimate the risk of severe Mediterranean heat waves due to global warming.
This is the second installment of a five-part series by Bill Chameides on How We Know Humans Cause Global Warming.
1. A 175-year-old Puzzle
2. What Chemistry Tells Us
3. Causes of Past Climate Change
4. The Medieval Warming Period
5. The Only Explanation Left
There’s no question that carbon dioxide (CO2) is a greenhouse gas that warms the planet, and that CO2 has been increasing. The graph below shows it vividly (the measurements were taken at Mauna Loa, Hawaii).
But how do we know that the increase is due to people burning fossil fuels? One way is by analyzing the chemistry of our atmosphere, since human activities leave an unmistakable "fingerprint".
The author of today’s article, Sheryl Canter, is an Online Writer and Editorial Manager at Environmental Defense.
In poking around the blogosphere recently, I found several references to a Popular Mechanics article about something called an "Air Car". Air Car?? What I read left me with some questions, so I found the inventor’s Web site and did some further reading.
It sounds like science fiction, but it’s true. A car that runs on air – compressed air – will be sold in India starting in August 2008. It’s designed mainly for city driving, and produces zero carbon emissions.*
Today’s guest blogger, Tony Kreindler, is a Media Director at Environmental Defense.
There’s been a lot of buzz lately about the Energy Bill under debate in the Senate. With all the lobbying and spin, it can be hard to sort out what’s really going on. Here’s the bottom line.
When it comes to solving climate change, our best yardstick for measuring success is how much we cut global warming pollution. The Energy Bill could make some progress, but it’s no substitute for the comprehensive climate legislation Congress will work on later this year. Let’s look at the numbers.
The RealClimate blog has great information on the science behind global warming. Recently they posted a resource page with links about climate change. They plan to update the page as they discover new resources, so you might want to bookmark it.
This is the first installment of a five-part series by Bill Chameides on How We Know Humans Cause Global Warming.
1. A 175-year-old Puzzle
2. What Chemistry Tells Us
3. Causes of Past Climate Change
4. The Medieval Warming Period
5. The Only Explanation Left
Most people these days accept that our planet is warming, but some find it hard to believe that mere humans could cause such a large-scale global change. How do we know that the warming is due to human activity? How can we be so sure?
