I believe that humans are contributing to global warming. This post is a collection of reasons and quotes to support my belief. There are 7 quotes divided into 3 sections.
A. Industrial human activities release greenhouse gases into the atmosphere
B. The amount of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere affect the temperature on Earth
C. The temperature on Earth is increasing faster now than any other time in human history
A. Industrial human activities release greenhouse gases into the atmosphere
Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change:
1. "Anthropogenic greenhouse gas emissions have increased since the pre-industrial era, driven largely by economic and population growth, and are now higher than ever. This has led to atmospheric concentrations of carbon dioxide, methane and nitrous oxide that are unprecedented in at least the last 800,000 years." (Climate Change 2014 Synthesis Report Summary for Policymakers)
David Attenborough:
2. "When I was a boy in the 1930s, the carbon dioxide level was still below 300 parts per million. This year it reached 382, the highest figure for hundreds of thousands of years." (Climate change is the major challenge facing the world, The Independent, 2006)
Rebecca Lindsey:
3. "Based on air bubbles trapped in mile-thick ice cores and other paleoclimate evidence, we know that during the ice age cycles of the past million years or so, atmospheric carbon dioxide never exceeded 300 ppm. Before the Industrial Revolution started in the mid-1700s, atmospheric carbon dioxide was 280 ppm or less." (Climate Change: Atmospheric Carbon Dioxide, 2024)
B. The amount of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere affect the temperature on Earth
Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change:
4. "Without the natural greenhouse effect, the average temperature at Earth's surface would be below the freezing point of water. Thus, Earth's natural greenhouse effect makes life as we know it possible." (IPCC Fourth Assessment Report: Climate Change 2007, FAQ 1.3 What is the Greenhouse Effect?)
U.S. Energy Information Administration:
5. "When sunlight strikes the Earth's surface, some of it radiates back toward space as infrared radiation (heat). Greenhouse gases absorb this infrared radiation and trap its heat in the atmosphere, creating a greenhouse effect that results in global warming and climate change." (Energy and the environment explained, Greenhouse gases, June 2014)
C. The temperature of Earth is increasing faster now than any other time in human history
Barack Obama:
6. "2014 was the planet's warmest year on record. Now, one year doesn't make a trend, but this does: 14 of the 15 warmest years on record have all fallen in the first 15 years of this century." (State of the Union Address, 2015)
World Meteorological Organization, United Nations:
7. "The global average temperature in 2022 is estimated to be about 1.15 (1.02 to 1.28) °C above the 1850-1900 average." (Eight warmest years on record witness upsurge in climate change impacts, 2022)
