Is It Global Warming Or Climate Change - 1097 Words

Is it global warming or climate change? According to the EPA, global warming refers to the recent and ongoing increase in the average global temperature (EPA). This increase is mostly caused by the amassed amounts of greenhouse gases or CO2 in the atmosphere. The CO2 or greenhouse gases get trapped within the atmosphere. Some CO2 in the atmosphere isn’t a bad thing; it allows for heat and sunlight to travel to Earth and helps keep Earth from going into a deep freeze period. But we can have too much CO2! If there is too much CO2 in the atmosphere, Earth heats up considerably over time, along with a plethora of other adverse effects. For many, a warmer temperature is welcome, but some do not realize the negative effects such warming will†¦show more content†¦Small changes in the average temperature of the planet can translate to large and potentially dangerous shifts in climate and weather. The Earth goes through periods of natural cycles of warming and lowering average temperatures. Ice Ages have happened as a result of these natural temperature fluctuations. Before the Industrial Revolution, the climate of Earth was unaffected by human activity. During that time, any global warming was mostly due to variations in sunlight and the solar energy that reaches Earth. Less sun equals less warmth! Volcanic eruptions also shot particles into the atmosphere, which also had a hand in increasing greenhouse gases and altering the climate of the planet. Although these natural causes are still relevant to global warming today, they are not enough to explain the rapid warming Earth has been experiencing over the last few decades or so. NASA and its scientists have the technology and the data to create climate models and simulations based on scientific data found in rocks, lava, soils, and other natural elements. These models also take into account human, as well as natural, activities by processing information gathered from satellites and monitoring instruments on Earth’s surface. They have found that the amount of greenhouses gases in the atmosphere prior to the 1950s