Chemistry

    Climate change has been closely observed by scientists and environmentalists for years.  It has spurred companies to develop green technologies aimed at reducing Greenhouse Gas emissions. Governments enact and enforce polices to combat the effects.  International agreements on climate change, such as the Kyoto Protocol, are being endorsed by countries around the globe.  Even now,  Politics of global warming political and  Global warming controversy public debate continues regarding global warming, and what actions to take in response. 

    Global warming is defined as the increase of the average temperature on Earth.  As the Earth is getting hotter, disasters like hurricanes, droughts and floods are getting more frequent.  The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) concludes that most of the observed temperature increases since the middle of the 20th century was very likely caused by increasing concentrations of greenhouse gases resulting from human activity such as fossil fuel, burning and deforestation.  The IPCC also concludes that variations in natural phenomena such as solar radiation and volcanic eruptions had a small cooling effect after 1950.

    A cartoon depicted the issue of global warming with a phrase, this winter has lowered my concerns about global warming....  The humour in the artwork is a far cry to the controversy.  The United States, as well other countries, is experiencing intense winter conditions, a contradiction to the predicted warming effects of the global climate change.

This has baffled scientists who believe that global warming predictions are true.  However, this does not the dispute the fact the globe is warming as (man) continues to pump carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases into the atmosphere. 

    In 2008, the Arctic region encountered one of its record-breaking ice melt, which led scientists to conclude that change in the climate system is almost reaching its tipping point, meaning that which is the maximum limit by which the Earth will undergo climate change.  The following year, researchers predicted that climate zones will disappear by 2100, resulting to the climate becoming unpredictable.  Climate indicators found in tropical islands, and in regions near the poles will completely vanish.  Hence, tropics and sub-tropic regions may develop altered climates no one has seen before.

    According to the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), the 10 warmest years on record have occurred since 1997.  The National Atmospheric and Oceanographic Administration (NOAA) reports that the recent decades have been the warmest since at least around 1000 AD, and that the warming since the late 19th century is unprecedented over the last 1,000 years.  Scientists also agree that any year-to-year variation in weather cannot be linked directly to either a warming or cooling climate.

    This year, a new report made by climate scientists at the National Wildlife Federation suggests that heavy snowfall in some places and unusually low temperatures  is in fact a sign of how climate change disrupts long-standing patterns.  The report explains how climate change is linked to more heavy precipitation, including intense snowstorms like the one that blanketed the (Washington) D.C. area last month. 

    What is clear is that, despite the wealth of scientific evidence to the contrary, there is a growing scepticism among the public.  Such scepticism is, however, misplaced.  Research has shown that Global Warming is an ongoing phenomenon, harsh winter or not.