- Greenhouse gases in the atmosphere (methane, carbon dioxide, etc.) let visible light pass through, but absorb infrared light
- This causes the earth to heat up.
- The warmer atmosphere emits more infrared light, which tends to be re-absorbed
- Since the industrial age began around 1750, atmospheric carbon dioxide has increased by 40% and methane has increased by 150%.
- Such increases cause extra infrared light absorption, further heating Earth above its typical temperature range (even as energy from the sun stays basically the same).
- Energy that gets to Earth has an even harder time leaving it causing Earth’s average temperature to increase–– producing global climate change.
- Emissions are measurable. Temperature changes are measurable. The effects are measurable.
- They lead to the same conclusion. 97% of scientists agree. The standouts have ties to fossil fuel industries.
Karen Geier