Abstract:
Climate change is defined as "a change of climate which is attributed directly or indirectly
to human activity that alters the composition of the global atmosphere and which is in
addition to natural climate variability observed over comparable time periods". Global
warming is shorthand for "climate change," and the term is correct if we realize that it's
referring to the average temperature of the Earth over years and decades; not to the
temperatures at particular times and places. "Climate change" is a much better term
because much more than warming is involved, although the changes first begin with the
earth's warming.
Global warming can cause changes in patterns of rainfall. It can lead to more snow piling
up in places such as Antarctica and Greenland, and it can even include some parts of the
Earth growing colder. There is no doubt that the amount of carbon dioxide in the air -- a
"greenhouse" gas -- has increased. This increase in a greenhouse gas is bound to "force"
the climate in one direction or another with a general warming being one of the effects.
Climate scientists also have strong reasons to say that as humans continue adding gasses to
the air, warming is likely to continue through this century.
