Anthropogenic Global Warming

Joseph Guanzon | Prof. Jessica Berryman | Salt Lake Community College

Is Global Warming Real? The Greenhouse Effect What Can We Do to Help?

On the topic of climate change, many question There are many things that an individual can do to help curb the
whether or not it is real, while others admit progress of global warming and climate change. If everyone made
small positive changes, the results would add up.
increases in temperature but doubt mankinds
role in a warming planet.

What is Climate Change?

Anthropogenic
climate change can
be defined as the long The composition of our atmosphere traps some of the heat from the
term change in sun, allowing the planet to remain warm enough to support life as
weather patterns due Reduce, Reuse, Recycle
we know it. Increases in the amount of greenhouse gases in the
to human activity. Conserve
Eat
Talk
Plant
Drive
Buy
Less
About
Local
Trees
Less
Water
Meat
It
atmosphere traps additional heat, in the same way a greenhouse
traps the heat from the sun for your plants.
Climate vs Weather
How Humans Drive Global Warming
Climate on the
Weather is the Fossil Fuels Industrial Deforestation Agriculture
other hand takes
current
into account
atmospheric state
weather events
at a specific
over a long period
moment in a
of time, often
particular location.
several decades.
The burning of Industrial If current rate of Most of the food
Conclusion
fossil fuels (oil, processes play a deforestation grown does not
gas, coal) is the large role from continues, we get consumed

Hasnt the Climate Always Changed? single largest

contributor of
extraction to,
manufacturing,
may have no
more rainforests
by humans, but
by the animals
AGW to waste within 100 years we eat

It is true that the climate has changed numerous times throughout

Earths history. Its also true that there have been times in the past
that have had similar or even higher levels of CO 2 than we are
Evidence of Climate Change
experiencing today. During those times the planet was able to evolve Global
because the increase in CO2 over millions of years. As shown below, Burning of
Warming

the increase in CO2 emissions we find today has been sudden when Fossil Fuels

taken on a geologic time scale. What this means is that plants, Industrialization
animals, and the atmosphere do not have time to naturally evolve the
way they did in the past. Extraction of
Rising Sea Levels Rising Temperatures Warming Oceans Shrinking Ice Sheets Declining Arctic Sea Ice natural
resources

Changing
the
landscape
to meet
Glacial Retreat Extreme Events Ocean Acidification Decreased Snow Cover
our needs