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Global Warming
Global warming refers to the increase in the average temperature of the Earth's near-surface air and oceans in recent decades and its projected future. The global average air temperature near the Earth's surface rose 1.33 °F during the last 100 years. Natural causes such as solar variation combined with volcanic gases probably had a small warming effect from pre-industrial times to 1950 and a small cooling effect from 1950 to present time. These basic conclusions have been agreed with by at least 30 scientific societies and academies of science, including all of the national academies of science of the major industrialized countries. While individual scientists have disagreed with some of the main conclusions of the IPCC, the overwhelming majority of scientists working on climate change are in agreement with them. Climate projections of the IPCC indicate that average global surface temperature will likely rise a further 2.0 to 11.5 °F during the 21st century. The range of values results from the use of differing scenarios of future greenhouse gas emissions as well as models with differing climate sensitivity. Although most studies focus on the period up to 2100, warming and sea level rise are expected to continue for more than a millennium even if greenhouse gas levels are stabilized. The delay in reaching equilibrium is a result of the large heat capacity of the oceans. Increasing global temperatures will cause sea level to rise, and is expected to increase the intensity of extreme weather events and to change the amount and pattern of precipitation. Other effects of global warming include changes in agricultural yields, glacier retreat, animal extinctions, and increases in worldly diseases. Remaining scientific uncertainties include the amount of warming expected in the future, and how warming and related changes will vary from region to region around the globe. There is ongoing political and public debate worldwide regarding what,...