Is Climate Change Man Made Or Nature's Fury

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Is Climate Change Man Made or Nature’s Fury? Although there is no question the climate has changed in our lifetime, one can debate this subject on three fronts. There has always been climate change on earth due to many factors and for thousands of years it was mostly natural in cause. Earth has experienced both long periods of warmth and ice ages as well. If the earth is as old as scientists claim, measuring climate change over a fifty year or even a hundred year period would not allow sufficient data to form a hardened conclusion. By researching climate change, once known as global warming and comparing it to the natural heating cycle of the earth’s lifetime the conclusion can be made that it is caused by both natural cycles and manmade contaminants, especially by those living in industrialized nations. During the volcanic eruption in Iceland last year enough volcanic ash was released to shutdown airports in England and much of Europe. When volcanoes erupt, volcanic ash is released into the atmosphere, but other toxics such as sulphur dioxide and carbon dioxide are released as well. Many of these particles are so small they remain airborne for years and travel the globe several times. These small particles are called aerosols and they produce a cooling effect on the earth by reflecting solar energy back in to space instead of allowing it to reach the earth. This could be viewed as one way in which our own planet offsets the warming effect produced by harmful carbon dioxide sent into the atmosphere by humans. Probably the most harmful contaminant that people are responsible for releasing into the atmosphere is carbon dioxide. Although it is released during volcanic eruptions, the amounts pale in comparison to that released by coal burning plants and automobiles. The energy sector has been cited as being responsible for three fourths of the carbon dioxide

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