Global temperatures are determined by the atmospheric greenhouse effect. Briefly, the cycle works as follows. Heat emitted from the sun enters the earth=s atmosphere through the ozone layer. This ozone layer filters out some of the harmful radiation from the sun=s ultraviolet rays while still letting in some of its life giving heat and energy. Then the ozone layer continues to participate in the system by keeping some of that heat trapped close to the earth=s surface, allowing biodiversity and agriculture to thrive. The sun continually provides rays of heat and energy, and the ozone molecules comprising the stratospheric ozone layer are in a constant state of breaking down and rebuilding. These events have been working together to regulate our climate since the origin of the planet. It is a major part of what makes earth so unique.
Then in the 1960s scientists discovered a large hole in the ozone layer above the antarctic region. Since that time, both the causes of the ozone depletion and the expected impact on global temperatures based on the existence of the hole have been subject to endless scrutiny, research, and debate. Scientists almost conclusively agree, however, that the hole in the ozone has been caused (at least in part) by the increased occurrence of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere.
Unfortunately this can be directly traced to human activities, primarily since the industrial revolution. Humans have irrevocably altered the naturally occurring phenomenon of global climate regulation by upsetting the delicate balance which has characterized the system for hundreds of thousands of years. The materials that we have been sending off into space are eating away at the shield that has protected our planet since it began.
This paper examines the evidence that global warming is, in fact, occurring. It also gives some of the root causes of climate change. Next, the effects of global warming are discussed i...