Climate Change And Global Warming - 1109 Words

When the term Global Warming is mention, people often think of it as a progression in change of climate. Climate change, according to Kaufmann and Cleveland â€Å"is a shift in the long-term average weather†. (pg. 269) Climate change can either refer to a decrease in average temperatures meaning a colder environment, or it can be increase in temperature resulting in a much warmer environment. Several factors are responsible for theses changes in climate a few examples being solar changes and emission and reabsorption of carbon into the atmosphere. It seems as though there are many conflicting theories and opinions on global warming, which is why it can be difficult understanding what exactly it means. We are told that climate change is†¦show more content†¦They have control group that represents the natural variability and then they compare their results to see if significant climate change did in fact occur. One study done on climate change in somewhat recent years stated â€Å"In February 2005 scientists announced that 2004 was the fourth warmest year since 1860, the first year for which scientists have reasonably reliable direct measurements of Earth’s average temperature. Nine of the warmest years since 1860 have occurred since 1990. This string of warm years is unlikely to be the result of random change.† (Kaufmann and Cleveland, pg. 277) These findings show a clear detection in climate change, more specifically an increase in climate change. Once climate change has been detected it is important to find out what factors exactly caused the changes. This is called attribution. â€Å"Attribution is the process of establishing a cause-and-effect relationship between human activity and the observed change in climate.† (Kaufmann and Cleveland, pg. 280) Attribution is important in determining the different causes of climate change and distinguishing how much of that change is related to natural factors and how much of it is m an made. Understanding the difference is important because although a certain amount of natural changes is expected, being aware of our own attributions will likely help society determine new ways to reduce the rate at which we effect the climate change. The ultimate goal