The History of Global Warming
Global Warming is by no means a new scientific phenomenon. It is a scientific theory that was proposed in the late 1800’s that is now widely accepted by the vast majority of scientists. There is enough scientific information on the subject for the educated public to form a general consensus that CO2 emissions and the pollution brought on by global industrialization is to blame. In fact many prominent scientists have warned that if we continue down the path we are on, rising ocean levels, and increasingly extreme weather conditions may spell doom for life as we know it on our planet. To understand the predicament that we are in, here is a brief history of Global Warming as told by the American Institute of Physics:
The concept of global warming was first introduced at the beginning of the industrial revolution in the mid to late 1800’s. Earlier scientists had begun to discover that the atmosphere played a vital role in the climate and overall condition of our planet. Without it the world would be much colder but also more susceptible to solar radiation. In 1859, a scientist by the name of Tyndall discovered that certain combinations of gasses can block infrared radiation. He warned that further releasing CO2 into atmosphere could bring about climate change. In 1896 Arrhenius published the first projection of the effect that CO2 emissions would have on climate change. This news came right in the middle of the second industrial revolution.
Flash forward to the early 1900’s. World War One has started, and rapid industrialization continues to ensue. Commercialism fuels the need for large scale production, requiring the burning of even more fossil fuels for energy. More carbon dioxide is being released into the atmosphere than ever before. In 1938 Callender reported that CO2 greenhouse global warming is already underway and global temperatures are beginning to rise. In 1968 studies show that the arctic ice sheets are in danger of melting and raising sea levels significantly.
In the early 1970’s the SMIC conference of leading scientists report major concerns of dangerous, rapid, and serious global warming changes caused by humans. This conference calls for more organized research on the topic of global warming and starts a movement in environmental awareness within the scientific community.
However in response to new scientific understanding about global warming, the US Fossil Fuel Industry and other industries form the Global Climate Coalition to lobby to congress about their skepticism on global warming. This Coalition lasted until 2000 when it dissolved due to the growing difficulty to dispute global warming. Starting in the early to late 2000’s Global heat waves and extreme weather conditions have prompted many governments to not only acknowledge the problem of global warming, but to work together to make agreements to lower pollution. The most recent agreement was made at the Paris Climate Summit of 2015. In the agreement most countries agreed to lower their greenhouse gas emissions and report their progress.
Even today there are still people who refuse to acknowledge the existence of global warming. In fact many prominent republican law makers and presidential candidates, such as Marco Rubio, Ted Cruz, and Mitch McConnell, avidly deny that global warming exists and continue to support the Fossil Fuel industry while spurning green energy efforts. It is a wonder that many prominent law maker still refuse to accept scientific facts and assert their belief that they know better than the scientists who study the climate. If things are not changed, how will the history of Global Warming continue to unfold? If more efforts are not made on the parts of all world governments our world may be heading towards unprecedented environmental chaos.
