Climate Change Assignment
Recent climate change is a topic that receives a great deal of attention these days. What
do we know about the “greenhouse” effect and its relationship to earth’s climate? What is
the chemistry behind this effect? Have human activities played a significant role in recent
global warming or can natural “forcings” and “feedbacks” explain the change? If our
climate significantly changes how might this affect our world in the 21st century? Review
the source material listed on the website and write an approximately 350-400 word essay
on greenhouse gases, atmospheric chemistry and climate change.
Guiding questions:
1. What is the “greenhouse” effect and how is it associated with the warming of the
earth?
2. What are the predominant “greenhouse” gases, where do they come from and how
might they contribute to global warming?
3. What are the potential consequences of long-term climatic change? Will an
increase in temperature be universal or might some parts of the world become
cooler? If so, how?
4. What evidence is presented to indicate that the earth has been warming in recent
decades? What evidence is presented to support the theory that anthropogenic
activities are the primary cause of this warming?
5. What alternative explanations have been proposed to account for global warming?
What evidence is presented to support these claims?
6. Public debate regarding global warming is often superficial, negative and meanspirited. What assumptions (either implicit or explicit) are being made by those
who resort to such tactics?