History of Global Warming
The Earth's climate is constantly changing over time. Many climatologists believe that the temperature of the Earth slowly fluctuates over time. In fact, several scientists estimate that between 15,000 and 30,000 years ago the Earth was covered by large sheets of ice. This period of time was known as the Ice Age. As the temperature of the Earth began to rise 7,000 years ago, the Ice Age came to an end. From the late 14th century to the end of the 19th century, the Earth experienced a "Little Ice Age." Extreme cold and harsh conditions caused several famines and the expansion of glaciers, most notably in the Alps, Scandinavia, Iceland and Alaska. However, by 1850 the temperature of the Earth had warmed considerably and scientists were looking for an answer.
The first theory of global warming came in 1824 when French mathematician Jean Baptiste Joseph Fourier discovered that the Earth's temperature was slowly increasing. Fourier argued that the earth's atmosphere traps solar radiation and reflects it back toward the earth.
In the late 19th century Fourier's theory was labeled the "greenhouse effect" when Nobel Laureate Svante Arrhenius coined the term to explain how carbon dioxide traps heat in the Earth's atmosphere. Arrhenius believed that the greenhouse effect was responsible for the onset of the ice ages. By the 1960s, many scientists dismissed this theory in favor of the hypothesis of Serbian geophysicist, Milutin Milankovitch, relating climate change to the orbital changes of the earth.
In the 1950s, amateur scientist G.S. Callendar warned that the greenhouse effect was true and dramatically impacting the atmosphere of the Earth. Callendar's claims were termed the "Callendar effect," and led to increased research on global warming. Over the next few decades, scientists developed ways to measure the Earth's climate and devised mathematical models to better analyze global temperature. This led to a steady rise in the belief that human activity was dramatically effecting the environment. Scientific studies began to predict that increased carbon dioxide emissions, due to increased use of fossil fuels, would trigger an outbreak of global warming.
Media sources during the late 20th century were confused about the effects of the warming; some predicted another ice age, while others predicted the melting of ice caps, which would generate world wide flooding. In 1992, at the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development more than 150 nations signed a declaration committing themselves to reducing carbon dioxide emissions in their countries. However, in 1994, the United Nations Panel on Climate Change asserted that global warming was still a threat and nations needed to enact drastic changes in order to negate the effects of global warming. This announcement sparked the creation of the Kyoto Protocol, an international agreement to fight global warming. The protocol called for countries to reduce their emission of greenhouse gases and was to take effect in 2005. The treaty was signed and ratified by 125 countries. However, the United States, which is estimated to be the world's largest producer of greenhouse gases, refused to sign the treaty.
Today, scientists disagree on the effects of global warming while some deny the phenomena all together. Despite these arguments many historians point out the direct relationship between man and the environment, often referencing the American Dust Bowlof the 1930s, where large scale soil erosion reduced parts of Colorado, Kansas, New Mexico, Oklahoma and Texas to arid deserts. Currently, many governments and corporations are working to reduce fuel emissions and produce "Earth friendly" products such as hybrid cars. Yet, many scientists warn that global warming is an imminent and pressing problem that needs to be addressed before it becomes irreversible.
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