What is global warming?
Global warming is an increase in the Earth’s average temperature. This, in turn, causes climate changes. A warmer Earth may lead to changes in rainfall patterns and a rise in sea level. It also triggers a wide range of changes in plants, wildlife, and human life. Hotter weather increases “bad” ozone and cause more cases of heat-related problems. Many common things you do at home and on the road add “greenhouse gases” to the air. These gases, such as carbon dioxide and methane, trap the heat of the Earth. Just by starting your car and turning on a light, you could be adding to the levels of these gases in the air. There are things you can do to help protect the environment. These climate savers will reduce your energy use and decrease the levels of greenhouse gases. Find out how your daily life affects global warming and what you can do.
In very simple terms, Global Warming describes the measured increase in the Earth’s air and ocean temperatures. Natural events, such as volcanic eruptions and solar variation, may cause fluctuations in world temperatures, but the world’s climate scientists (the Intergovernmental Panel of Climate Change or IPCC) have reached consensus that mankind is responsible for the dramatic increase in temperature. The IPCC attributes the phenomenon to the rise in “greenhouse gases” (chiefly C02), byproducts of industrialization. These greenhouse gases trap heat in the lower atmosphere, heating up the planet. The white polar icecaps serve to reflect sunlight back toward space, but as they melt and diminish, their cooling power is likewise diminished. As freshwater moves from icecaps to the ocean, there will likely be disruption to the world’s ocean currents (and hence world weather patterns) as the ocean’s salt content is diluted. The IPCC asserts that some negative effects of Global Warming will b
Global warming in Civilization III is when the ‘world’ heats up due to an increase in pollution-producing buildings (such as factories) and the use of nuclear weapons. The current state of the world is represented by a sun figure in the information box in the lower right of the screen – once that sun appears (in the Industrial Age), it means global warming has started. Global warming has the power to change tiles, for example, every few turns some grassland tiles might turn into plains, and plains into desert. If global warming is very strong (the sun is burning red), lots of tiles will change a turn – coast tiles can even dry up!
Global warming generally refers to the recent heating of the planet, which is also known as climate change. Our earth has both warmed up and cooled down in its geological history. Average global temperatures have increased around 1 deg. Fahrenheit the past century. They are projected to rise at rates five to 10 times as fast this century, which is the most rapid increase in 10,000 years, the end of the last ice age. The scientific consensus is that human activities are to blame. If projections are correct, the 21st century will see a temperature increase roughly equal to or greater than the entire global warming after the ice age. And our warming is not from ice age temperatures, but on top of an already warm atmosphere. The speed of change itself raises concerns that plants, animals and human beings will not be able to adapt rapidly enough to the changes.
