How Certain is the Climate Change Science?
While the climate system is very complex and difficult to model precisely, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) is increasingly certain that humans have a discernible influence on the global climate. Confirmation of the measured warming trend is substantiated by the rise in sea level of between four and 10 inches that has occurred since 1900 and the decrease in the average snow cover and glacial ice worldwide. Unseasonable weather phenomena are becoming commonplace and intensities appear to be increasing. A continued increase in greenhouse gas emissions, and the associated temperature rise, is likely to accelerate the rate of climate change, producing further impacts. The primary greenhouse gas contributor is CO2. Scientists have established direct links between increased CO2 concentrations and the atmospheric warming that has occurred since the industrial revolution. After remaining relatively constant from 1000 to 1700 c.e., CO2 concentrations began to rise sharply an
