The theory that the earth’s climate is warming has been a highly debated topic in the media for more than a decade. Proponents of the theory point to evidence about melting polar ice caps and increased storm activity, while critics say there’s not enough data to know what’s happening over the long-term. But what does the evidence really say?
The American Association for the Advancement of Science, which publishes the journal Science, launched an initiative called What We Know that details the evidence surrounding climate change. The initiative is built around a report from a panel of leading scientists from across the United States who reviewed all of the evidence whether humans are causing or contributing to climate change.
The group issued a report detailing the evidence surrounding climate change, and they are launching a media initiative to publicize exactly what we know about how much the earth is warming and why.
According to their report, the average global temperature has increased by about 1.4 degrees Fahrenheit over the past 100 years. While that may not seem like a large increase, systematic reviews have found that spring is arriving earlier, the sea level is rising and patterns of rainfall and drought are changing.
“The science linking human activities to climate change is analogous to the science linking smoking to lung and cardiovascular diseases,” the report says.
The initiative also produced a short video that summarized what we know about climate change.
Consensus Sense from What We Know on Vimeo.
Our take: It’s refreshing to find one place that summarizes all of the evidence on climate change. It’s certainly something that will impact the health and well-being of our planet in the future.
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