?Observations of a Warming Earth are Older Than You Might Think
For many, the idea of climate change was an intellectual curiosity and yet another worrisome warning from people you wouldn’t invite to parties. However, in the span of just a few years, there has been a dramatic shift in how people perceive climate change in North America. It may be disappearing polar bears or killer bees, but the wacky weather that is now apparent to so many has been on the mind of climate researchers for over a century.
While searching for the cause of ice ages, it was discovered that the climate seemed to warm whenever carbon dioxide levels reached a critical point. Therefore, it was reasoned, the burning of coal could one day cause the atmosphere to heat up too much. When this was first proposed in the late 17th century, it was thought it could take 500 years or more for such levels to be reached. Had the consumption of petroleum not become so widespread, that might have been true, but in less than half that time, the Earth as far exceeded the carbon dioxide concentrations that it were theorized would case the opposite of an ice age to occur.
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