The Atheist Directory

Climate Change

• Are Volcanoes or Humans Harder on the Atmosphere? According to the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), the world’s volcanoes, both on land and undersea, generate about 200 million tons of carbon dioxide (CO2) annually, while our automotive and industrial activities cause some 24 billion tons of CO2 emissions.
• Global Warming vs. Climate Change “Climate change” and “global warming” are often used interchangeably but have distinct meanings. Similarly, the terms “weather” and “climate” are sometimes confused, though they refer to events with broadly different spatial- and timescales.
• Graphic: Temperature vs Solar Activity The above graph compares global surface temperature changes (red line) and the Sun’s energy received by the Earth (yellow line) in watts (units of energy) per square meter since 1880.
• How Do We Know Climate Change Is Real? There is unequivocal evidence that Earth is warming at an unprecedented rate. Human activity is the principal cause.
• Methane gas: What's the big deal? Scientists estimate that although methane only accounts for 3% of emissions since 1750, it is linked to as much as 23% of historic warming.
• Rising Tides: Understanding Sea Level Rise As human activity warms our planet, the ocean absorbs over 90% of the excess heat. This increases water volume and melts ice sheets and glaciers, contributing to sea level rise. Watch the video to learn how much global sea level is rising each year.
• Scientific Consensus: Earth's Climate Is Warming Scientific evidence continues to show that human activities (primarily the human burning of fossil fuels) have warmed Earth’s surface and its ocean basins, which in turn have continued to impact Earth’s climate.
• Where We'll End Up Living as the Planet Burns While nations rally to reduce their carbon emissions, and try to adapt at-risk places to hotter conditions, there is an elephant in the room: for large portions of the world, local conditions are becoming too extreme and there is no way to adapt.