Global Warming

Scientists predict that unless dramatic changes are made, the average global surface temperature will rise one to 4.5 degrees over the next 50 years, and two to ten degrees by the year 2100.1 As a result, sea level is likely to rise two feet, causing extensive flooding.2 Both evaporation and rainfall will increase, bringing greater precipitation in some areas and spreading drought in others. Heat waves and major storms will be more frequent, more intense, and more deadly.

Although local temperatures fluctuate naturally, during the past 50 years the average global temperature has increased at the fastest rate in recorded history. According to NASA scientists, 2005 was the warmest year in over a century, and 1998, 2002, 2003 and 2004 followed as the next four warmest years.3 In fact, the ten hottest years on record have all occurred since 1990.4 And the polar icecaps are unquestionably melting. In 2005, researchers found that the Greenland ice sheet is not only melting, but it is doing so at a faster rate than expected. Fifty-three cubic miles drained into the sea last year alone, compared to 23 cubic miles in 1996.5

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency reports that “[s]cientists know for certain that human activities are changing the composition of Earth’s atmosphere. Increasing levels of greenhouse gases, like carbon dioxide (CO2), in the atmosphere since pre-industrial times have been well documented. There is no doubt this atmospheric buildup of CO2 and other greenhouse gases is largely the result of human activities. It’s well accepted by scientists that greenhouse gases trap heat in the Earth’s atmosphere and tend to warm the planet. By increasing the levels of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere, human activities are strengthening Earth’s natural greenhouse effect. The key greenhouse gases emitted by human activities remain in the atmosphere for periods ranging from decades to centuries. Warming has occurred in both the northern and southern hemispheres, and over the oceans. Confirmation of 20th century global warming is further substantiated by melting glaciers, decreased snow cover in the northern hemisphere and warming below ground.”6

In recent years, western states have endured their worst wildfire seasons ever. Drought has created severe dust storms in the Great Plains, and floods have caused billions of dollars in damage. Hurricane Katrina is part of a trend toward more destructive hurricanes caused by increased ocean temperatures. The impacts of global warming are not limited to the U.S. The World Health Organization estimates that climate change contributes to more than 150,000 deaths and five million illnesses each year.7 Global warming has also caused widespread drying that has turned arid lands to desert, especially in Africa.8

Carbon dioxide and other pollutants collect in the atmosphere like a thickening blanket, trapping the sun’s heat and causing the planet to warm. While the entire world contributes to this buildup, the United States is the largest source of global warming pollution. Americans make up just four percent of the world’s population, but produce 25 percent of the carbon dioxide pollution from fossil-fuel burning. Coal-burning power plants are the largest U.S. source of CO2 pollution—they produce 2.5 billion tons every year. Automobiles, the second largest source, create nearly 1.5 billion tons of CO2 annually.9

In 2006, California enacted the Global Warming Solutions Act, a first-in-the-world comprehensive program aimed at reducing California’s greenhouse gas emissions 25 percent by 2020. The law requires redesigned cars and trucks, greener electricity, energy conservation, and smart growth planning. Other states have also addressed the causes and effects of global warming: