Global Warming is one of the most highly debated phenomenons of the natural world.

After the first claim in 1896, many scientists have studied how the emission of greenhouse gases affect the atmosphere. Though many have heard of it, there is a widespread confusion around the idea of global warming.

Over the past 50 years, the average global temperature has rapidly been increasing; the past 15 years have been the hottest years ever recorded. The main cause of this global phenomenon: greenhouse gas emissions. When air pollutants, such as carbon dioxide, are released into the atmosphere, they stay there for centuries. The pollutants trap solar radiation from the sun and cause the ground temperature to rise. Thus, global warming occurs, according to the NDRC.

The main causes of this warming, as stated by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), are greenhouse gases like water vapor, carbon dioxide, methane, nitrous oxide, and Chlorofluorocarbons. However, human activities and the sun’s irradiance also have an effect.

“The industrial activities that our modern civilization depends upon have raised atmospheric carbon dioxide levels from 280 parts per million to 400 parts per million in the last 150 years,” said NASA. Research done by The International Panel on Climate Change shows a 90% chance that human activities have caused much of the Earth’s warming.

According to the National Climate Assessment (NCA), the world could be eight degrees hotter by 2100. While that may only sound like the difference between wearing a sweater and a coat, it affects the climate in some key ways. For one, the severity of the weather will increase. Warmer climates hold, and therefore, drop more water. The National Resource Defense Council (NRDC) says that wet areas will only getter wetter, and dry areas will only get dryer. The increase in droughts and flood could cause a lack in clean water access, promote bacterial growth, and increase the number of infections insects.

An increase in ocean levels also poses an issue. Since the ocean absorbs roughly 90% of the increased atmospheric temperature, the water has expanded (water expands as it heats up). According to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), ocean levels have increased by 1.2 inches every decade since 1992. Prior to that, it was projected that the ocean levels only rose about 0.6 inches per decade. Not only that, but the increased temperature also causes glaciers and other ice sheets to melt.

Increased sea levels cause flooding, damage to property, erosion, and an increase in hazardous storms from the ocean front. Houses, roads, bridges, sewage treatment plants, oil wells, and most man-made structures are a risk of damage.

A change in the interactions of varying species could also occur, according to National Geographic. For example, the increase in temperature creates an increase in precipitation. Heavier and more frequent precipitation means more frequent blooming of plants like flowers. If flowers, and other plants, that need to be pollinated bloom out of sync with the bee’s pollination cycle, they could die. This causes a decrease in flora and fauna as well as food supply for the bee’s.

To many, it seems as though the damage is done, but the NRDC mentions ways to prevent global warming further. They say it is simple in theory.

“Carbon dioxide is the climate’s worst enemy. It’s released when oil, coal, and other fossil fuels are burned for energy…By using less of it, we can curb our own contribution to climate change while also saving money.”

The thought is decreasing carbon dioxide emissions should slow the temperature increase, or even cause it to stop. Researchers from Princeton University, Stephen Pacala and Robert Socolow, suggest a new plan they call “stabilization wedges”. These stabilization wedges are an eight part plan to slowly stall carbon emissions and eventually decrease them.

Each step within the wedge is a way to find and use energy that requires little to no carbon emissions like solar and wind power. Another goal would be to store carbon to reduce how much is released into the atmosphere through underground or biostorage.

Solar power, wind power, forest storage, biofuels, and wind hydrogen are all fuels Pacala and Socolow, suggest could cut back on emissions of greenhouse gases.

Though not everyone agrees, many assert that the gradual increase in the Earth’s temperature does instigate problems. By cutting back greenhouse gas emissions, perhaps the effects would begin to reverse. According to the NRDC, the United States of America will begin to publicly report their progress on reversing global warming in 2023.