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Synthesis Essay: Can Climate Change Be Man Made?

Decent Essays

There have been some debates recently within the political and scientific communities of global warming: if it's real, what’s causing it, and what we can do to stop it. There are many natural factors such as water vapour or variations in the sun’s energy that could be causing global warming; but, there is also evidence that is man made by rising carbon dioxide emissions.
In the previously mentioned debates, scientists are going back and forth on whether or not man made carbon dioxide emissions lead to global warming. Some say natural causes alone cannot explain climate change, after the Industrial Revolution in the 1800s, but rather that human activities are likely a major factor. However, others say that the only reason climate change is chalked up to being man made is simply because scientists have not done the proper research required to find evidence …show more content…

Basically, more CO2 means a warmer climate.
So, why might humans be to blame for rising CO2 levels? It all started with the Industrial Revolution. At the start of it, there were 280 parts per million of CO2 in the atmosphere. In 2014, there were 400 ppm, the highest it had been for a million years; however, another source said atmospheric CO2 levels are higher than they have been for 15-20 million years, and that a change of ppm that should take 5,000-20,000 years has occurred in 120.
These increases are due to fossil fuel burning, a human activity that produces carbon emissions. This is one of the reasons as to the statement made by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change that it is extremely likely that human activity causes global warming, an over 95%

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