Climate change

ISSUES

Climate change

The greenhouse effect is a well-known mechanism. It was discovered in the 19th Century : Joseph Fourier described it as early as 1824. Briefly: the gases in the atmosphere absorb some of the energy of sunlight and, in doing so, heat the planet. The more gases there are, the more they heat the planet. There are many gases: water vapour, CO2, methane, nitrous oxide, etc. Thanks to these gases, the Earth's average temperature is compatible with our existence. Without them, it would go down to -18°C.
In 1896, the Swedish researcher Arrhenius calculated that if the amount of CO2 in the atmosphere doubled, the average temperature would go up by 4°C.
A historical modification
Human activity has considerably increased certain greenhouse gases. For CO2, the world atmospheric concentration went from about 280 ppm (parts per million) in 1750 to 380 ppm in 2005. This increase is mainly due to the use of fossil fuels (transport...

NEWS

EU says emissions down, but pollution scheme falters

Shrinking glaciers behind a third of sea-level rise: study

'Overwhelming' consensus for manmade warming: review

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DEBATES

Stop Paying the Polluters

Connie Hedegaard

“When the winds of change blow,” says an old Chinese proverb, “some build walls, and others build wind mills.”CommentsThese same...

Thawing of Permafrost Expected to Cause Significant Additional Global Warming, Not yet Accounted for in Climate Predictions

Permafrost covering almost a quarter of the northern...

Governments need to urgently identify how ambition can be raised on climate

Greenhouse Gas Emissions Gap Widening as Nations Head to...

FOCUS

Nobel Price of ecology

Designed to recognize grassroots environmental heroes, the Goldman Environmental Prize, founded by Richard and Rhoda Goldman in 1989 In San Francisco, is awarded annually to individuals from the six inhabited continental regions for sustained and significant efforts to...

VIDEOS

16/04/2013	The Global Precipitation Measurement (GPM) is an international satellite...	14/03/2013	In 2010 New York City added 54 million metric tons of carbon dioxide...
21/11/2012	Geo-engineering aims to mitigate climate change.	15/11/2012	Our undercover investigation has revealed a militant group of Conservative...

GREEN TIPS

In Albi, light is cheap

The town of Albi has installed which are more eco-friendly. These produce good quality white light which...

INDICATORS

Carbon dioxide emissions
Total Primary Energy Supply
Ecological footprint

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