#430 - Global Warming, Part 2: Human Consequences Of Global Warming

As we saw last week, the worldwide scientific community has reached consensus that global warming is inevitable if humans continue to dump "greenhouse gases" into the atmosphere at anything like present rates. Greenhouse gases include carbon dioxide, methane, nitrous oxide, chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) and a few others. These gases act like the glass covering a greenhouse, letting sunlight in but stopping heat from escaping, thus driving up the average temperature of our earthly "greenhouse" sooner or later. The main contributor to the greenhouse effect is naturally-occurring water vapor, which keeps the planet's thermostat set at a pleasant 59 degrees or so (Fahrenheit), average. But the main HUMAN contribution to greenhouse warming is carbon dioxide, which is released whenever fossil fuels are burned; fossil fuels include oil, natural gas and coal. Carbon dioxide levels in the atmosphere have been rising relentlessly for a century.