climate change- middlebury vermont community network（community climate change - vermont middlebury network）.doc

Climate Change (A Fundamental Analysis of the Greenhouse Effect) By John Nicol jonicol@netspace.net.au Introduction Over recent years there has been considerable debate concerning the possibility of industrially induced increases in the concentration of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere giving rise to increased warming across the world. This Global Warming, often referred to in later times as “Climate Change”, has been accepted as a challenge by laymen, respected scientists, media moguls and politicians in a significant attempt to pursue the source of the problem and to prevent further damage being done to an increasingly fragile environment. However, a large number of equally respected scientists and members of the public, appear to be less convinced of the need to take action and have put forward in some cases well and passionately argued reasons that the warming and other climatic changes observed since the industrial age are simply manifestations of many different natural cycles in global and regional climate. Let there be no mistake, climate change is real, very real and of course has been for many millions of years. The questions we now face is whether the large increases in recent years, in the concentration of atmospheric Carbon Dioxide, which is commensurate with the rate of increase in our burning of fossil fuels, is the main cause of the observed variations in climate and what will be the effect in the future. Fortunately, in relation to this problem, there is an apparently unprecedented level of cooperation between the nations of the world, all of whom are keen to find the answers to these questions and to contribute significant resources, if necessary, towards reducing the impact of the predicted cataclysmic outcomes if we continue along the current path of developing energy sources based on these fuels. A timely attempt has also been made by the United Nations to establish an effective working committee employing a large team of dedicated