This is an old revision of this page, as edited by William M. Connolley (talk | contribs) at 13:59, 7 October 2003 (Add links to attribution (since attribution is about the only q this page addresses); remove "hard to assess".). The present address (URL) is a permanent link to this revision, which may differ significantly from the current revision.
Revision as of 13:59, 7 October 2003 by William M. Connolley (talk | contribs) (Add links to attribution (since attribution is about the only q this page addresses); remove "hard to assess".)(diff) ← Previous revision | Latest revision (diff) | Newer revision → (diff)Anthropogenic global warming refers to that portion of global warming attributed to human activity, specifically the introduction of greenhouse gases into the atmosphere.
Despite the general agreement that temperatures have risen in the last century (somewhere between 0.4 and 0.8°C), the proportion of this warming that is due to human influence is still open to question. Most climate scientists recognize that the Little Ice Age, a cold period, ended recently and of course warming happens at the end of a cold period.
A summary of climate research may be found in the IPCC assessment reports. In particular, the attribution of climate change is discussed in chapter 12, which discusses The Meaning of Detection and Attribution, Quantitative Comparison of Observed and Modelled Climate Change, Pattern Correlation Methods and Optimal Fingerprint Methods.
Political aspects
Internationally, political debate has been going on about the possibility of reducing the emission of greenhouse gases. This led to the Kyoto protocol.
The U.S. Democratic Party considers anthropogenic global warming to be a well-established danger to humanity. Many conservatives in the U.S., among them President Bush, believe that the dangers of anthropogenic global warming are exaggerated.
Related Articles
More is available from the global warming page.