Statement on Climate Change from 18 Scientific Associations

"Observations throughout the world make it clear that climate change is occurring, and rigorous scientific research demonstrates that the greenhouse gases emitted by human activities are the primary driver." (2009)

A simple introduction to the science of climate and climate change can be found at a page maintained by NASA at climate.nasa.gov

Core Concepts:

• Greenhouse Gases (GHG)

• Earth's Radiative Balance

• Greenhouse gases accumulate in the atmosphere as a result of humanity's use of fossil fuel and other activities

• Feedback Loops

 James Hansen, the “Grandfather of Climate Change” is the NASA scientist who first warned Congress in 1988 that Global Warming caused by humanity’s use of fossil fuels has already been detected. In this TED talk from 2012 he gives us his first-hand account of the science and politics of Climate Change.

Hans Schellnhuber, explains the Earth's tipping points.

Schellnhuber explains that humanity has a choice:  in the next few years it will decide whether to keep the Earth habitable or to tip the Earth system towards a state called "Hothouse Earth", which is incompatible with human civilization.

In this talk given to the Vatican in July 2018, he issues a “Last Call for the Planet”. The article can be found here.

One of Earth's tipping points is the permafrost in the Arctic. Recent observations show that this tipping point is about to be triggered.

From the article: 
 

The Arctic is one of the fastest warming places on the planet. As temperatures rise, the perpetually frozen layer of soil, called permafrost, begins to thaw, releasing methane and other greenhouse gases into the atmosphere. These methane emissions can accelerate future warming—but to understand to what extent, we need to know how much methane may be emitted, when and what environmental factors may influence its release.

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Read more here.