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Climate change, also known as global warming, affects all living systems on Earth.  While climate change can be attributed in part to environmental conditions such as solar radiation and volcanic activity, human activities since the Industrial Revolution have increased the rate and magnitude of this issue.  This is mainly a result of those activities that release greenhouse gases into our atmosphere such as carbon dioxide (CO2), nitrous oxide and methane.   According to recent evidence, CO2 levels in the atmosphere have reached 390 parts-per-million (ppm): an unprecedented level.  Most climate scientists and experts believe that the safe upper limit for CO2 is 350ppm.

As more and more greenhouse gases enter our atmosphere, more heat from the sun becomes trapped by the atmosphere and begins to warm the surface of the Earth.  This leads to a warming trend which then affects climate.  According to NASA, the decade between January 2000 and December 2009 was the warmest since record keeping began in 1880.  NASA scientists also report a clear warming trend since 1880.  This warming affects climate patterns in many ways, some of which include stronger hurricanes, longer droughts, more severe flooding, and increased desertification of arable lands.

Climate change is the single greatest threat facing civilization as we know it.  Reducing our output of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases into the atmosphere is paramount to reducing the effects of this threat.

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