Climate Change is in general words the increase (or decrease) of the average temperature of the Earths near-surface air and oceans in recent decades and its projected continuation.

The global average air tempature near the Earth's surface rose 0.18 °C (0.32 °F) during the 100 years ending in 2005. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) concludes ''most observed increase in globally averaged temperatures since the mid-20th century is very likely due to the observed increase in anthropogenic (man produced) greenhouse gas concentrations''.

Phenomena such as solar variation and volcanoes probably had a small warming effect from pre-industrial times to 1950,
and a small cooling effect from 1950 onward.

This is only a problem because it's on the Earth, where we have from pre-historic times large ice glaciers near the Antartics and Greenland which will melt down, causing the sea level to rise, and is expected to increase the intensity of extreme weather events and to change the amount and pattern of precipitation (hail, rain, snow etc) which will cause the extinction of species, increase the range of disease vectors etc.

All this is as cause of anthropogenic greenhouse gases.The first time the greenhouse gases were observed was by Joseph Fourier in 1824, and was first investigated quantitatively by Svante August Arrhenius in 1896.

Scientists are now working on a way to solve this problem but for now we normal people can only help through decrease in our use of oil, gasoline and coal. Another way to help our enviroment is to recycle paper, plastic etc.

Laszlo Joergensen