EVIDENCE FOR PAST CLIMATE CHANGE, IS CURRENT CHANGE HUMAN INDUCED?

With the use of proxy data such as glacial ice cores, tree rings,
sediments and historical data, scientist are able to determine climate
variation. By looking at something like tree ring thickness for example
you are able to determine the favourability of climatic conditions. We
know from this data that the Earth goes through cycles of extreme heat
and extreme cold. The last ice age occurred 10 000 years ago which is
relatively recent. It is thus highly likely that the increase in
temperature we have been experiencing could just be one of the natural
cycles of the Earth.

Is it possible tha humans might have a hand in it as well? The
naturally occurring greenhouses gases which under normal conditions,
maintain optimal living conditions on Earth, has seen a significant
increase. The increase of these gases means that more and more of it
gets trapped in the atmosphere, heating up the Earth more and more. The
greenhouse gases CO2, methane and CFC's are released through human
activities such as the burning of fossil fuels, from landfills and from
aerosol spray cans. The beginning of the industrial revolution saw the
levels of CO2 increasing from 0.37 in 1900 to . The same could be said
of all the greenhouse gases. The fact that climate change is human
induced can therefore not be argued.
Reviewed by Ashton Mouton and Dane Mcdonald

Ilse Kotzee
Student # 2456349
2456349@uwc.ac.za