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By: Darren Williger

A topic which is well debated about our earth is climate change. The greenhouse effect is undeniably real and assists in regulating the planet's temperature. Earth depends on this natural process which is essential for life. The greenhouse effect results from certain gases absorbing into the atmosphere and essentially trapping heat in the lower atmosphere and re-radiate heat downward. The most abundant greenhouse gas is water vapor, and the second being carbon dioxide, followed by other trace gases.

The greenhouse effect is necessary as otherwise the temperature of the earth would be around zero degrees. Concerns are not around the fact that we have a greenhouse effect, but rather whether our activities on the planet, particualrly deforestation and fossil fuel combustion are increasing the amount of gases being released.

There is little scientific debate on the fact of increasing concentrations of greenhouse gases in our atmosphere, primarily carbon dioxide from oil, gas, and coal consumption. Prior to the start of the Industrial Revolution, levels of carbon dioxide in our atmosphere were about 280 PPMV with the current parts per million by volume greater than 380, growing at a rate of 1.9ppm/year since 2000. According to studies, we can expect to see rising concentrations of carbon dioxide ranging between 490 to 1260 ppm.

Although our climate also continues to warm, certain areas of North America have actually cooled. The warmest 10 years have occurred since 1995, and of the last eight warmest years, seven of which were after 2001. To truly analyze the impact of changing climate extremes, we need to properly measure and track various models on regional as well as global scales.

Wet and try spells in areas of excessive drought or wetness have indeed been more intense in recent years. Due to the atmosphere's incredible complexity, the tools most useful for tracking potential future changes are climate models - computer based simulations in 3d which continue to improve.