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Global Warming Controversy. Climate change, specifically global warming, has been a prominent and serious global issue. It has captured a global attention generating actions and debates involving social and political organizations possibly more than any other environmental issue in history. A looming controversy over the global warming issue debates the causes of increased global average air temperature since the mid-1800s, whether this warming trend is unprecedented or within normal climatic variations, predictions of additional warming, what the consequences are, and what necessary actions should be taken. With this, scientists have taken the step to establish studies in resolving this controversy and to arrive at a scientific consensus linking human activity to this crisis.

The Scientific Consensus

Major scientific bodies worldwide issued a statement telling the work of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) as the unanimous consensus representing the international scientific community on climate change science. These scientific bodies recognize IPCC as the world’s most reliable source of information on climate change and its causes, endorsing its method of achieving this consensus. The IPCC was established in 1988 by the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) and the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) to provide a comprehensive and objective assessment of scientific, technical and socio-economic information that could lead to a better understanding of human-induced climate change, its potential impacts, and the options for adaptation and mitigation.

The Impact of Human Activity on Global Warming

The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) published a summary of report which drew on the work of more than 2,500 of the world’s leading climate scientists and were endorsed by 130 nations. The report confirms that global warming is now “unequivocal.” and states with more than 90 percent certainty that humans are primarily accountable for a significant portion of the heat-trapping greenhouse gases that have caused global temperatures to rise significantly since 1950. The overwhelming increase in the greenhouse gases (primarily carbon dioxide and methane) in the Earth’s upper atmosphere is caused by human burning of fossil fuels, industrial, farming, and deforestation activities. Additionally, it states that the increased in greenhouse gas concentrations are not only very likely to increase the Earth’s average temperature but also will influence precipitation and some storm patterns as well as raise sea levels. All of these will result to future problems caused by rising seas, growing deserts, and more frequent droughts all seem to affect the developing world more than rich countries. The report further says that global warming is likely to continue for centuries, and that it is already too late to stop some of the serious consequences it will bring. Still, the report adds that there is still time to slow global warming and to minimize many of its most severe consequences if we act quickly.