What is the principal cause of climate change?

The earth has been experiencing alarming climate-related events in recent years and things appear to be getting worse. Massive wildfires in California, record high temperatures in Canada, Europe and Japan are killing many people prematurely. Long-term studies by scientists show that it is extremely likely that human activity has been the dominant cause of warming since the mid-20th century. Urban areas around the globe are responsible for a large share of the pollution.

Greenhouse gas emissions

Evidence that CO2 emissions are the cause of global warming is hard to refute. Scientists have known since the early 1800s that greenhouse gases in the atmosphere trap heat.
Global CO2 emissions from human activity have increased by over 400% since 1950. Consequently, the concentration of CO2 in the air has reached more than 400 parts per million by volume (ppm), compared to around 280 ppm in 1750 (around the start of the Industrial Revolution).

The earth’s natural climate cycle

Over the last 800,000 years, there have been seemingly natural cycles in the earth’s climate, between ice ages and warmer interglacial periods. Following the last ice age 20,000 years ago, the average global temperature grew by about 3°C to 8°C, over a period of about 10,000 years.
We can link the spike in temperature over the last 200 years to rises in atmospheric CO2 levels. Greenhouse gas levels are now over the natural cycle of the last 800,000 years.

Solar influences on the planet

The sun is the primary source of the earth’s heat, so small changes in solar output can affect our climate. Researchers have been monitoring satellites since the late 1970s that have shown a decrease in the sun’s total energy output. In addition, warming from the sun heats all of the atmosphere, including the lowest few miles (the troposphere) and the layer above (the stratosphere). Observations show that the stratosphere is cooling while the troposphere warms. This is consistent with greenhouse gas heating and not solar heating.

Solutions to the climate change quandary

Solar power is the obvious instant solution to global warming. But we will continue to burn fossil fuels until they are completely exhausted. That is expected to last only another fifty or sixty years and what will mankind do after that? We better be ready to go with less polluting sources of energy. Wind and solar power provide the answer to the problem. Technological improvements in solar cells will be critically important because current solar technology is insufficient to fuel the entire planet.

You can do your part by installing a solar system!

Solar power is here to stay, and the sooner you explore how much you can save, the sooner you can enjoy the benefits of residential solar power. Go to HahaSmart.com and try our price checker tool. It tells you how much solar power you need, and how much you can save.

Please visit our solar blog to find out more about the benefits of going solar.