ecaying animal and plant life. In fact, the presence of fossils deep within the earth often helps oil drillers to locate oil and gas. But you say, "Oil can be found miles deep in the earth's crust. How could animals and plants be buried so deep?" The answer seems to be that the oil and gas were created closer to the surface but seeped deeper through cracks in the earth's crust.
So, are humans causing global warming? We do not know. We do know that burning fossil fuels adds to the heat given off into the atmosphere, and that certainly can't help.
is happening now?
Warmer air will mean more frequent and more severe storms (thunderstorms, hurricanes, tornados). Rainfall has gradually increased over the last hundred years, as temperature has risen. Rising temperatures may also make some areas more arid than they already are because of the increased heat. It is hard to say what will happen to specific regions.
But there is conflicting evidence. Consider the following facts:
A review of the evidence, published in The Journal of American Physicians and Surgeons 12 (2007) 79-90, cites published papers showing that::
1. glacier shrinkage started increasing around 1825 (before fossil fuels had any impact) and has increased with a steady slope that has not been affected by increasing use of fossils fuels. Similarly, sea level rise began around 1850, and its slope of increase is not changed by increasing use of fossil fuels.
2. Arctic air temperature correlates with solar activity, not use of fossil fuels. the same is true for U.S.surface temperatures.
3. number of severe tornados in U.S. over the last 50 years is decreasing and number of hurricanes making landfall in U.S. has not increased during the last 100 years.
4. long-lived trees are growing faster in correlation with the increase in atmospheric CO2.
5. increased CO2 accelerates growth of plants tested (wheat, orange trees, young pine trees)
6. the earth has had much warmer weather in the past and warmer weather increases the growing season, makes plants grow faster, and increases plant and animal habitats in cold climates. We should expect more plant and animal life in the future.
7. increasing use of fossil fuels in poor countries is actually helping lift these people out of poverty.
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