A picture, from the NASA website, explains the natural process of the heating and cooling periods.

While right now the Earth may be on a rise in temperature, scientists are putting forth that this is a natural cycle and that eventually the Earth will begin a cooling period. Scientists prove this by looking deeper into the “rings of temperature sensitive tress” (science.nasa.gov).

However, the climate change is still an issue of concern even if it is part of a natural cycle. The increase of temperature is harmful to both the environment and to the ecosystem.

Scientists, “putting it all together,” believe that there is not just one cause of global warming. However, there is conclusive evidence that global warming is occurring whatever the cause may be.

While global warming may be due to human life styles or it may be part of a natural cycle, some believe that global warming is due to other sources, such as the Sun. Research put together by Swiss and German scientists show that the “Sun’s radiation is increasing” (www.telegraph.co.uk). By studying the energy output of the Sun, scientists were able to find that the Sun’s radiation increase could, on top of the issue with greenhouse gases, be a cause of global warming.

Global warming has both natural causes and human causes. However, the results from both are the same: the earth’s temperature is rising. It is rising at an average of 1 degree Fahrenheit per century (green.nationalgeographic.com). National Geographic also outlines that due to global warming, sea levels are rising (news.nationalgeographic.com). Some believe that global warming is not the result of natural problems or human lifestyles but rather that it is a part of a natural cycle (www.cnn.com).

Annotated References

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/07/04/AR2006070400789.html

This article is from the Washington Post and talks about the truths of global warming in response to the movie, “An Inconvenient Truth,” by Al Gore.

http://green.nationalgeographic.com/environment/global-warming/gw-real.html

This article is from National Geographic and gives a basic background to global warming.

http://www.epa.gov/climatechange/

This website is a government webpage that gives links to different information regarding global warming such as environmental effects, greenhouse gases, and the U.S. climate policy.

http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2004/04/0420_040420_earthday.html

This is an article written for National Geographic. While it centers on the change in sea level due to global warming, it also highlights possible natural causes for global warming.

http://www.cnn.com/2007/TECH/science/07/11/globalwarming.overview/index.html

This is an article from CNN and debates whether global warming is a part of a natural cycle or if it is caused by human lifestyle.

http://science.nasa.gov/headlines/y2000/ast20oct_1.htm

This website is put together by NASA. It gives both a background to global warming as well as the current state that global warming is in.

This blog will discuss the direct and indirect causes of global warming as well as the reality of the problem.