So what is this Climate Change problem all about? This is actually a very difficult question to answer, because the answer is part science, part economics, part politics, and part human nature. In the next few entries I'll run through some of the basics of the science behind climate change, the things that we understand, and the things that are still uncertain. But first, let's review some facts:
1. Earth's climate has been changing very rapidly over the last few decades.
2. This climate change is driven largely by climbing global temperatures.
3. Global temperatures are climbing because of the tremendous increase of greenhouse gas concentrations in the atmosphere over the last 150 years.
4. The rapid increase of greenhouse gas concentrations is, overwhelmingly, the result of increased human industrialization and utilization of carbon-based fossil fuels.
These are solid observations and cannot be disputed on scientific grounds. In the next entry we'll get a quick primer on the Earth's climate! In the meantime, you can take a look at Wikipedia's excellent entry on the topic (Wikipedia:Climate Change), though as with all Wikipedia entries, remember that there are numerous authors and opinions.