Dr Simon Clark explains the story of how we discovered the planet was warming, and why. Learn the building blocks of climate science with Brilliant: https://www.brilliant.org/simonclark
The climate crisis is caused by a build up of carbon dioxide in the Earth’s atmosphere, which traps energy and raises the planet’s average temperature. This was discovered over the course of 200 years by a large cast of chemists, physicists, geologists, and other scientists. Some of them you may know, such as Joseph Fourier and Charles Keeling, but many of them are less well known. This video tells the remarkable story of men and women like Eunice Foote, Roger Revelle, Guy Callendar, and James Croll. However, there’s still more to be told!
Climate change refers to long-term shifts in temperatures and weather patterns. These shifts may be natural, such as through variations in the solar cycle. However, since the 1800s, human activities have been the main driver of climate change, primarily due to burning fossil fuels like coal, oil, and gas.
Burning fossil fuels generates greenhouse gas emissions that act like a blanket wrapped around the Earth, trapping the sun’s heat and raising temperatures.
Examples of greenhouse gas emissions that are causing climate change include carbon dioxide and methane. These come from using gasoline for driving a car or coal for heating a building, for example. Clearing land and forests can also release carbon dioxide. Landfills for garbage are a major source of methane emissions. Energy, industry, transport, buildings, agriculture and land use are among the main emitters.