Changes

The most obvious way that this would occur would be through the heating of ocean water. The oceans are the single largest storage unit for carbon dioxide gas on the planet, containing about 93% of the Earth's carbon dioxide.<ref>[http://www.waterencyclopedia.com/Bi-Ca/Carbon-Dioxide-in-the-Ocean-and-Atmosphere.html "Carbon dioxide in the ocean and atmosphere"] (2007).  Water Encyclopedia.  Retrieved on September 26, 2014</ref> As the temperature rises, the [[solubility]] of carbon dioxide in ocean water is reduced,<ref>[http://science.nasa.gov/earth-science/oceanography/ocean-earth-system/ocean-carbon-cycle/ "Carbon cycle"] (2010).  NASA Science.  Retrieved on September 26, 2014.</ref> causing the dissolved carbon dioxide gas to enter the atmosphere, and begin trapping radiation from the sun. Scientists now believe that this cycle causes a sort of chain effect, where increased temperature causes more carbon dioxide to enter the atmosphere, which in turn causes more temperature rise.

The most obvious way that this would occur would be through the heating of ocean water. The oceans are the single largest storage unit for carbon dioxide gas on the planet, containing about 93% of the Earth's carbon dioxide.<ref>[http://www.waterencyclopedia.com/Bi-Ca/Carbon-Dioxide-in-the-Ocean-and-Atmosphere.html "Carbon dioxide in the ocean and atmosphere"] (2007).  Water Encyclopedia.  Retrieved on September 26, 2014</ref> As the temperature rises, the [[solubility]] of carbon dioxide in ocean water is reduced,<ref>[http://science.nasa.gov/earth-science/oceanography/ocean-earth-system/ocean-carbon-cycle/ "Carbon cycle"] (2010).  NASA Science.  Retrieved on September 26, 2014.</ref> causing the dissolved carbon dioxide gas to enter the atmosphere, and begin trapping radiation from the sun. Scientists now believe that this cycle causes a sort of chain effect, where increased temperature causes more carbon dioxide to enter the atmosphere, which in turn causes more temperature rise.

It is also noteworthy to point out that carbon dioxide, while not as abundant in the atmosphere, has a more significant effect on global warming than water vapor does. Carbon dioxide cannot form clouds, as water vapor does. When water vapor forms clouds, those clouds actually block some of the sun's radiation from reaching the Earth, causing water vapor to both contribute positively and negatively to global temperature rise. Carbon dioxide can only act as a greenhouse gas, causing the above mentioned cyclic effect. According to the IPCC and others, the current concentration of carbon dioxide in the Earth's atmosphere is about 392 ppm, which is the highest it has been in at about 800,000 years.<ref>Tans, Pieter and Keeling, Ralph (2010).  [http://www.esrl.noaa.gov/gmd/ccgg/trends/mlo.html "Trends in atmospheric carbon dioxide"].  NOAA/Earth System Research Laboratory Global Monitoring Division.  Retrieved on September 26, 2014.</ref>

It is also noteworthy to point out that carbon dioxide, while not as abundant in the atmosphere, has a more significant effect on global warming than water vapor does. Carbon dioxide cannot form clouds, as water vapor does. When water vapor forms clouds, those clouds actually block some of the sun's radiation from reaching the Earth, causing water vapor to both contribute positively and negatively to global temperature rise. Carbon dioxide can only act as a greenhouse gas, causing the above-mentioned cyclic effect. According to the IPCC and others, the current concentration of carbon dioxide in the Earth's atmosphere is about 392 ppm, which is the highest it has been in at about 800,000 years.<ref>Tans, Pieter and Keeling, Ralph (2010).  [http://www.esrl.noaa.gov/gmd/ccgg/trends/mlo.html "Trends in atmospheric carbon dioxide"].  NOAA/Earth System Research Laboratory Global Monitoring Division.  Retrieved on September 26, 2014.</ref>

But other scientists have disputed this claim of modern-day record-high carbon dioxide readings:<ref name="dissidents"/>

But other scientists have disputed this claim of modern-day record-high carbon dioxide readings:<ref name="dissidents"/>

The average [[Earth]] surface air temperature has risen about 1&nbsp;°F since 1970.<ref>Hansen's group at the Goddard Institute wrote, "Global warming is now 0.6&nbsp;°C [1.0&nbsp;°F] in the past three decades and 0.8&nbsp;°C [1.4&nbsp;°F] in the past century." Hansen, J. E. and Reudy, R. et al. (January 12, 2006). [http://data.giss.nasa.gov/gistemp/2005/ "GISS Surface Temperature Analysis"].  NASA/Goddard Institute for Space Studies.  Retrieved on September 26, 2014.</ref> Studies have ruled out the possibility that errors in the measurements and sampling significantly affect the temperature trends detected over the past century. This accounts for spatial errors in the sampling and thus also incorporates errors associated with the urban-heating effect. According to Karl et al. (1994) ''"Results imply that the errors associated with century-scale trends of temperature are probably an order of magnitude smaller than the observed global warming of nearly 0.5°C per 100 years since the late nineteenth century"'' <ref>Karl, Thomas R., Knight, Richard W. et al. (July 1994).  [http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/1994JCli....7.1144K "Global and hemispheric temperature trends: uncertainties related to inadequate spatial sampling" [abstract&#93;].  ''Journal of Climate'', vol. 7, iss. 7, pp. 1144-1168.  Abstract retrieved from The SAO/NASA Astrophysics Data System on September 26, 2014.</ref>

The average [[Earth]] surface air temperature has risen about 1&nbsp;°F since 1970.<ref>Hansen's group at the Goddard Institute wrote, "Global warming is now 0.6&nbsp;°C [1.0&nbsp;°F] in the past three decades and 0.8&nbsp;°C [1.4&nbsp;°F] in the past century." Hansen, J. E. and Reudy, R. et al. (January 12, 2006). [http://data.giss.nasa.gov/gistemp/2005/ "GISS Surface Temperature Analysis"].  NASA/Goddard Institute for Space Studies.  Retrieved on September 26, 2014.</ref> Studies have ruled out the possibility that errors in the measurements and sampling significantly affect the temperature trends detected over the past century. This accounts for spatial errors in the sampling and thus also incorporates errors associated with the urban-heating effect. According to Karl et al. (1994) ''"Results imply that the errors associated with century-scale trends of temperature are probably an order of magnitude smaller than the observed global warming of nearly 0.5°C per 100 years since the late nineteenth century"'' <ref>Karl, Thomas R., Knight, Richard W. et al. (July 1994).  [http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/1994JCli....7.1144K "Global and hemispheric temperature trends: uncertainties related to inadequate spatial sampling" [abstract&#93;].  ''Journal of Climate'', vol. 7, iss. 7, pp. 1144-1168.  Abstract retrieved from The SAO/NASA Astrophysics Data System on September 26, 2014.</ref>

According to temperature reconstruction made within an [[Old Earth]] paradigm, there have been many cycles of naturally-caused global warming and cooling over many millions of years (see [[climate cycles]]). Some scientists, including [[Richard Lindzen]] of [[MIT]], [[Sallie Baliunas]] of [[Harvard]] and [[Fred Singer]] (independent), say that the recent warming could be part of another natural cycle or random fluctuations in the atmosphere. However, many scientists also think that human activities were most likely the cause of the the planet's recent warming.

According to temperature reconstruction made within an [[Old Earth]] paradigm, there have been many cycles of naturally-caused global warming and cooling over many millions of years (see [[climate cycles]]). Some scientists, including [[Richard Lindzen]] of [[MIT]], [[Sallie Baliunas]] of [[Harvard]] and [[Fred Singer]] (independent), say that the recent warming could be part of another natural cycle or random fluctuations in the atmosphere. However, many scientists also think that human activities were most likely the cause of the planet's recent warming.

Recent studies of the Milankovitch Cycles, which predict Earth's climate by studying changes in its orbit and axial tilt, suggest that we are currently 18,000 years into a 150,000 year period between ice ages. This would imply that we should expect the temperature to be rising anyway. A 2002 study by Berger and Loutre suggests 50,000 years of warmer weather before Earth begins to cool again, but that model incorporated anthropogenic forces and concluded:

Recent studies of the Milankovitch Cycles, which predict Earth's climate by studying changes in its orbit and axial tilt, suggest that we are currently 18,000 years into a 150,000 year period between ice ages. This would imply that we should expect the temperature to be rising anyway. A 2002 study by Berger and Loutre suggests 50,000 years of warmer weather before Earth begins to cool again, but that model incorporated anthropogenic forces and concluded:

Even organizations that are not normally biased towards leftist ideas have publicly supported the global warming theory. The oil company Exxon/Mobil official policy is that CO₂ emissions pose risks to society and ecosystems. Exxon/Mobil has also committed to reducing their own CO₂ emissions, and invested $600 million in algae based fuels.<ref>Dead link: //www.exxonmobil.com/Corporate/energy_climate_views.aspx</ref>

Even organizations that are not normally biased towards leftist ideas have publicly supported the global warming theory. The oil company Exxon/Mobil official policy is that CO₂ emissions pose risks to society and ecosystems. Exxon/Mobil has also committed to reducing their own CO₂ emissions, and invested $600 million in algae based fuels.<ref>Dead link: //www.exxonmobil.com/Corporate/energy_climate_views.aspx</ref>

Agencies of the United States Government such as NASA, EPA & NOAA give selected information that strongly supports the global warming theory. At the same time, they reject freedom of information requests to see the raw data.<ref>Hunter-Omar, Melanie (December 4, 2009). [http://cnsnews.com/news/article/vitter-inhofe-ask-nasa-inspector-general-probe-possible-obstruction-foia-requests "Vitter, Inhofe ask NASA inspector general to probe possible obstruction of FOIA requests seeking climate change records"].  CNSNews.com.  Retrieved on September 27, 2014.</ref> The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), for one example, states that CO₂ levels in the atmosphere are rising due to human activity, and that the surface of the Earth has warmed, on average, quickly over the last 50 years, even though North America cooled slightly.<ref>[http://web.archive.org/web/20120716180754/http://www.ncdc.noaa.gov/oa/climate/globalwarming.html#q2 "Are greenhouse gases increasing?"] (2002).  NOAA/National Climatic Data Center.  Retrieved from July 16, 2012 archive at Internet Archive on September 27, 2014.</ref> In 2008 The Bush Administration requested $4.1 billion dollars of taxpayer money from Congress to fund NOAA, a 7.7 percent increase from 2008.<ref>[http://web.archive.org/web/20090223003207/http://www.noaa.gov/budget "NOAA budget to fund ocean, climate priorities"] (February 4, 2008).  NOAA website.  Retrieved from February 23, 2009 archive at Internet Archive on September 27, 2014.</ref>

Agencies of the United States Government such as NASA, EPA & NOAA give selected information that strongly supports the global warming theory. At the same time, they reject freedom of information requests to see the raw data.<ref>Hunter-Omar, Melanie (December 4, 2009). [http://cnsnews.com/news/article/vitter-inhofe-ask-nasa-inspector-general-probe-possible-obstruction-foia-requests "Vitter, Inhofe ask NASA inspector general to probe possible obstruction of FOIA requests seeking climate change records"].  CNSNews.com.  Retrieved on September 27, 2014.</ref> The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), for one example, states that CO₂ levels in the atmosphere are rising due to human activity, and that the surface of the Earth has warmed, on average, quickly over the last 50 years, even though North America cooled slightly.<ref>[http://web.archive.org/web/20120716180754/http://www.ncdc.noaa.gov/oa/climate/globalwarming.html#q2 "Are greenhouse gases increasing?"] (2002).  NOAA/National Climatic Data Center.  Retrieved from July 16, 2012 archive at Internet Archive on September 27, 2014.</ref> In 2008 The Bush Administration requested $4.1 billion of taxpayer money from Congress to fund NOAA, a 7.7 percent increase from 2008.<ref>[http://web.archive.org/web/20090223003207/http://www.noaa.gov/budget "NOAA budget to fund ocean, climate priorities"] (February 4, 2008).  NOAA website.  Retrieved from February 23, 2009 archive at Internet Archive on September 27, 2014.</ref>

The 2008 Democratic National Committee Platform stated:<ref>[http://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/ws/?pid=78283 "2008 Democratic party platform"] (August 25, 2008).  University of California Santa Barbara/The American Presidency Project/Political Party Platforms.  Retrieved on September 27, 2014.</ref>

The 2008 Democratic National Committee Platform stated:<ref>[http://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/ws/?pid=78283 "2008 Democratic party platform"] (August 25, 2008).  University of California Santa Barbara/The American Presidency Project/Political Party Platforms.  Retrieved on September 27, 2014.</ref>

[[Pluto]] has also been found to be undergoing global warming.  The overall temperature increase on Pluto has been greater than that on the earth.<ref>Britt, Robert Roy (October 9, 2002).  [http://www.space.com/scienceastronomy/pluto_warming_021009.html "Global warming on Pluto puzzles scientists"]. Space.com.  Retrieved on September 30, 2014.</ref>

[[Pluto]] has also been found to be undergoing global warming.  The overall temperature increase on Pluto has been greater than that on the earth.<ref>Britt, Robert Roy (October 9, 2002).  [http://www.space.com/scienceastronomy/pluto_warming_021009.html "Global warming on Pluto puzzles scientists"]. Space.com.  Retrieved on September 30, 2014.</ref>

On the other hand [[Uranus]] has had no net change in temperature since 1977.  A rapid increase in temperature reversed itself.  The reasons for this are not understood.<ref>Young, Leslie A., Bosh, Amanda S. et al. (October 2001). [http://www.boulder.swri.edu/~layoung/eprint/ur149/Young2001Uranus.pdf "Uranus after solstice:  Results from the 1998 November 6 occultation"].  ''Icarus'', vol. 153, iss. 2, pp. 236-247.  Retrieved from Southwest Research Institute [Boulder, CO] website on September 30, 2014.</ref>

On the other hand, [[Uranus]] has had no net change in temperature since 1977.  A rapid increase in temperature reversed itself.  The reasons for this are not understood.<ref>Young, Leslie A., Bosh, Amanda S. et al. (October 2001). [http://www.boulder.swri.edu/~layoung/eprint/ur149/Young2001Uranus.pdf "Uranus after solstice:  Results from the 1998 November 6 occultation"].  ''Icarus'', vol. 153, iss. 2, pp. 236-247.  Retrieved from Southwest Research Institute [Boulder, CO] website on September 30, 2014.</ref>

Global temperatures change on other planets even when there is no life, something which strongly supports the idea that humans are not necessarily the cause of earth's global warming.  Moreover, the temperature on Uranus has fluctuated back and forth.  There is no reason that fluctuations cannot occur on earth, too.

Global temperatures change on other planets even when there is no life, something which strongly supports the idea that humans are not necessarily the cause of earth's global warming.  Moreover, the temperature on Uranus has fluctuated back and forth.  There is no reason that fluctuations cannot occur on earth, too.

Although measurements have been made of the temperatures of other planets these are by no means thorough or comparable with the measurements used for earth. The short space of time over which measurements have been taken and the very limited spatial coverage means that reliable average figures have not been obtained. They have certainly not been taken extensively enough to produce a five year average temperature, which is the standard when determining temperature trends on earth.  

Although measurements have been made of the temperatures of other planets these are by no means thorough or comparable with the measurements used for earth. The short space of time over which measurements have been taken and the very limited spatial coverage means that reliable average figures have not been obtained. They have certainly not been taken extensively enough to produce a five-year average temperature, which is the standard when determining temperature trends on earth.  

However, if accurate measurements could be made, and their accuracy and reliability is improving over time, then they may prove useful to climate science. Their different atmospheres and distances from the sun provide natural laboratories to study climatic changes without human influences. Though of course they will not be directly comparable due to the vast differences.

However, if accurate measurements could be made, and their accuracy and reliability is improving over time, then they may prove useful to climate science. Their different atmospheres and distances from the sun provide natural laboratories to study climatic changes without human influences. Though of course they will not be directly comparable due to the vast differences.