As was noted yesterday in some other Gather articles, Richard Branson, the chairman of Virgin Group, pledged an estimated $3 billion (all profits from his transportation businesses over the next 10 years) to assist in the fight against global warming. To help frame these conversations, I found some references at Britannica that provide some background on this issue.
The first is a sort of Global Warming 101 view of the issue. This article was written by one of our expert contributors, Roger A. Pielke, Jr. , who is Professor of Environmental Studies and Director of the Center for Science and Technology Policy Research at the University of Colorado, Boulder.
I also found this global warming image in the database, which charts variations in the Earth's surface temperature from 1861 to 2000.
Finally, here is a link to an interview with Former President Jimmy Carter that one of our Britannica editors conducted in June 2003, in which he touches on the issue of global warming...
Hope these are helpful.
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Comments: 2
What most people do NOT know is that even the elliptical path changes over time. Approximately every 100,000 years the ellipsis changes from one that is very elongated to one that more closely resembles a circle. During the periods of time that the earth is at, near or approaching the elongated ellipsis, the earth cools and we enter an ice age. And when the earth is in the path of a near perfect circle around the sun, the earth experiences a warming.
We left the ice age long behind us. For the last 20,000 years the earth has been approaching the near-perfect elliptical path which has been the major contributor to global warming. And we will continue to experience global warming for several hundred more years.
While Carbon-Dioxide has been a contributing factor, it is not entirely to blame. We mortal humans can do nothing about the elliptical path that the earth takes around the sun. So stop worrying, relax, and have a drink.
Regards,
Gizzard
Best regards, Ben
Author "Leading People to be Highly Motivated and Committed"