The theory of global warming is now widely accepted as an established scientific fact. However, despite its widespread acceptance, there is still much debate surrounding the origin and development of this theory. This article aims to provide insight into the history of global warming theory and to analyze the significant milestone events in its development.
In the late 19th century, Swedish scientist Svante Arrhenius proposed that burning fossil fuels drives an increase of carbon dioxide in Earth’s atmosphere, leading to a higher average temperature. This was the first major scientific document to address the phenomenon of human-induced climate change. He argued that the average global temperature had increased over the preceding century, due to the increase in burning of coal, and predicted that this trend would continue.
The theory of global warming was further developed in the mid-1960s by English climatologist and environmental scientist Charles David Keeling. Through his measurements of atmospheric CO2 concentrations at the Mauna Loa Observatory in Hawaii, Keeling was able to conclude that how humans were interacting with the environment was increasing carbon concentrations and that this would eventually lead to a rise in average global temperatures. Keeling’s research was hugely influential in kicking off the development of global warming theory as we now understand it.
Following Keeling, the research of American oceanographer and paleoclimatologist Wallace Broecker is also widely considered to have had a significant impact on the development of global warming theory. After studying temperature records from the last one thousand years, Broecker concluded that the rise in average global temperatures was occurring too quickly to be caused by natural variations alone and that human-induced climate change was likely to blame. His research helped to lay the foundations for the later United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change.
It wasn’t until the 1980s and 1990s that global warming began to gain widespread acceptance within the scientific community. US government studies, as well as the work of climatologists James Hansen of NASA and Benjamin Santer of the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, provided conclusive evidence of human-induced climate change and helped to further elaborate on the theory of global warming. By 1994, the United Nations had convened the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change to examine the evidence and to develop a response to the growing crisis.
Today, the science behind global warming is no longer up for debate. The theory has been tested and confirmed time and time again, and its implications are more pressing than ever. We have already begun to experience the effects of human-induced climate change, from rising sea levels to increased hurricane intensity, and we must take action now if we are to mitigate these effects and preserve our planet for future generations.
In conclusion, the history of global warming theory is one of gradual development and growing acceptance. It began with Svante Arrhenius in the 19th century and was later advanced by scientists like David Keeling and Wallace Broecker. By the late 20th century, thanks to the research of climatologists and environmental scientists, the theory had gained widespread acceptance within the scientific community. Now, in the 21st century, the urgent reality of global warming is undeniable and it is up to us to take action before it is too late.
