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Svante Arrhenius
Svante Arrhenius (1859-1927) was a Swedish scientist that was the first to claim in 1896 that fossil fuel combustion may eventually result in enhanced global warming. He proposed a relation between atmospheric carbon dioxide concentrations and temperature. -
Infrared spectroscopy
In the 1940's there were developments in infrared spectroscopy for measuring long-wave radiation. At that time it was proven that increasing the amount of atmospheric carbon dioxide resulted in more absorption of infrared radiation. -
Media and global cooling
In the late 1950's and early 1960's Charles Keeling used the most modern technologies available to produce concentration curves for atmospheric CO2 in Antarctica and Mauna Loa. These curves have become one of the major icons of global warming. -
Stephen Schneider predicted global warming
A complete media circus evolved that convinced many people we are on the edge of a significant climate change that has many negative impacts on our world today. Stephen Schneider had first predicted global warming in 1976. This made him one of the world's leading global warming experts. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7YZ84pD895Q -
Rise of global annual mean temperature
In the 1980's, finally, the global annual mean temperature curve started to rise. People began to question the theory of an upcoming new ice age. In the late 1980's the curve began to increase so steeply that the global warming theory began to win terrain fast. -
Warmest climate recorded
In 1988 it was finally acknowledged that climate was warmer than any period since 1880. -
Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) was founded
This organization tries to predict the impact of the greenhouse effect according to existing climate models and literature information. The Panel consists of more than 2500 scientific and technical experts from more than 60 countries all over the world. The scientists are from widely divergent research fields including climatology, ecology, economics, medicine, and oceanography. -
10 warmest years on record
We now know that 1998 was globally the warmest year on record, followed by 2002, 2003, 2001 and 1997. The 10 warmest years on record have all occurred since 1990. -
the Kyoto Protocol
Therefore in 1998 the Kyoto Protocol was negotiated in Kyoto, Japan. It requires participating countries to reduce their greenhouse gas emissions by at least 5% below 1990 levels in the commitment period 2008 to 2012. The Kyoto Protocol was eventually signed in Bonn in 2001 by 186 countries. Several countries such as the United States and Australia have retreated. -
First Books and Art work
First major books, movie and art work featuring global warming appear -
Kyoto treaty goes into effect
Kyoto treaty goes into effect, signed by major industrial nations except US. Work to retard emissions accelerates in Japan, Western Europe, US regional governments and corporations. http://unfccc.int/kyoto_protocol/background/items/2879.php -
An Inconvenient Truth
"An Inconvenient Truth" documentary persuades many but sharpens political polarization. China overtakes the United States as the world’s biggest emitter of CO2. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bu6SE5TYrCM -
Ice Sheets are melting faster than expected
Fourth IPCC report warns that serious effects of warming have become evident; cost of reducing emissions would be far less than the damage they will cause.
Greenland and Antarctic ice sheets and Arctic Ocean sea-ice cover found to be shrinking faster than expected. -
Extreme weather
Controversial "attribution" studies find recent disastrous heat waves, droughts, extremes of precipitation, and floods were made worse by global warming. -
Rise of sea level
Researchers find collapse of West Antarctic ice sheet is irreversible, will bring meters of sea level rise over future centuries.
Paris Agreement: nearly all nations pledge to set targets for their own greenhouse gas cuts and to report their progress.
Mean global temperature is 14.8°C, the warmest in thousands of years. Level of CO2 in the atmosphere reaches 400 ppm, the highest in millions of years. -
Do you believe or not?
After reviewing the history of global warming list three events that help shape the global warming theory.
