Archived Great Discussion Series

Facts on global warming and climate change

The Department of Ecology gives a definition of climate change.

NASA issues a statement on the trends and scientific community's take on climate change.

Over the last 50 years, human activities – particularly the burning of fossil fuels – have released sufficient quantities of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases to affect the global climate. The atmospheric concentration of carbon dioxide has increased by more than 30% since pre-industrial times, trapping more heat in the lower atmosphere. The resulting changes in the global climate bring a range of risks to health, from deaths in extreme high temperatures to changing patterns of infectious diseases.

An important new study, published in the journal Nature Climate Change, says that climate change will be expensive.

On the surface, it looks like extraordinarily good news. The United States is burning less coal — less of the fuel that contributes the most carbon dioxide to the atmosphere when burned. Instead, we’re swapping in cleaner burning natural gas, which could serve as a “bridge” to an era in which wind and solar provide the bulk of the nation’s power. And carbon dioxide emissions are already lower as a result.

A nasty row that erupted between Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders over oil and gas industry donors last week is catapulting the issue of climate change into the race for the Democratic presidential nomination as it moves to New York, where an army of activists upstate is driven by opposition to drilling.

Her campaign announced new national goals for renewable energy deployment and vowed to protect President Obama's carbon emissions rules.

Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders announced an aggressive plan to combat climate change and cut carbon emissions by more than 80% by 2050.

San Diego mayor shows how there can be bipartisan consensus to move away from fossil fuels.

Earth’s land and ocean currently absorb about half of all carbon dioxide emissions from the burning of fossil fuels, but it’s uncertain whether the planet can keep this up in the future. NASA’s Earth science program works to improve our understanding of how carbon absorption and emission processes work in nature and how they could change in a warming world with increasing levels of emissions from human activities.

Climate Change is a real and serious issue. In this video Bill Nye, the Science Guy, explains what causes climate change, how it affects our planet, why we need to act promptly to mitigate its effects, and how each of us can contribute to a solution.

Climate change is unfair. While rich countries can fight against rising oceans and dying farm fields, poor people around the world are already having their lives upended — and their human rights threatened — by killer storms, starvation and the loss of their own lands. Mary Robinson asks us to join the movement for worldwide climate justice.

Bernie Sanders responds to a YouTube question on how to make the case to Americans who are still buying SUV's in record numbers during the Democratic presidential debate in Charleston, SC.

"They're gonna be the clean energy solar power of the 21st century -- unless we get there first." Hillary Clinton describes China's changing stance on climate change and what she hopes will result from the UN's Climate Change Conference in Paris this year.