Global Warming
	Global warming is an observed phenomenon, the occurrence of which is not open to conjecture.  It generally refers to the observed increase in the average temperature of the air near the Earth's surface and ocean waters covering a period of over the last 100 years.  However, the planet's temperatures have also been rising significantly since the so-called Little Ice Age. which occurred approximately during the 16th to the mid-19th centuries.
	The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), which  was established in 1988 by the World Meteorological Organization and the United Nations Environment Programme, to study the causes and effects of global warming, released their fourth assessment of global warming in 2007. This report reviewed the relevant scientific information, and stated that "warming of the climate system is unequivocal, as is now evident from observations of increases in global average air and ocean temperatures, widespread melting of snow and ice, and rising global mean sea level."   They also concludedthat human activities are having a significant impact on these phenomena.
	While there is some uncertainty in how much man-made pollution contributes to global warming, the cause of the current global warming is irrelevant.  If the observed rate of warming continues at the present rate, sea levels will continue to rise, shore lines will recede, and the results will be disastrous.
	Because of projected global temperature increases and the ramifications thereof, global warming is one of the most significant and pressing issues of our time.
	In order to understand how these conclusions are drawn, one must understand the basic physical principles and the observations that the conclusions are based on, e.g., the natural warming of the planet by the Sun, the greenhouse effect, and the carbon cycle.  Accordingly, we have created a
	Global Warming Primer for the lay person.
	Once armed with a basic understanding of the physics underlying global warming, interested citizens are able to draw intelligent conclusions of their own.