"Climate Change" and "Global Warming" have come to the fore of our collective conscious in the last few years. In this issue paper we address some of the details of climate change and how our use of energy may impact our world.

The Environmental Protection Agency web site has the following explanation of global warming caused by climate change on their website:

• Energy from the sun drives the earths weather and climate, and heats the earths surface; in turn, the earth radiates energy back into space. Atmospheric greenhouse gases (water vapor, carbon dioxide, and other gases) trap some of the outgoing energy, retaining heat somewhat like the glass panels of a greenhouse. Without this natural greenhouse effect, temperatures would be much lower than they are now, and life as known today would not be possible.
• Since the beginning of the industrial revolution, atmospheric concentrations of carbon dioxide have increased nearly 30%, methane concentrations have more than doubled, and nitrous oxide concentrations have risen by about 15%. These increases have enhanced the heat-trapping capability of the earths atmosphere. Sulfate aerosols, a common air pollutant, cool the atmosphere by reflecting light back into space; however, sulfates are short-lived in the atmosphere and vary regionally.
• Why are greenhouse gas concentrations increasing? Scientists generally believe that the combustion of fossil fuels and other human activities are the primary reason for the increased concentration of carbon dioxide. Plant respiration and the decomposition of organic matter release more than 10 times the CO2 released by human activities; but these releases have generally been in balance during the centuries leading up to the industrial revolution with carbon dioxide absorbed by terrestrial vegetation and the oceans.
• By increasing the levels of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere, human activities are strengthening Earth's natural greenhouse effect. The key greenhouse gases emitted by human activities remain in the atmosphere for periods ranging from decades to centuries.

Global warming and Climate Change is a concept that has been discussed in scientific and political circles for decades. Two of the main points of contention have been,
1) whether climate change is actually occurring, and
2) what is the impact of that climate change if it is occurring.

Existence?
Impact?