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LEADING ISSUES TIMELINES
2010
Compiled by ProQuest staff. Copyright © 2010 ProQuest LLC. All rights reserved.
Global Warming Timeline
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1800s
The level of carbon dioxide (CO2) gas in the atmosphere, as later measured in ancient ice, is about 290 parts per million (ppm).
During the First Industrial Revolution, coal burning, land clearing and railroads contribute to an increase in greenhouse gas emissions.
1824
Mathematician and physicist Joseph Fourier discovers that atmospheric gases might increase the Earth's surface temperature. This is later called the greenhouse effect.
1896
Swedish scientist Svante Arrhenius publishes his theory that doubling the amount of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere might raise the earth's temperature by 5 or 6 degrees Celsius. He attributes a rise in CO2 to the burning of fossil fuels.
1927
Mulin Milankovic proposes that small changes in Earth's orbit impact climate and lead to ice ages. Geophysical records later support his theory.
1930s
Anecdotal evidence suggests a warming trend is occurring. Scientists study the trend and discover that average temperatures had increased by several degrees since 1865.
1938
English engineer Guy Callendar states the greenhouse effect is the cause of the warming trend. Meteorologists largely dismiss his statements.
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1956
• Weapons researcher Gilbert Plass calculates that adding carbon dioxide to the atmosphere has a significant effect on radiation balance. He deducts that human activity could raise the average global temperature "at the rate of 1.1 degrees C per century." His research alerts the world that climate change "could be a severe problem to future generations."
• Journalists warn that ice sheets might disappear within the next few hundred years. Geophysicists Maurice Ewing and William Donn agree with this warning and suggest that the disappearance of polar ice caps might bring about a new ice age. This marked the first time credible scientific experts had spoken out about the disastrous effects of climate change.
1957
Oceanographer Roger Revelle discovers the oceans will not readily absorb all the excess carbon dioxide in the atmosphere as previously thought. The discovery opens the debate on global warming.
1958
Astronomers find the greenhouse effect raises the temperature on Venus to above the boiling point of water.
1960
Charles Keeling measures an increase in the level of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere. The level is now 315 ppm.
1961
J. Murray Mitchell, a scientist with the U.S. Weather Bureau's Office of Climatology, reports a decrease in global temperatures. Mitchell confirmed that temperatures had risen until the 1940s, but had been falling ever since then. Although scientists could not agree on a cause for the cooling, Mitchell suggests it is part of the Earth's natural cycle.
1965
A symposium in Boulder, Colorado, on the "Causes of Climate Change" brings together scientists from all different disciplines. The landmark meeting features new ideas on mechanisms that could bring about rapid climate changes and how technology could be used to affect climate change.
1968
A study by glaciologist John Mercer suggests a slight increase in the global temperature could cause the Antarctic ice sheets to collapse. This collapse would raise sea levels by approximately 16 feet and displace billions of people who live in coastal areas.
1970
April 22: The world marks the
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October 3: President Richard Nixon creates a new agency in the Department of Commerce, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). One of NOAA's responsibilities is to provide funding for climate studies.
1971
• The Mariner 9 spacecraft around Mars observes an example of global climate change through a massive dust storm that warms the surface because of the dust's absorption of solar radiation.
• Leading scientists from 14 nations meet to discuss "Man's Impact on Climate." Their report warns about the risk of severe climate change. They call for more research on the effects of global warming.
1976
• Studies show that gases other than carbon dioxide--such as methane, ozone and chlorofluorocarbons--contribute to the greenhouse effect.
• Scientific evidence suggests that deforestation releases as much carbon dioxide into the atmosphere as fossil fuel burning. Scientists say to avoid climate change deforestation must be stopped.
1978
Congress passes the National Climate Act, establishing a climate program office with NOAA. For a brief period, climate change receives limited federal funding. The funding comes to an end by the early 1980s with the election of President Ronald Reagan.
1979
The World Meteorological Organization sponsors the First World Climate Conference in Geneva, Switzerland. The World Climate Research Programme--which organizes cooperative research projects--is formed as a result of the conference.
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1982
Greenland ice cores reveal dramatic temperature oscillations over one century. Scientists conclude the rapid temperature change is a result of global warming.
1983
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) releases a report on global warming and states "substantial increases" will occur in the near future that could bring about potentially catastrophic changes. The Reagan Administration criticizes the EPA report and points to a study done by the National Academy of Sciences which states global warming is not cause for panic.
1988
• The United Nations establishes the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC). The UN reports that carbon dioxide levels are nearing a dangerous level of interference with the climate system.
• Climate expert James Hansen testifies before Congress during a record-setting summer heat wave and states a long-term warming trend caused by the greenhouse effect is underway. Public awareness and concern about global warming increases.
• The Toronto Conference on a Changing Atmosphere calls for governments to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 20% by the year 2005.
1989
Corporations in the automotive and petroleum industries create a Global Climate Coalition and lobby against taking action to fight global warming.
1990
First IPCC assessment report states that human activities are substantially increasing greenhouse gases in the atmosphere.
1992
• The George C. Marshall Institute releases a report that concludes "the sun has been the controlling influence on climate in the last 100 years, with the greenhouse effect playing a smaller role."
• The U.S. and more than 100 other nations sign the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
1995
A group of 80 academics and 25 meteorologists sign the Leipzig Declaration on Global Climate Change that opposes the concept of global warming and asserts that "earth satellites show no climate warming whatsoever."
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1997
December: An international conference produces the Kyoto Protocol that targets to reduce greenhouse gas emissions 5.2 percent below 1990 levels by 2012. The United States signs the treaty but never fully participates in its conditions due to economic concerns.
December: Toyota introduces the Prius in Japan. The Prius is the first mass-marketed hybrid electric car. The car achieves modest success in Japan, and a few years later, Toyota introduces the car to the American market.
1999
Scientists detect a massive "brown cloud" floating over Southeast Asia. Consisting of soot and other pollutants, the cloud is one of the most serious contributors to global warming, second only to carbon dioxide. Some scientists argue this type of pollution poses a bigger threat than greenhouse gases.
2000
Lobbyists begin to abandon their claims that global warming does not exist and instead discuss the most business-friendly way to address the problem. Business leaders begin to realize that using fossil fuels more efficiently and developing alternative energy sources could improve their profits while reducing emissions.
2001
• The Oregon Petition, organized by the Oregon Institute of Science and Medicine between 1999 and 2001, receives over 19,000 signatures in opposition to the U.S. involvement in the Kyoto Protocol. The petition states that there is no convincing evidence that the human release of carbon dioxide will harm the Earth's future climate.
• A meeting in Bonn, Switzerland, develops mechanisms for working towards Kyoto targets. President George W. Bush withdraws the U.S. from the Kyoto Protocol.
• As requested by President George W. Bush, the U.S. National Academy of Sciences publishes a report on climate change. The panel states that rising temperatures are likely due to human activities but they "cannot rule out that some significant part of these changes is also a reflection of natural variability."
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2003
The European continent records its hottest summer on record. More than 30,000 people die during the ensuing heat wave. A report in the journal Nature cites man-made climate change as a contributing cause of the heat wave.
2004 & 2005
The active hurricane seasons of 2004 and 2005 lead to speculation that global warming is fueling the intense storms.
2005
February 16: More than 140 countries ratify the Kyoto Protocol. All major industrial nations--except the United States--sign the treaty. Nations work to reduce the emissions of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere.
2006
Former Vice President Al Gore releases "An Inconvenient Truth," a documentary film on the effects of global warming.
2007
• More than 120 scientists across seven federal agencies claim that Bush administration appointees have pressured them to remove references to "climate change" and "global warming" from a range of documents.
• The IPCC issues its fourth report stating that the serious effects of global warming have become evident. The report also states the cost of reducing greenhouse gas emissions is less than the future damage they will cause.
• The IPCC and former Vice President Al Gore win the Nobel Peace Prize for their efforts to bring attention to the issue of climate change.
• Scientists discover that the rate of Arctic ice melt has accelerated rapidly. They project that at the current rate, the Arctic Ocean could be ice-free by the summer of 2012.
• The level of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere reaches 382 ppm.
December 15: A UN Conference on Climate Change adopts a plan to reduce carbon dioxide emissions, but the plan does not contain specific numeric guidelines due to the objections of the United States, Canada, Japan and Russia. The Bali Action Plan is considered a pivotal first step to address global climate change.
2008
• The level of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere reaches 384 ppm.
February 1: Delegates from 16 nations gather in Hawaii to discuss climate change. The conference ends without a concrete plan to slash greenhouse gas emissions.
March 19: Scientists say global warming is causing spring to arrive earlier.
March 31: Former Vice President Al Gore launches a campaign that urges the United States to reduce its greenhouse gas emissions.
April 2: Officials from 18 states sue the EPA over failure to regulate greenhouse gas emissions and act on global warming.
April 16: President Bush calls for a halt in the growth of greenhouse gases by 2025.
June: Climate expert James Hansen testifies at a House committee hearing that it is "almost, but not quite, too late to start defusing what he calls the 'global warming time bomb.'"
June 26: California becomes the first state to propose a comprehensive effort to combat global warming. The state's plan will slash greenhouse gas emissions to 1990 levels.
July 8: The Group of Eight (G8) countries agree that to rein in global warming, emissions must be cut 50 percent by 2050.
July 18: An EPA report warns that climate change will pose substantial threats to human health in the coming years.
September: Satellite imagery shows that several 10-story high ice shelves collapsed into the Arctic Ocean.
September 23: Seven Western states and four Canadian provinces propose the Western Climate Initiative. The Initiative aims to slash greenhouse gas emissions by 15%.
October 16: The third annual Arctic Report Card finds that the Arctic Sea is getting warmer and less salty as sea ice melts.
December 11: Government researchers release a new study that reports climate change caused by greenhouse gases is warming the United States unevenly.
2009
January 26: A scientific study released by NOAA finds that climate change caused by carbon dioxide emissions is irreversible for up to 1,000 years after the CO2 emissions have stopped.
February 10: An Audubon Society study finds that more than half of the bird species in North America are spending their winters further north than they did 40 years ago. The study points to global warming as the cause.
March: A group of international climate officials meet with leaders in Washington, D.C., to discuss U.S. climate change policy.
April 17: After more than two years of litigation with the George W. Bush administration, the EPA releases a crucial report declaring that global warming from fossil fuel use threatens human health and the environment. The decision paves the way for the first-ever federally mandated greenhouse gas regulations under the Clean Air Act.
September 4: A study finds that greenhouse gas emissions have reversed a 2,000-year old trend of Arctic cooling and prompted warmer average temperatures in the past decade.
September 29: Congress passes the American Clean Energy and Security (ACES) Act, designed to lower the nation's greenhouse gas emissions that contribute to global warming.
December 19: World leaders meet at the UN Conference on Climate Change in Copenhagen and reach an agreement to curb greenhouse gas emissions.
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ProQuest Staff. "Global Warming Timeline." Leading Issues Timelines Jan. 25 2010: n.p. SIRS Researcher. Web. 09 February 2010.
