• The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) reports that the average surface temperature of the earth increased nearly1.4°F in the 20th century, due primarily to human caused global warming.

• The IPCC projects a 3.2-7.2 degrees Fahrenheit in the 21st century, depending upon the extent to which global warming pollution is dramatically reduced.

• Global warming means far more than hotter temperatures. Left unchecked, global warming will rapidly and irreparably disrupt our planet’s climate system, causing average temperatures and precipitation patterns to change and exacerbating weather extremes such as heat waves, heavy downpours, storms, and droughts. -- p.6, Gardener's Guide to Global Warming

• On average, eleven of the past twelve years (1995–2006) rank among the twelve warmest years on record since 1850, and the increase in average temperature is expected to accelerate in the coming decades. -- p.19, Gardener's Guide to Global Warming (published in 2007)

• Scientists project major changes in the character of precipitation across the United States, with a significant increase in the intensity of precipitation events and either increases or decreases in their duration and frequency, depending on the region. Recent studies also show a significant trend toward stronger, more frequent, and longer lasting heat waves across most of the country before the end of this century. It may seem counterintuitive, but these changes will lead to more flooding as well as to more droughts.-- p.20, Gardener's Guide to Global Warming

• In many western states, global warming is expected to contribute to a considerable reduction in average snowpack and earlier, more rapid spring snowmelt, which will lead to more wintertime flooding and decreased summertime water supply in major river basins. -- p.20, Gardener's Guide to Global Warming

• Global warming is causing sea levels around the world to rise at an unprecedented rate due to a combination of thermal expansion of the oceans and rapidly melting glaciers and polar ice caps. The average sea level is expected to rise 7–23 inches before the end of this century, and perhaps as much as 31 inches over that time if the rate of ice melt from Greenland and Antarctica increases as some models predict. -- p.20, Gardener's Guide to Global Warming

Return to Global Warming 101