"While Earth’s climate is constantly changing in various ways, the planet tends to experience long-term trends toward either warming or cooling. The potential or actual contribution of postindustrial human activity to climate change, the consequences of that contribution, and the proper response to those consequences remain matters of crucial importance and significant controversy.". - Source: Salem Press Encyclopedia of Science, 2019, 3p.
| Anthropocene | Carbon Footprint | Climate Change | Climate Science |
| Environmental Justice | Climate Skeptic | Environmental Conservation | Fossil Fuels |
| Global Warming | Ocean Acidification | Climate Change Mitigation | Sea-Level Rise |
An alteration in the regional or global climate; esp. the change in global climate patterns increasingly apparent from the mid to late 20th century onwards and linked largely with increased emissions of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases caused by human activity; cf. global warming n.
“Climate Change, N.” Oxford English Dictionary, Oxford UP, December 2024, https://doi.org/10.1093/OED/4530570262.
A long-term gradual increase in the average temperature of the earth's atmosphere, waters, and land surface, spec. that occurring in the wake of the Industrial Revolution, becoming apparent from the late 20th century onwards, and linked to increased emissions of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases caused by human activity.
“Global Warming, N.” Oxford English Dictionary, Oxford UP, July 2023, https://doi.org/10.1093/OED/1174062631.
