Global Warming: A Guide to the Science

Global Warming: A Guide to the Science reviews the scientific literature concerning the environmental consequences of increased levels of atmospheric carbon dioxide, the most prominent greenhouse gas contributed by human activities. The authors conclude that increases during the twentieth century have produced no deleterious effects upon global climate or temperature. Increased carbon dioxide has, however, markedly increased the growth rates of plants as inferred from numerous laboratory and field experiements.
There is no clear evidence, nor unique attribution, of the global effects on climate of CO[subscript 2] resulting from human activities. Meaningful assessments of the environmental impacts of such anthropogenic CO[subscript 2] are not yet possible because estimates derived from models simulating global and regional changes in climate on interannual, decadal, and centennial time scales remain highly uncertain.