Bronte Wells
The history of climate change science is a long and complex one, with people debating the impact of human activities on the climate for thousands of years. In ancient Greece, for instance, people discussed whether deforestation could impact rainfall. However, it wasn't until the 19th century that scientists began to understand the concept of climate change and the greenhouse effect. Eunice Foote, an American scientist, was one of the first to recognise the impact of carbon dioxide on the climate in 1856. She described the gas's ability to absorb heat, which is now recognised as the driving force of global warming. In 1896, Svante Arrhenius quantified the effect of carbon dioxide, predicting global warming due to increased levels of the gas. By the 1960s, evidence of global warming was mounting, and in 1968, Paul R. Ehrlich wrote about the greenhouse effect in his book The Population Bomb. In 1972, the first UN Environment Conference took place, and in 1988, scientists began to insist that real action should be taken to address the issue. Today, the scientific community is united in its call for urgent action to tackle climate change, with thousands of papers highlighting the dangers of ignoring this global crisis.
| Characteristics | Values |
|---|---|
| Name | Eunice Newton Foote |
| Year | 1856 |
| Nationality | American |
| Profession | Scientist |
| Experiment | Tested the heat-trapping abilities of different gases |
| Results | Found that the cylinder with CO2 and water vapour became hotter than regular air and retained its heat longer in the shade |
| Significance | First to describe the greenhouse gas effects of carbon dioxide |
| Other Notable Figures | Joseph Fourier, Svante Arrhenius, John Tyndall |
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What You'll Learn
- In 1896, Svante Arrhenius concluded that industrial-age coal burning would enhance the natural greenhouse effect
- In 1856, Eunice Newton Foote conducted the first experiments proving that runaway CO2 could cook the planet
- In 1824, Joseph Fourier described the Earth's natural greenhouse effect
- In 1968, Paul R. Ehrlich wrote about the greenhouse effect and how it was being enhanced by increased levels of carbon dioxide
- In 1965, scientists warned US President Lyndon Johnson about the growing climate risk
In 1896, Svante Arrhenius concluded that industrial-age coal burning would enhance the natural greenhouse effect
In 1896, Swedish chemist Svante Arrhenius made a significant contribution to the understanding of climate change by concluding that the burning of coal during the Industrial Age would enhance the natural greenhouse effect. Arrhenius's work built upon earlier discoveries, such as French physicist Joseph Fourier's description of the Earth's natural "greenhouse effect" in 1824 and Irish physicist John Tyndall's demonstration in 1861 that water vapour and certain other gases, including carbon dioxide, create this effect.
Arrhenius's key insight came from his calculations, which revealed the relationship between carbon dioxide (CO2) levels and the Earth's surface temperature. He found that if CO2 levels were halved, the Earth's surface temperature would decrease by approximately 4-5 degrees Celsius. Conversely, doubling CO2 levels would lead to a temperature increase of about 5-6 degrees Celsius. This was a groundbreaking discovery, as it provided the first quantitative prediction of global warming and the greenhouse effect.
Arrhenius recognised that human activity, specifically the widespread burning of coal, was increasing atmospheric CO2 levels beyond their natural range. He estimated that coal burning would result in a steady rise in CO2 levels over millennia, a prospect he considered beneficial. In a lecture in 1896, he shared his belief that future generations might live in a milder climate due to the increased CO2 levels.
Arrhenius's calculations were meticulous and labour-intensive, requiring him to perform between 10,000 and 100,000 calculations by hand. His work laid the foundation for subsequent research and helped establish climate change science as a recognised field. He is often regarded as the ""father of climate change science"" and his legacy continues to influence our understanding of the climate crisis.
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In 1856, Eunice Newton Foote conducted the first experiments proving that runaway CO2 could cook the planet
In 1856, Eunice Newton Foote, an amateur scientist and prominent suffragette, conducted a series of experiments that revealed the heat-trapping abilities of different gases. She used glass cylinders filled with various gas combinations, including very thin air, thicker air, humid air, and air with carbonic acid (CO2). The cylinders were placed in the sun to heat up and then moved to the shade to cool down. Foote observed that the cylinder with CO2 and water vapour became hotter than regular air and retained its heat for longer in the shade. This discovery demonstrated the greenhouse effect, proving that certain gases trap the sun's heat more effectively than others.
Foote's findings, published in the November 1856 issue of The American Journal of Science and Arts, showed that the warming effect of the sun is greater in air with water vapour and carbon dioxide. She concluded that higher levels of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere would lead to a warmer planet. This work predated similar experiments by Irish scientist John Tyndall by several years. Tyndall's more complex experiments in 1859 and 1861 validated Foote's observations and provided further insights into the mechanisms behind the greenhouse effect.
Foote's research was not fully recognised at the time, as her paper was read by a man, Joseph Henry, at the AAAS meeting in 1856, and her findings were later discounted by Henry in a newspaper article. However, her work laid the foundation for understanding the impact of atmospheric gases on solar heat and climate change. She was praised in the Scientific American in 1856, which recognised her scientific abilities and the originality and precision of her experiments.
In summary, Eunice Newton Foote's experiments in 1856 provided early evidence of the greenhouse effect, demonstrating that runaway CO2 could contribute to global warming and potentially cook the planet. Her work was a pioneering step in the long journey towards understanding climate change and the role of human activities in altering our planet's climate.
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In 1824, Joseph Fourier described the Earth's natural greenhouse effect
In 1824, French mathematician and physicist Jean-Baptiste Joseph Fourier described the Earth's natural "greenhouse effect". He did not use the term "greenhouse effect", but his work laid the foundation for our understanding of this phenomenon. Fourier studied the Earth's temperature from a mathematical perspective, examining variations in temperature between day and night, and between summer and winter. He concluded that the planet was much warmer than a simple analysis might suggest.
Fourier's work built upon Newton's law of cooling, which states that the flow of heat between two adjacent particles is proportional to the difference in temperature. Fourier wrote that "heat, like gravity, penetrates every substance of the universe, its rays occupy all parts of space". He also claimed that any function, even one with wild variations and jumps in value, can be represented by a series of sine waves. This claim was controversial at the time, but it was essentially correct and a significant mathematical advance.
In his 1824 lecture, Fourier made analogies to the greenhouse effect by saying:
> The temperature [of the Earth] can be augmented by the interposition of the atmosphere, because heat in the state of light finds less resistance in penetrating the air, than in re-passing into the air when converted into non-luminous heat.
Fourier's idea that the Earth's atmosphere acts as an insulator is the first formulation of what we now call the greenhouse effect. He calculated that the Earth would be much colder if the incoming radiation from the sun were the only warming effect. The energy from the sun, in the form of visible light, passes through the atmosphere and warms the land and oceans. These, in turn, radiate their energy as infrared radiation. Some gases in the atmosphere, such as water vapour and carbon dioxide, strongly absorb this energy and re-emit it, partly upward and partly downward to warm the surface.
Fourier's work on the greenhouse effect was further strengthened by Claude Pouillet in 1827 and 1838. In 1856, Eunice Newton Foote demonstrated that the warming effect of the sun is greater for air with water vapour than for dry air, and even greater with carbon dioxide. John Tyndall showed that water vapour, carbon dioxide, and ozone are strong absorbers of heat radiation and that changes in these gases are related to climate change.
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In 1968, Paul R. Ehrlich wrote about the greenhouse effect and how it was being enhanced by increased levels of carbon dioxide
In 1968, Paul Ralph Ehrlich, an American biologist and author, wrote about the greenhouse effect in his book, "The Population Bomb". Ehrlich stated that the greenhouse effect was being amplified by the heightened levels of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere, a phenomenon that was being countered by low-level clouds and other contaminants. He expressed uncertainty about the overall climatic consequences of using the atmosphere as a "garbage dump".
Ehrlich's book, co-authored with his wife Anne H. Ehrlich, gained notoriety for its controversial predictions about the perils of overpopulation, including mass starvation, societal upheaval, and environmental degradation. They advocated for a "green revolution" to prevent worldwide famine. The book sparked criticism for its pessimistic outlook and the failure of some predictions to materialize.
Ehrlich's work built upon earlier scientific discoveries about the greenhouse effect. In 1824, French physicist Joseph Fourier first proposed the existence of the Earth's natural "greenhouse effect". This was strengthened by Claude Pouillet in 1827 and 1838. In 1856, Eunice Newton Foote demonstrated that the sun's warming effect is amplified by water vapour and carbon dioxide.
In 1896, Swedish chemist Svante Arrhenius took his observations a step further, concluding that industrial-age coal burning would enhance the greenhouse effect. He was the first to quantify the warming effect, predicting a temperature increase of several degrees Celsius with a doubling of carbon dioxide. Knut Angstrom, another Swedish scientist, discovered in 1900 that even trace amounts of CO2 in the atmosphere can strongly absorb infrared radiation.
By the 1960s, the warming effect of carbon dioxide was becoming increasingly evident, and scientists began to suspect that human emissions could disrupt the climate in the 21st century or sooner. Syukuro Manabe and Richard Wetherald used digital computers to develop a detailed calculation of the greenhouse effect in 1967, finding that a doubling of carbon dioxide would lead to a 2 °C increase in global temperature.
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In 1965, scientists warned US President Lyndon Johnson about the growing climate risk
In 1965, US President Lyndon B. Johnson received a report from his Science Advisory Committee, titled "Restoring the Quality of Our Environment". The report summarised the risks associated with rising carbon pollution, marking a significant early recognition of the dangers of human-induced climate change.
The introduction to the report acknowledged the global impact of human activities on the environment, stating:
> Pollutants have altered on a global scale the carbon dioxide content of the air and the lead concentrations in ocean waters and human populations.
The document highlighted the measurable impact of fossil fuel combustion on increasing atmospheric carbon dioxide levels, a concern that would continue to grow in the following decades. Notably, the committee's report linked the rise in carbon dioxide directly to human behaviour, specifically the burning of coal, oil, and natural gas. They estimated that these activities were adding carbon dioxide to the earth's atmosphere at a rate of 6 billion tons per year, a significant increase from the previous century.
The 1965 report also included a section on atmospheric carbon dioxide and climate change, written by prominent climate scientists Roger Revelle, Wallace Broecker, Charles Keeling, Harmon Craig, and J. Smagorinsky. These scientists warned not just of the dangers associated with human-caused global warming but also of the potential need to consider geoengineering solutions to offset the warming and the risks we are creating by inadvertently experimenting with the Earth's climate.
This early recognition of the issue demonstrates the long history of scientific concern regarding climate change. As early as the 19th century, scientists like Joseph Fourier and John Tyndall contributed to the understanding of the natural "greenhouse effect". Later, in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, scientists like Svante Arrhenius and Knut Angstrom further developed the understanding of the human impact on the climate system, setting the stage for the warnings delivered to President Johnson in 1965.
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Frequently asked questions
Eunice Newton Foote was one of the first scientists to recognise the potential effect of carbon dioxide on our climate. In 1856, she conducted an experiment that tested the heat-trapping abilities of different gases.
Foote found that the cylinder with CO2 and water vapour became hotter than regular air and retained its heat for longer. This demonstrated the greenhouse gas effects of carbon dioxide.
Foote's work was lost to history because she was not allowed to present her research as a woman. Instead, the climate-science spotlight was grabbed by the Irish scientist John Tyndall, who recognised the possible effects of water vapour and carbon dioxide on the climate.
Climate change became a widely recognised issue in the 1980s, with the first Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) formed in 1988.
At the Toronto Conference on the Changing Atmosphere in 1988, scientists and politicians from around the world gathered to address what was framed as a global threat to Earth's atmosphere, with calls to reduce emissions.
