what are the causes of global warming?

Answer 1

The only significant factor that effects the warming or cooling of the Earth's atmosphere is the solar radiation produced by our very own Sun, which varies at any given time.
Driving your Honda to go see a movie (while it may cause some air pollution), is not going to change the ambient temperature of the Earth's surface.
'Global Warming' caused by mankind is hack science!

Answer 2

This has a lot of easy-to-digest information on scientific consensus

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scientific_opinion_on_climate_change

This is the most common reference for the scientific basis for the causes of global warming:

http://www.grida.no/climate/ipcc_tar/wg1/index.htm

It's a lot of material -- you may find what you need in the summary for policymakers (easy to read, short, covers the main points):

http://www.grida.no/climate/ipcc_tar/wg1/pdf/WG1_TAR-FRONT.PDF

It is the 15 pages from page 2 to 20 (12-30 of the pdf).

The rest of this post is addressed to some of the other people who responded to your question. It is true that there are many debates in the science of global climate change (a better term because some places are actually projected to cool). However, the debates that happen in the media (to which most of you are exposed) are different from those that occur within the scientific community. It is true, that some of the material that makes up the popular concept of 'global warming' is myth. But it is scientific concensus that the global climate is changing at an increasing rate, and that there is a general warming trend over the planet. For you to think that global climate change is entirely myth, you have to be quite the paranoid conspiracy theorist because it turns out that the overwhelming majority of the people who dedicate their lives to the study of earth science, climatology, geography, biology, ecology, etc. are working together to propagate fantastical myths. Some skeptics argue that scientists are pressured into finding, selecting, influencing, and creating results that support global climate change theories. But, I would say that if a young academic could put together a compelling case against the existing research adopted by the IPCC and other scientific concensus bodies, they could build a career out of it...

The key with global climate change is to be able to sift out the certainties from the uncertainties. If you can do that, then you're educated on the subject, and can take part in the debates. Forget about it if you're just parroting Michael Crichton or some idea from your crazy uncle who reads too much stuff on the Internet of dubious origin ... you know the one I'm talking about, the one who hoards bottles of sarsparilla and ding-dongs and thinks that the lunar landing never occurred...

Answer 3

When heat from the sun arrives to earth in the form of short waves. Most of the heat is absorbed by the earth's surface and rest are reflected back in the atmosphere in the form of long waves. This led to the global warming. Also, when the rate of carbon-dioxide increases in the atmosphere.

Answer 4

the increase in the temperature of the earth is called global warming.this phenomenon is due to the presence of carbondioxide in atmosphere.
the sun rays reaching earth have infrared rays which r absorbed by this gas and maintains the warmth of earth.But as this gas is increasing above its normal level, temperature is also increasing.this increase is melting the snow in the poles.
every small day to day activity contributes to global warming.
1) the perfumes release hydrochlorocarbons.
2) the smoke from the vehicles.
3) the smoke from factories.
and so on..

Answer 5

the main couse of global warming are the gasess which are mainly emited from industries eg carbon dioxed,methane which then destroyes ozone layer making some holes which allows sun rays to pass through and hit the earth,as the result the temperature of the atmospher increases.

Answer 6

lets try and think this though,lets say the sun is warming up,this is the only really sensible answer,there might be a small factor caused by human activity,there are plenty of facts to back this up check out why the mars ice caps are melting does it have gobel warming!"No"

Answer 7

The methane that livestock emitt when they excrete waste. It causes more greenhouse gasses and effects than all the cars on the planet! Wow!

Answer 8

there are n number of causes that lead to global warming........... like cloro fluoro carbons, carbon dioxide,methane, water vapour, etc. these factors lead to absorbing of heat by the earth's atmosphere, then leading to warming of the earth....just like a greenhouse

Answer 9

polution, natural causes and us using up natural recorces
also building to many building and strucures that we dont needor even the cars we drive. I mean we have driven them so much for so long that the pollutants are burning a whole in the atmousphere

Answer 10

methane, CO2, anything else that my cause the ozone layer to deplete