Past Global Changes Horizons Vol #2

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doi.org/10.22498/pages.horiz.2.18

Gilles Ramstein; Illustrations: Cirenia Arias Baldrich The warming of our planet is quickly However, for most of our geological becoming an existential concern. history, the Earth experienced The burning of fossil fuels (coal, gas, warmer climates associated with and petroleum), produces a rapid higher levels of CO2 and higher sea increase in the atmospheric concenlevels compared to those of today. tration of carbon dioxide (CO2), which Interestingly, they can be compared is a greenhouse gas*. The impact that to those that planet Earth will experihuman activity has on the warming of ence in the near future. our planet is undeniable and leads to unprecedented climate changes. Figure 1 Timeline of the Phanerozoic era (last 542 million years). Myr BP = million years before present.

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PAGES HORIZONS • VOLUME 2 • 2022


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