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he New I I orkaTGmes 5. Could natural factors be the cause of the warming? Nope. In theory, they could be. If the sun were to start putting out more radiation, for instance, that would definitely warm the Earth. But scientists have looked carefully at the natural factors known to influence planetary temperature and found that they are not changing nearly enough. The warming is extremely rapid on the geologic time scale, and no other factor can explain it as well as human emissions of greenhouse gases. 6. Why do people deny the science of climate change? Mostly because of ideology. Instead of negotiating over climate change policies and trying to make them more market - oriented, some political conservatives have taken the approach of blocking them by trying to undermine the science. President Trump has sometimes claimed that scientists are engaged in a worldwide hoax to fool the public, or that global warming was invented by China to disable American industry. The climate denialists' arguments have become so strained that even oil and coal companies have distanced themselves publicly, though some still help to finance the campaigns of politicians who espouse such views. Part 2 - What could happen? 1. How much trouble are we in? Big trouble. Over the coming 25 or 30 years, scientists say, the climate is likely to gradually warm, with more extreme weather. Coral reefs and other sensitive habitats are already starting to die. Longer term, if emissions rise unchecked, scientists fear climate effects so severe that they might destabilize governments, produce waves of refugees, precipitate the sixth mass extinction of plants and animals in the Earth's history, and melt the polar ice caps, causing the seas to rise high enough to flood most of the world's coastal cities. The emissions that create those risks are happening now, raising deep moral questions for our generation. 2. How much should I worry about climate change affecting me directly? Are you rich enough to shield your descendants? The simple reality is that people are already feeling the effects, whether they know it or not. Because of sea level rise, for instance, some 83,000 more residents of New York and New Jersey were flooded during Hurricane Sandy than would have been the case in a stable climate, scientists have calculated. Tens of thousands of people are already dying in heat waves made worse by global warming. The refugee flows that have destabilized politics around the world have been traced in part to climate change. Of course, as with almost all other social problems, poor people will be hit first and hardest. https: / /www. nytimes.com /interactive /2017/cli mate /what- is -cli mate - change.html ?em_pos = large &emc =ed it_cl i m_20170919 &n 1 = &nI id= 78952708 &ref =head I ine &te =1