**TL;DR: Scientists have observed climate patterns dating back hundreds of thousands of years ago (by studying ice cores, tree rings, glaciers, pollen remains, ocean sediments and more), and concluded that although climate has varied and gone in and out of warm and cold periods, it has *never* been like it is now.** CO2 levels have risen more than 40% since 1750 (shortly before the industrial revolution). [They have risen the same amount in the last two decades as they did in any 1,000 year period on record](https://www.acs.org/content/acs/en/climatescience/greenhousegases/industrialrevolution.html). Methane levels are higher than they have ever been in the 800,000 years on record, 2.5x higher than right before the industrial revolution. Current warming is occurring 10 times faster than it did when the earth was coming out of the Ice Ages. Most damningly, scientists have models where they have input human-made causes and natural causes and looked at the outcome of both. They have found that when they put in natural causes alone, they don't get the climate changes we are seeing now. [When they put in the human caused emissions, they do](https://blogs.ei.columbia.edu/2017/04/04/how-we-know-climate-change-is-not-natural/). This link is hard to deny. Although the earth's climate has varied, it varied steadily, with predictable highs and lows. Then all of a sudden these peaks and lows started getting more dramatic and sporadic. The only thing that has changed since this started happening is that humans started emitting more greenhouse gases at the same time as we're removing carbon sinks.

**TL;DR Climate change is not man made; however, man has caused climate to change and we must recognise this.** The notion that climate change is natural and inevitable is a popular rhetoric used by contemporary climate change deniers, and they are not wrong. Climate change can be studied through climate records and the natural cycle of glacials and interglacials within the Quaternary. Climate scientists have identified that ice sheet oxygen isotopes are important indicators of gaining paleoclimatic information, and invested in methods of retrieving ice cores from several Antarctic drilling sites. Further to this, both pollen and ocean records can help provide estimates and develop climate models to establish past climates. Through study, there is clear evidence that the UK has been glaciated on multiple occasions during the [Pleistocene] (https://www.livescience.com/40311-pleistocene-epoch.html#:~:text=The%20Pleistocene%20Epoch%20is%20typically,parts%20of%20the%20planet%20Earth). Conclusions drawn have suggested that the aerially most extensive glaciation of the UK appear to have occurred in MIS12 [Anglian] (https://www.researchgate.net/publication/324221028_An_alternative_view_of_the_Anglian_MIS_12_glaciation_of_southeastern_England_-_Part_I), with smaller ice sheets in MIS6 and MIS2 [Devensian] (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Last_Glacial_Period). A popular approach to climate change study is the ‘Earth System Approach’ or ‘Gaia Hypothesis’ devised by chemist James Lovelock in the 1970s. He proposes that both organic and inorganic systems interact to form a self-regulating and complex climatic system (including biosphere, atmosphere, hydrosphere and pedosphere). However, there exists the possibility for a number of external factors to destabilise this system, including man-made greenhouse gas emissions. The ‘anthropocene’ has emerged as a concept to explain these recent man-made changes; a new geological age during which human activity has been the dominant influence on climate and the environment. Concept precursor began with George-Louis LeClerc de Buffon, the first to reconstruct geological history in stages (1778) that included human dominance as the ‘seventh epoch’. Early anthropocene proposals are based off of the assumption that increased methane within the atmosphere in the last 5000 years is not natural with subsequent timings corresponding with increased rice production in South East Asia and increased CO2 levels coinciding with European deforestation. The question of whether climate change is man made brings into question the ‘Great Acceleration’. Where the post-1950 era saw an increase in human activities which has resulted in the most rapid transformation of the human relationship with the natural world in history of mankind. With human cultural and technological innovations contributing to a number of environmental changes that have drastically accelerated climate change and global warming. It is therefore wrong to suggest climate change is entirely man made, but also incredibly important not to completely dismiss the notion of climate change and the impact that man itself is making to it.

**TL;DR – It is man-made and it can be shown through the detection and attribution method of climate research.** Climate change caused by greenhouse gasses is scientifically undisputed, but this is only one part of the act. The detection and attribution method has been developed to test whether climate change variables are influenced by human activities. By analyzing observations over long periods of time and conducting simulation experiments based on calculations, the data that is found can be compared with the observable data to consider the way humans have impacted climate change. Natural fluctuations are also considered in these calculations and help to reach a conclusion with the collected data. [Check it out](https://phys.org/news/2017-11-man-made-climate-proven.html), “the more the observation differs from the range of natural climate fluctuations, the more reliable the conclusion that man-made climate change influences the observation.”

While some climate change is perfectly natural, the earth has always had an ecosystem that has inconvenienced us throughout history, a lot of climate change is definitively man-made. Man-made is not the sole contributor to climate change but it is the most pressing aspect of it because it is the aspect we feel we have some control over as a sense of community. The most significant factor in climate change is greenhouse gases sprouted into the atmosphere. The result of this is the rising of the overall average temperature of the Earth. The rising temperature contributes to the melting of the polar ice caps in the North and the South, which raises the sea levels, and flood numerous places such as New York City. Renee Cho, writing for State of the Planet, reported that scientists tracked CO2 levels rising 40 percent higher than they were prior to the Industrial Revolution. They also reported on the amount of methane produced by oil and gas production, livestock farming and landfills. Many of the things emitted into the air always have, but once humans developed the technologies to produce more emissions, so has the air always increasingly gotten warmer. The scientists also reported that warming is occurring 10 times faster than when the first few years after the end of the Ice Age. Some environmental disasters are natural, sure. But the evidence is clear that a majority of climate change can be prevented by reducing the emissions of greenhouse gases. If we have the power to deter the Earth of its natural ecosystem, then we have the power to maintain it. I see no reason why we should not strive for the latter CITATIONS Cho, Renee. “How We Know Today’s Climate Change Is Not Natural.” State of the Planet, 20 Feb. 2019, blogs.ei.columbia.edu/2017/04/04/how-we-know-climate-change-is-not-natural.

**TL;DR - The human impact on the environment is something that should not be underestimated! However I think it is also coupled with other factors and climate change isn’t EXCLUSIVELY man-made** **Impact Of The Human Race** I think it is evident that the human race has a large impact on our environment. The introduction of the motor car, planes and excessive plastic has definitely impacted our climate. An example of this is how much plastic we see in our oceans and now also consumed by marine life. There is a man-made impact. Greenhouse gas emissions and fossil fuels increase the temperature of our world and the impact of this is huge. The man-made elements of climate change are evident but are not exclusively the problem. **Earth Changes** With that in mind, I think that man-made activity coupled with the nature shifts in climate have resulted in the events and excessive amount of natural disasters we see today. Our Earth does go through events and climate changes. A example of this would be the [ice age] (https://royalsociety.org/topics-policy/projects/climate-change-evidence-causes/question-6/) or glacier times. The way our Earth tilts does shift and develop whilst in orbit effects our climate. Even without the existence of humans, there have been natural disasters, climate changes and extinctions. **Human Insignificance** Another factor of human impact that makes climate change so much of a hot topic (pun intended!) is that our human capabilities are limited in what we can do. We cannot control our climate changes and natural disasters. Our capabilities make us vulnerable to the elements which I think makes us feel man-made problems concerning climate change are important as it is the only thing we can actually change.

Though climate change has accelerated due to human intervention, you can clearly see throughout history that the climate naturally fluctuates, hence ice ages happen and cease to happen