Enhanced Greenhouse Effect - If concentrations of the greenhouse gases in the atmosphere increase, they will intensify the natural greenhouse effect. This will cause what is referred to as the enhanced greenhouse effect. Scientists agree that if humans continue to add greenhouse gases to the atmosphere through their burning of fossil fuels and clearing of forests, the greenhouse effect will be enhanced. The terms global warming and climate change are often used interchangeably. However, they are not identical.
Climate change includes both warming and cooling conditions.
Global warming pertains only to those climate changes related to a temperature increase. It is the global warming aspect of climate change that is the focus of this Primer. Climate change is a change in the average weather that a given region experiences. Average weather includes all the features we associate with the weather such as temperature, wind patterns and precipitation. When we speak of climate change on a global scale, we are referring to changes in the climate of the Earth as a whole.