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. Global climate change does occur naturally. The Earth s natural climate system has always been, and still is, constantly changing. Scientists have looked at information that has been recorded over the ages in ancient rocks and ice sheets.