| Dry river bed. Image credit: iStock photo / © Jyeshern Cheng A
recent report from the United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on
Climate Change (IPCC) states that “warming of the climate system
is unequivocal.” According to the IPCC, average global
temperatures are increasing at an alarming rate. In just the
past 50 years, northern hemisphere temperatures were higher than
during any other 50-year period in the last 500 years, perhaps
even the past 1,300 years. The IPCC projects that the Earth’s
surface temperature could rise by as much as 4°C within the next
century. The primary cause of climate change is increasing
concentration of greenhouse gases (GHGs), especially carbon
dioxide (CO2) in the atmosphere. The 2007 Assessment Report by
the IPCC indicates that GHG emissions increased by 70 percent
between 1970 and 2004. These gases are primarily emitted as a
result of human behavior, such as the burning of fossil fuels to
produce energy. Building consturction and energy use account for
more than 30 percent o