In 1895 Svante Arrhenius, building on work by John Tyndall, demonstrated that carbon dioxide and water vapour in Earth’s atmosphere trapped heat energy, in a ‘greenhouse effect’ that warmed Earth’s surface enough to support liquid water—a prerequisite for life as we know it. Moreover, he suggested that changes over time in carbon dioxide and other ‘greenhouse gases’ in the atmosphere could help to explain ice ages and other long-term changes in Earth’s temperature. Combustion of coal might further increase this ‘greenhouse warming’ of the planet. This might be a good thing, he thought, at
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