Global warming is one of the more dangerous aspects of global climate change and refers to the long-term rise in the Earth's overall temperature. It is generally understood that the excessive use of fossil fuels, increased levels of carbon dioxide, and other pollutants released into the atmosphere are speeding this process up considerably. Since 1880, when fairly accurate temperatures began to be recorded, the average global temperature rose by 0.13 degrees Fahrenheit per decade, but since 1980 that rate has more than doubled, with scientists recording an increase of 0.32 degrees Fahrenheit per decade in the last forty years. These small temperature increases may seem insignificant at first, but over time this steady rise is having a devastating effect. A slight shift of one or two degrees over the past 100 years is already having a major impact, including more heat waves, drought, shrinking glaciers and polar ice caps, rising sea levels, shifting weather patterns, and a large jump in the number of severe storms and floods. Meaningful steps need to be taken now to address global warming in order to protect all life on earth.