Climate Questions: How do we know humans triggered warming?
By SETH BORENSTEIN
AP Science Writer
Scientists use old fashioned detective work to figure out that humans are responsible for climate change. They eliminate other suspects such as the sun or volcanoes. They also find the specific chemical fingerprint of fossil fuel burning in the air. Toss in some complicated chemistry, physics and even math, along with some sophisticated computer simulations. All those ways make scientists as confident in climate change being human caused as they are in smoking being dangerous.