General Discussion
In reply to the discussion: This message was self-deleted by its author [View all]ronnie624
(5,764 posts)'Global warming' simply refers to the absorption of energy by an atmosphere, as a result of the presence of certain gases. Without this most fortunate phenomenon, life would not be possible on this planet.
It is a radical change to the global climate, resulting from runaway global warming, that threatens the existence of our species.
But temperature change itself isn't the most severe effect of changing climate. Changes to precipitation patterns and sea level are likely to have much greater human impact than the higher temperatures alone. For this reason, scientific research on climate change encompasses far more than surface temperature change. So "global climate change" is the more scientifically accurate term. Like the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, we've chosen to emphasize global climate change on this website, and not global warming.
http://www.nasa.gov/topics/earth/features/climate_by_any_other_name.html
(Sorry OP, didn't mean to 'threadjack'. I just feel compelled, sometimes, to correct the record on this issue.)