Perhaps there’s more money in saving our resources than there is to burn them up recklessly for profit as we have done throughout time. Maybe people in the 1980s finally heard what was said nearly 100 years prior—fossil fuel combustion may eventually lead to increased global temperatures.
A Swedish scientist named Svante Arrhenius is considered by many as the first to suggest a relationship between increased carbon dioxide concentrations in the atmosphere and temperature back in 1896. He thought with growing populations, rising CO₂ levels in the atmosphere could potentially increase the earth’s surface temperatures. No consideration was given to industry growth or burning coal. Because his hypothesis of human contributions alone seemed far-fetched, his suggestions were discarded and life went on.